Reading Stockpile

I thought I would blog about something else today – though, yes, I kept going today!! and filled that third charity bag and also a garbage bag of paper – mostly from my daughter´s room. When I go down to our apartment´s rubbish bins tomorrow, I will separate the paper into the recycling bin.

I am a readaholic – and the thought of being in a German hospital in about a months time without many many books to read – for say five days plus recovery time at home (from a c-section), fills me with horror. Yes, I know I will have a new person to fill my time , however without any internet access (reading newspapers and blogs) and without any books I would be truly stranded mentally. If only they had Kindles in Germany!

So I have started stockpiling some books:
(wherever possible I buy secondhand from Amazon.de or co.uk- and I managed to offload another four books and two CDs through my Amazon account so far this week)

101 Things to Do Before You Diet – yep, I want to get that baby weight off

Backwards in High Heels: The Impossible Art of Being Female
- I read an extract from this book and it made me laugh

The Yummy Mummy Manifesto: Baby, Beauty, Balance, and Bliss

Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design
- which I read about on Kirwin´s blog

These books are all currently sitting on a shelf- unread waiting—-torture! I will be adding April and May “O” magazine to this pile too and notebooks and pens for noting down thoughts and ideas.

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In addition to these, I am pretty sure some trashy light novels will be passed on to me by friends

I was also considering this book:

Your Spacious Self: Clear Your Clutter and Discover Who You Are

I would welcome any other suggestions for self improvement type books or just a good read!

Filed under: What I´ve been reading

The Hard Thing to Accept About the Projects I Have in Mind…

…is that I can´t do them till I have done all my “normal” work- grocery shopping, cooking, dish washing, picking up, sweeping the floor, making the beds, making snacks, talking to the kids, supervising my daughter´s homework and piano practice, dealing with never ending requests…. normal mother stuff.

So, I wish I could wave a wand and be organised so I could just concentrate on the above and then some fun things- more reading, scrapbooking, learning how to oil paint, exercise. However, I know that is not going to happen and I have to keep plugging away at it… who created this mess? Mainly me I have to admit.

So, I have my lists out in front of me now and am working on them.

On a happier note, I just read a beautiful book on simplicity, being ordinary and taking pleasure in everyday work.

Plain and Simple: A Women´s Journey to the Amish.

Very satisfying to read and beautifully written. I am going to find her other two books and read them as well.

Filed under: What I´ve been reading

The Way I Organise My Life…

…is becoming more and more important to me as I get older and start to suffer from my lack of organisation. At the moment I am literally drowning under stuff- not to the extent of being a packrat, however to the point where I make bad decisions, can´t find things, cause frustration in others, set a bad example for my children and cause myself financial stress.

I am sure there are some psychological issues I need to address that have caused my chronic disorganisation, one of them being second generation PTSD, however I am going to try and keep this blog about the way I declutter, the solutions I find, my victories and occasionally the things I buy.

I have often toyed with the concept of buying nothing for a set period of time, but that really doesn´t work for me, its like being on a extreme diet and then there is a horrible binge…. I am instead trying to be more thoughtful about the things I buy and the best way to do that, is to know what I actually have and be happy with my environment. Then I hope I will be less likely to “binge-buy” unnecessary things.

Whether anyone enjoys reading about my decluttering efforts and seeing photos of my projects doesn´t so much matter at the moment- though it would be nice. It is very important to me to become organised so I can express my individuality and ultimately have a better quality of life and this will be a record of my journey.

These are some of the books I have read recently that have helped inspire me in some way:

How I Lived For a Year on Just a Pound a Day
Eccentric Glamour
The Thrift Book: Live Well and Spend Less
Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping

I am also a big fan of O Magazine, the Oprah website and its associated decluttering and “Living Your Best Life” tips.

Filed under: Decluttering to get my life back, What I´ve been reading