She sells sea shells by the sea shore…

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Rubber baby buggy bumpers

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, a peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

These are a few of the tongue twisters I remember from childhood.  (Here’s a more comprehensive link if you’re interested:  http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/en.htm )

But there is a verse in the Bible that’s a bit of tongue twister and describes my internal dialogue exactly. Romans 7:19  “For the good that I would I do not:  but the evil which I would not, that I do.”

I’ve started a new book.  It’s called “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.”  It’s written by decluttering/organizing expert from Japan, Marie Kondo.   In it, she asks you to envision the life you want to have and why.  Then she introduces her methods of decluttering.  She starts with clothes, then books, then papers, then msc. (also know as everything else).  When you  get to an item that you are discarding, she states that you should thank the item for whatever purpose it had while it was with you–whether it was only to teach you what you didn’t like!  Then she teaches how to fold the remaining clothes in a certain way.  It’s interesting.  I can probably fit the contents of all 8 drawers of my dresser in 3 drawers.  (pic to follow)

Last week I began the process.  But I got stuck at step 2.  Books.  I really don’t want to analyze which books give me joy.  I really don’t want to get rid of any of them.  I like to look at books.  Even if I never read them again.  Books are my art.   I like the SMELL of them.  I am comfortable being surrounded by books.  I even “pin” decorating ideas using walls of books on Pinterest.

And you know what?  It’s ok.  I’m allowed to keep them.

I was reminded of something about myself, however.  It usually takes “that one thing” to bog me down, clog my process.  That ONE thing that keeps me from doing something I really want to do.   (And I’m not just talking about bibliophilia.)   What’s that one thing that’s holding YOU back?