The Walden Effect: Farming, simple living, permaculture, and invention.

Composting old dreams

Foggy trees

I'm the world's worst housekeeper, but I do like to go through my shelves from time to time to root out books I no longer use (and to give me room to slip a few new classics in).  I think of this process as composting old dreams --- after all, why else do I keep Free booksbooks that I haven't opened in a decade unless they represent a dream I never fulfilled (or achieved and moved beyond)?

Many of the books I discarded during the most recent rainy day purge are going to my mother, who's taken up the study of Appalachian ecology and can use the books I now know by heart.  Others, though, are looking for a home.  Are any of you itching to read:

Book shelfIf you'd like to give any of these books a shot, just email anna@kitenet.net with your mailing address and I'll send them off.  We'll swallow the shipping expenses unless you live outside the U.S.

I'm looking forward to the new seedlings that will root in the fertile soil of this dream compost!

Edited to add: The books have all found good homes. Thanks for adopting a dream!

Our chicken waterer never spills or fills with POOP.


Anna Hess's books
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About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.



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I was struck by your observation that keeping things around you don't use anymore can represent unfulfilled (or achieved) dreams. I have a professional organizer friend (a powerhouse of a professional organizer) who says the exact same thing. Do most people make that connection between the state of your mind, and the state of your stuff? I thought that was super cool because Anna and Edith always come back to the idea of living simply. Letting go of old dreams leaves more space to enjoy living now...
Comment by J Sat Feb 25 11:30:06 2012
J --- It's interesting how much organizing our stuff involves emotions and philosophy. I used to hoard books, but I've really felt much freeer and more thoughtful ever since I started purging at intervals. I love your last line, btw!
Comment by anna Sat Feb 25 12:43:15 2012
I would love the Appalachian trail books! Please, oh, please!
Comment by Brandy Sat Feb 25 15:27:50 2012
Brandy --- They're all yours!
Comment by anna Sat Feb 25 18:05:33 2012





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