I visited the home of a librarian in Mexico. A single woman, with her children grown, she had mastered the art of “simple living.” She worked for the American Schools in foreign countries, and found herself moving to a different country every few years. Because of those moves, she had learned to keep her possessions to a minimum.
I was charmed by her tiny home and intrigued by the idea of living without the burden of “stuff.” After a tour of her home (which didn’t take long, because it wasn’t much bigger than a postage stamp) it suddenly struck me that she didn’t have any books. Not a single one!
In amazement, I asked her, “You are a librarian, I know you love books. Why in thunder don’t you have any?”
She smiled and said, “Of course, I love books. Have you ever tried to pack them and move them? I don’t need to own any. That’s why there are libraries!”
I don’t know about that I agree with that. I could never wrap my head around the idea of not having any books in the house. For me, books are a sensual delight. I love the smell of them, the feel of them, the look of their shiny jackets. Books are like old friends; they are comfortable and nice to have around. When you want their company, you want it NOW! For heavens sake, when I want to read I don’t want to have to make a special trip to the library. I want to grab a book, plunk down on the couch and relax.
Still, the idea has merit. For those of us trying to recover from cluttered lives, those shelves of books are a menace. They must be maintained, even if it’s just an occasional dusting. One water leak under the wall by a massive bookshelf could cure you of wanting to have to care for them all.
Theoretically, I know this fact:
To simplify your lifestyle, cull the books from your shelves, curb your impulse to buy more, and make friends with your local librarian.
Now, let’s see if I can put it into practice!
This journey began on a separate blog (you can click here to read About Out Of Chaos), but that wasn’t really simplifying was it? I moved all of the posts to This Eclectic Life under the category Out Of Chaos. I’ll be adding more from time to time. I hope you join me.
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