Brrrring in 2022
Besides the extended couch time this last week, I also did some clutter-clearing and freed up TWO whole shelf spaces. I got rid of product boxes, cut my recycled mailing inventory down, and moved my game library to a pull-out drawer. My 2022 project is to get rid of the 30 or so paper books we have. Museum/photo books will be the hardest. I know home libraries are awesome to display whether they're books, games or toys, but the truth is that COVID has redefined house guests for me personally. Who am I showing off to at the cost of more maintenance? The majority of my books are textbooks and either completely out of date or still valuable to other learners: time to post them online!
Most of you have already set the record straight on paper books vs eBooks. If you haven't, though, I encourage you to join your local library and see the wealth of eBooks available via Kindle and other formats that make borrowing quick and painless. Not to mention the built-in dictionary, portability, and natural clutter reduction that comes with the shift to digital.
The other thing I did was clumsily add door sweeps to keep heat in. If you're on a budget or renting and can't simply replace a door or window without your property manager flipping out, you can winterize your doors and windows for $20 with sweeps and insulating strips. While that investment would take years to make back vs the amount of heat lost through small gaps, another benefit I've found is the reduction in light pollution and noise that comes with a tighter door seal. There are more suggestions that apply to homeowners with larger spaces at Energy Star. Some of these are a bit impractical, though. Who is really going to unplug their unused appliances each day?
