And, it is done, all but the mopping up. I am exhausted, can barely walk, and feel sooo sleeeepy. It has been a good afternoon, long afternoon. He is gone now.
WHAAAT??
NOT that! Silly goose.
I have seven bookcases. I managed to clean out a whole one, and parts of three others, where I can reach the books. Two years ago, I sold about 10 books to a used book store and gave away 790 for a total of 800 books that left my home. I had vowed to get rid of 10 books a day and gave out at 800 books.
The thrift store where I donated books had shelves of my books. I had really strange feelings of loss and violation of my space as I looked at them. I wanted to rescue them. I resisted. One time, I took in stacks of books, donated them, looked at the stack and asked if I could have one back. The woman readily agreed.
Mark likes books. He is only a few classes away from have a BA in English. Sooo, use what charms I have--books. He agreed to remove all the books from one bookcase and I would give him all books I did not want to pack. There is 10 feet of shelf space plus the top of the bookcase he emptied. Plus, I stack books crosswise, laying them on the upright books. My other ploy to ease overcrowding is to slip some books behind the rows of books. I would say that added another 3 feet, making making 13 feet of books. Then, he carried and emptied a whole milk crate of books onto the table.
He put 12 or fifteen boxes of books in the car. A table full of books is staring at me! He might come back by, so I cannot take a much needed nap, just in case he will carry more books to the car for me. I cannot handle a large box of books, so sometimes there are only 6-8 very small books in a box.
Update: Some boxes had a dozen books because the smaller boxes would not hold larger books! I gave him 15 books. He put 18 boxes in my car.
Gee, I may have to up the ante and cook a meal for him....sheesh.
Your turn
Do you find that people help when there is a reward for them? I cannot afford to pay for help, so this is as good as it gets in the "help" department.
Gosh, all those books... just gone now. I have a very hard time doing what you're doing but sometimes it must be done.
ReplyDeleteI only ever get help by bribing or paying people. It makes me sad because I do favors for people all the time and never get anything in return unless there is something in it for them.
ReplyDeleteRubye,
ReplyDeleteDon't get too eager. I still have 2000 books. I got rid of all Shakespeare and kept "Rats, Lice, and History." I got rid of pregnancy and baby books and baby-naming books--all part of the 800. The books sent to the car today are going into safe-keeping for a bit with exbf--NOT gone. If you have 3000 books, maybe some need to go. But, don't feel compelled to get rid of books because people tell you to do so. I had 7 bookcases, stuffed, books lying sideways and books flat behind other books + books in boxes and stacks on tables. My goal was to get all books onto a shelf. When I did that, I quit. Now, I need to keep going on the three or four bookshelves that were not sorted.
If you have books that pertain to having a baby, raising a baby, raising a child that are old, no young mother will read them, even if some of the advise is good still. If you have three copies of Sula or To Kill a Mockingbird, share. That is why I have multiple copies of books. I sold "Your Body; Yourself" because I buy them for a quarter and sell them for $3. There are classics like that, important and salable.
This was a hard thought for me and hard to do, so I did 10 books each day until I quit for some reason.
Free!~
It is the same way here. Exbf does for me and does not expect anything in return. He needs a hip replacement so cannot do much, lives 65 miles from me and works 5 days a week at a Sam's Club in the gas station. (His place where he worked as an engineer closed, so he cannot find a job in his field. ) This is hard on him.
Everyone else I ever did anything for? They cannot see I have a need that they are willing to fill. But, if I am giving something away, they rush with their truck or open hands.
Linda, same here, I'm always available when called on for a favor but when I need help no one's around unless there's something in it for them. I've decided to make myself a little less obliging.
ReplyDeletePatty,
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame!
Giving to someone is a wonderful feeling to be able to help someone out in some way but I do not like to be victim of my own generosity.
ReplyDeleteWimmera,
ReplyDeleteSo true!
I like passing books along--unless they are reference books that I would refer to a lot. But I like knowing that someone is enjoying the same book I enjoyed.
ReplyDeletePamela,
ReplyDeleteReference books usually stay. I figured out the thrift shop threw books they deemed "unfit" into the dumpster! I like getting help from him...lol. He was happy to get the books.
Linda, that would be really hard for me to get rid of books except for maybe the baby related stuff. I find that paying others is less messy...no expectations, but we do barter a fair bit too.
ReplyDelete