Too Many Books?

I am a big fan of local consignment bookseller Books by Chance; however, they are currently at capacity and cannot take in any more books right now. That is why I was excited to hear about Page Avenue Books. Here's what Bob from PAB has to say:

"Page Avenue Books (PAB), an Ann Arbor-area online bookseller, is on the lookout for more used books to add to their inventory. If youʼre a book-hound tripping over boxes full of donʼt-wanters, or you just inherited your late auntʼs library and have no place to put it, send an e-mail to Page Avenue Books at page.books@yahoo.com. PAB isnʼt a junk-removal service, but theyʼll quote you a modest per-box price for clean, undamaged books. PAB especially likes hardbound non-fiction, collectibles and estates, will consider others. Any books that PAB cannot sell are sent to the Ann Arbor ReUse Center or recycled."

Kids' Clothes

In the August edition of "Your Simply Organized Life" I wrote about organizing kids' clothes for back to school. My own child has very few clothes and I do laundry regularly. In my opinion this is the only way to go for kids and adults. The clean clothes stay organized and this forces mom (or whoever does the laundry) to keep on top of it (bonus: no mountains of wash to do).

The old adage "less is more" is so much a part of my daily life that I was particularly annoyed last week while shopping at GAP for socks for my child (their socks stay on the kid's foot!). Because I am organized, I knew that my child only needed two pairs to add to the collection of socks for fall.

The saleswoman at GAP was so pushy in insisting that I buy "5 for $10 for only $4 more". Of course I could have easily afforded the extra $4 for three more pairs of socks, but the woman didn't seem to get that I didn't NEED five pairs of socks. I only needed two.

My point is: it's not a bargain if you don't need it. Sometimes we forget this among the bright lights and pushy salespeople at the mall. Hold firm next time you're out shopping.

Travel Tip

My family and I just got back yesterday from a road trip to Atlanta, Georgia. We were there attending the wedding of the fine young man pictured at right, a cousin of mine. The gray haired man in the background happens to be my brother (I like to tease him about his gray hair).

Today's tip is intended to help you make the transition from a long vacation to "real life" easier. If at all possible, schedule an extra day at home following a vacation. This gives you time to unpack bags, readjust your body to your regular schedule and get back to your normal routines.

We love to travel, but even more, love coming home--especially after a 13 hour day in the car with a small child! Today's transition time has allowed me to throw in a load of laundry, readjust my child to being home and even download photos from the wedding!