Another day, another walk. Looks like I’ll be adding weight lifting to my daily exercise, at least for the time being. We’ll be having a visit from the Bishop soon, and I want the library in tip-top shape just in case he happens to stop by my room. I’ll be moving out 30 years of National Geographic magazines, shelves and shelves of encyclopedias, yearly almanacs, and outdated science and reference books between now and his visit. There is no reason for us to have 40+ dictionaries in the library. No reason at all. The dictionaries (and other books in mass quantity) turn up after a homeroom clean up. Hence, my 40+ copies of To Kill of Mockingbird.
So, yeah, I’m going to be doing some heavy lifting for the next few weeks. I asked for and received permission from administration to go to work wearing work-out type clothing. I refuse to stoop, bend, haul, and dispose of books/supplies while wearing anything I even remotely care about. (I bought some new items today that at least match and look presentable).
I’m going to be keeping tack of all my updates and organizational projects here. Years from now I want to look back on photographic proof of my time in the library and think, yeah, I kicked butt.
Jules, what are you going to do with all the National Geographics? My parents have a zillion of those in their basement. They agree that they are just collecting dust, but none of us have pulled the trigger to actually throw them out or recycle them. It seems wasteful somehow (such amazing photography!), but it also seems insane to keep them. Just wondered if you were pitching those or if you'd found some brilliant solution for them to get (re)used somehow. Maybe I just need you to give me permission to recycle them all and not feel guilty! :)
Donate them to an art teacher! We LOVE them–I use them for visual references, collage, you name it. There's nothing better.
I'm giving ours to the 6th grade teacher. She loves them and she'll have the kids use them for reference material. I lucked out! For a while there I thought I might have to dump them. I couldn't give them away! No art teachers I knew wanted them. :(
To Kristi – I just read this book by Mari Kondo – The magic of Tidying Up and it's basically 200 pages of: If an item does not bring you joy, it goes out of the house.
As someone who holds onto things, this has helped me a ton. If you really can't part with it, donate it to your local library?
I get the feeling you ALWAYS kick butt! Go Jules!
I work in the library at my kids' Catholic school as well. I totally understand your need for comfortable, don't care about them clothes. Libraries are dusty, dirty places. I've been volunteering for 6 years. I've weeded, cataloged, taught classes and labeled books with reading levels. My project right now is moving the books on the shelves, which is grubby work. I weeded in the fall to make space. Now I'm moving everything down so the tight shelves have space. All I can say is enjoy the clean out. It feels good to get rid of the really old stuff to make room for new, up-to-date books/magazines/reference materials.
If you have multiple copies (enough for a class) of a title you can market them to the classroom teachers and they will love you forever. ;-)
If you're selling or giving away encyclopedias and dictionaries, please let me know. :)
Oh, and call me crazy but what you are about to do sounds like so much fun to me.