We all have a mental illness - some are just more pronounced

I usually don't need excuses to avoid doing my chore, I just don't do them.  Actually, I'm quite happy to have pared down my chore list to less than a handful a day - dishes, make the bed, sweep, take out the trash.  But every once in a while I have to buckle down and deep clean. 

Yesterday started out as that day.  I attacked the kitchen with a vengeance, scrubbed the oven and microwave, cleaned the grout around the sink, the whole works.  Then it was time to work on the floor.  Anything that wasn't bolted down was removed from the kitchen and I began cleaning the windows and the floor.  It was during this process that I looked again at the giant bookcase in the kitchen.  Because it is next to the kitchen table it becomes a repository for anything and everything.  Books stacked willy nilly, crayon boxes, craft supplies, photos and the like.  Sooo, stop everything!  I must organize this shelf - immediately!

And why was I so inspired you may ask? (or not)  Earlier this week I had come across a great blog site.  This small town librarian had arranged her bookshelf by the spine colors.  (This was apparently inspired by a bookstore in San Francisco.)  I immediately showed this to Douglas, who nearly choked on his indignation. 

"How would you ever find anything!" he yelled at the unresponsive screen. "Books should be arranged logically, by author, subject and title!"  And he looked at me with a rather menacing stare of warning, suggesting that if I should ever do that to our bookshelf, he would disown me.

Well, naturally, I really wanted to rearrange the bookshelf by color.  How else am I going to know if I need more books with, say, yellow spines? So my  instinct to clean the kitchen floor within an inch of its life (yeah, right!) was curbed and my much more OCD side took over.  And here are the results.  I must admit that I didn't take it all the way, I kept certain collections together as a nod to Douglas' opposition to the project.  But overall, I really like the results.  I can't wait until we have room for more shelfs and all the poor books that have been packed in boxes can be set free to find their color mates.

I am definitely doing this to the kids book shelf next!