Caption
The first declutter! I removed all the non-book items that were on or near the books. I didn’t touch the first two shelves that mostly have Electronics on them for now. There isn’t as much stuff as I thought there would be, just some photos, batteries, an SD card, some sandpaper, a Rubik’s Cube with stand, and a speaker. This shelf strangely became a holding place for batteries for a while. With a toddler in the house now we’ve put things on higher and higher shelves to keep them away from him. Here’s to finding a better spot for those things. A place for everything and everything in its place, so they say. So they say.
Retrospective
SO THEY SAY.
I just took a look at the shelf in question. There are five decorative items that weren’t put there as decoration. One stack of organizing containers (well, well, well). The cookie cookbook that’s always lost. And the shelf is part cleaning storage closet, holding some wipes and tissues. Not too bad!
The bottom shelf that’s open to the floor is pretty clear. It used to be a sort of garage for some electronics-related things but it’s been decluttered and swept out. There is an outlet there so it’s often practical to use that outlet. We do still use the last shelf above the floor to hold electronics, most prominently the wireless router.
We have “a place” for batteries now, which was helped by a huge reorganization due to needing space for working from home.
The shelf has been sort of a pit stop as one comes in and out of the kitchen. Honestly, it’s hard enough for me to put books away “correctly” and not just stack a book on top of other books lined up, spines vertical. If I’m in my way to the hallway closet or just finished mopping the kitchen floors, I may just put the cleaning products on the bookshelf and save some steps. If I’m cleaning off the fireplace mantle to decorate for a holiday, I may set and forget some baubles on the bookshelf for months. If I place an item in the bookshelf on purpose because I’ll need it soon and then stare at it to lock into my brain that I placed it there, I may or may not remember it’s there. I’ve lost plenty of items that were in my line of vision or at least very close to me because I forgot they were on a shelf in a part of the house that gets some of the most traffic.
Our toddler is school-aged now and I can’t remember the last time I put something out of reach. No, it’s more that I’ll try to put things out of sight, out of mind (though I’ve concluded for now that their memory is better than mine so if they are looking for something, they’ll at least remember it exists!).
The status of the Rubik’s cube has also changed as our child has grown older. Mainly, with the popularity of fidget toys and sensory play toys, we’ve got a lot (I got some for myself, too). While the Rubik’s cube seems to hold a special place amongst my child’s toys, it usually gets organized into a bin filled with fidget toys.
I look forward to what changes major things like the pandemic, work changes, and a child growing up have on how we move throughout our home and, specifically, how it may have affected one shelf and years worth of books collected.
Aden Hailemariam 