Well it’s been another crazy month. Finished college, picked out a new apartment, moved all my stuff back home, and applied for temping work before the “big move” in July. Most of my time has been spent visiting relatives and shoveling the crap out of my room, determining what will come with me or what will be brought up at a later date. The big challenge was this:

(Click on picture for a larger view)

Now, I haven’t cleaned out this bookcase since, oh, let’s say 6th grade. All my childhood picture books, novels, and Nancy Drew mysteries were in that bookcase, along with college textbooks, costuming paraphernalia, and my DVD collection. Now, I’ve trimmed the six-shelf bookcase down to four shelves of books I’m willing to take with me (don’t worry, the others will be donated or saved for, as my mother puts it, “future grandchildren”). From the top down:

Shelf 1 – Misc Books
I didn’t really know which shelf to put these on. Or really, where they would fit since some of them are honkin’ huge, like The Great Book of French Impressionism that my grandpa gave me. Just random stuff, like Suze Orman, some HTML and design books, my Jane Austen anthologie, and my Chicago Manual of Style.

Shelf 2 – French books, other college texts, and mostly Lord of the Rings
This shelf is double stacked. The first layer is primarily composed of all my college French books that I’ve saved since freshman year. I really can’t bear to part with them, even though there are quite a few I remember not enjoying when I had to read them for class. The second row is mostly of LOTR-related books, such as the trilogy, The Hobbit, The Book of Lost Tales, and the Silmarillion.

Shelf 3 – DVDs and Art History books
I didn’t realized until I finally put all of my DVDs together that my collection is getting a bit large. Six of them are Muppet related, and I really need to catch up and buy the last two Harry Potter DVDs. I also am lugging up my Gardner’s Art of the Ages (which I love so much!) and my other French art books. Oh, and my collection of Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales.

Shelf 4 – Knitting and Sewing
These are, without a doubt, non-negotiable books in regards to the space in my car. If there isn’t much room, I will get rid of other books before I part with these! Standard knitting books such as SnB 1 and 2, Vogue Stitchonaries, a sweater designing book, and a book on knitted motifs for color knitting. Other than that, lots of magazines that I’ve saved over the years with sweater I keep forgetting about that I want to make. On the other side of the shelf, after the two books on sock monkeys, come all the sewing/costuming/designing books. Most of these books are on costuming, so I might leave a couple behind to grab later, such as my books on different period garments or books on designing costumes for stage. I went through a year or two where I was convinced that I wanted to be a costume designer, so I gathered a lot of books on costuming during this time.

I have no idea how to fit all of these in the two cars that are moving my stuff in July.