Jamie's comments below reminded me of one solution that came about accidentally to help with some of the "book clutter". A while ago, Husband started taking the children to the library one night a week for about an hour to allow me an opportunity to indulge in the guilty pleasure of being home alone and watching a favorite television show while ironing Husband's dress shirts. Can you say win- win situation? Husband is also much better when it comes to remembering books, finding great reads, and patiently strolling the aisles with a squirmy, wormy toddler.
We expected that this would be an enjoyable outing with Daddy, but what we didn't expect is that it would help us cut down on the number of books on our bookshelves. The children know that books can come and go through the regular library or inter-library loan so the books they actually choose to keep copies of on the shelves at home are the ones that they have read multiple times and truly, truly love.
I understand that not everyone has easy access to a good library. Ours offers the ease of perusing the catalog online (remember when it was called the card catalog?) and requesting books online plus the added luxury of holding the books you requested until you come to retrieve them. Now if they only had a drive thru window....
Never mind... Husband still does it better. Sometimes he comes home with coffee!
An hour of quiet, and you get treats... seriously... AWESOME!!!! Of course I've now met your hubby, and can tell he is a super cool guy! You can tell him that too :-)
ReplyDeleteYou know I have a drive-thru window Matilda! That's why my library was voted No. 1 library many years in a row! The place looks like a high-class airport. I can't imagine what it's costing me in taxes.
ReplyDeleteIf they served coffee too, it would be my idea of Heaven on Earth!
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel! We use the library to its fullest potential! Coffee would be great!
ReplyDeleteI am using your advice. I was about to buy some mail order books sight unseen, but changed my mind. I have tons of bookcases in the basement and they are overloaded now, they are stacked on top of the dog crate (thankfully that's in the basement)on bookcases in kids room, kids closets, my closet,basement tables, boxes, just everywhere.
ReplyDeleteSome of these books I bought because they looked good from the back cover but then I read them and thought, nah. So I am wasting money. I only want special books now on my shelves that we really enjoyed.
I hate to tell you this, but they do have Starbucks bar. Since I'm boycotting Starbucks I don't ingulge, but the smell is to die for. I do sometimes take in my own cup.
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