Weekly Clutter Challenge - So many books...

So the Flooring Dude shows up on Saturday as scheduled with the samples, sees all the empty boxes in the living room and gets a shocked look on his face. I explained I wanted to take my time with the packing, a little bit a day. He was relieved - the poor guy thought he'd misunderstood the start date. Like maybe I thought it'd be next week, not the end of January. Nope, I just try to avoid stress by getting things done ahead of time if possible.

What have I tackled with all those boxes this week?

I've written a lot of books for Harlequin, which means I've had a lot of books translated and published all over the world. And I do mean all over - Japan, Germany, Korea, Australia, Italy, Scandinavia, Estonia, Spain, Brazil...and more. I have a copy of every translation I've received, plus an original edition, in the wall unit in the office/den upstairs. I boxed them up, and even I was shocked by how many there were. Sadly, I didn't count them, but I can tell you they are in several boxes.

That also meant some empty shelves, which looks a little odd, so I took some mugs that I have on display on top of the kitchen cupboards and put them on the book shelves. Those mugs can go back to the kitchen when it's time to do the floors, so I thought that would be a good substitute.

This week, I'm working on the bottom cupboards of the wall units in the dining room, where we keep all sorts of albums, pictures, etc. Talk about a trip down memory lane! I also plan to pack up the clock I got from my parents, which was a wedding present they received. I'll be doing that very carefully, and making sure it's well marked so nothing gets put on top of it.

I've also learned what should NOT be kept in a box - fabric. If I can't see it, I forget I have it. Not everything that can be put in a box should be put in a box, even if it's labeled.

While I'm packing things up, I'm also unpacking Christmas decorations and getting them up. And realizing that I've got a lot of sewing to do NOW if I'm going to get things in the mail. I'll have some serious tidying of the sewing cupboard to do after Christmas!