I admit that I’m a hoarder. Not clothes or kitchen gadgets or spontaneous yard sale purchases. But books. Specifically, novels. As a mystery and romance author, I love my books—all kinds—cozy mysteries, thrillers, legal suspense, romances, and even scholarly research tomes. So, when I asked my two young girls, to clean their own rooms, they turned to me and said, “Mommy, what about your office? It’s worse than our rooms.”
Uh oh. Can we say conflict? Guilt?
Yes, it’s true. My so-called office/storage room houses my desk and computer as well as boxes and boxes of books. My bookshelf is double-stacked. Now to be fair, it also has the Barbie Dream Townhouse and Little Pet Shop land as well.
Needless to say, I can do with some housecleaning efforts. But where to start?
I can mop the kitchen floor and scrub the bathrooms (on occasion), and I can sort through closets and donate clothes to the Goodwill, but I just can’t part with my books. Sigh.
What’s a mom to do? Compromise? Try the old adage “Do as I say, not as I do?”
No. I mustered up my courage and together we purged as a family. I donated boxes of my old books and my children parted with their “baby toys.” The Little Tykes kitchen and Mrs. Potato Head. I was extremely proud of myself and my kids.
And the biggest surprise? My office was clean and I was inspired to write my next mystery—even during the last weeks of summer when I’d rather be at the pool with my children.
So, what do you have most difficulty parting with? Please share!