March is here and if all goes the way we want it to, this month should come in like a lion and out like lamb. However, if March comes in like a lion and out like a psychopathic dragon on steroids, all bets are off. Whenever spring arrives though, there are two activities most of us are looking forward to: spring cleaning and gardening and the library has many resources to help you with both. There has been a lot of focus in recent years on decluttering our homes. Many of you will be familiar with Marie Kondo and her book The life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing. Kondo’s focus is on tidying by category, being grateful for what we have and only keeping what “sparks joy”. Kondo was first intrigued by the subject of tidying when she read The art of discarding by Nagisa Tatsumi, which explains the importance of getting rid of unnecessary things. Just in case you were thinking that the Japanese have the corner on purging and tidying, The New Minimalism written by two women from California is available in our collection as well as the two books previously mentioned. The authors, Cary Fortini and Kyle Louise Quilic look at how we relate to our possessions using four archetypes: sentimentality, usefulness, energetic and frugal. Even if you don’t take the further steps of eliminating useless stuff from your abode, figuring out which archetype you are is a fun exercise. At least you will know why you have become such a hoarder.
Once the inside of your house has been straightened up, it will be time to turn your attention to your yard and garden. There are many resources at the library to help you with this. As well as a large selection of gardening books, we have several magazines available: Birds and Blooms, Canada’s Local Gardener and Mother Earth News. We usually keep two years’ worth of back issues, so even though the current issue is for in-library use only, back issues can be checked out. If this is a new area for you, consider joining the local community garden groups, who depending on COVID restrictions, may be holding some educational evenings at the library in the spring.
So now that we have your domestic situation all sorted out, you will have plenty of time to come browse the stacks for reading material. Imagine, relaxing in your now beautiful backyard, in your freshly hung hammock (which you can easily locate in your junk free basement), sipping on iced tea while delving into your favourite author’s latest offering. (We also have books about day-dreaming and unrealistic expectations).
At the time of writing, certain restrictions have been lifted. We no longer have a capacity limit, nor do we have to ensure physical distancing. Masks are still required at this time. We have more and more programs returning to the library so please check our website to see what is happening and for more up to date information regarding the lifting of restrictions.