Melanie's Must Read list #2

When John and I were dating and first married we both worked for a wholesale Christian book distributor.  I sat at a desk next to John's mom doing the accounts receivables while she did payables and John worked in the warehouse pulling and shipping orders.  You would think this would have resulted in quite a collection of Christian books but I was in high school and quit just a few months after we got married.  If I worked there today I would be in trouble.

One year at the company's national conference I found myself sitting in on one of the writer's talks.  Emilie Barnes.  She had written some home organization books and while I don't remember much of what she said I remember her sharing a tip for spinning lettuce.  Put it in a delicates bag and spin it in the washing machine.  I was18 and then, as now, I thought that was an insane idea.

None-the-less I noticed one of her books, "The 15 Minute Organizer", on my Mother-in-Law's bookshelf shortly after we got married and asked to borrow it. She never saw the book again.

I literally read this book once a year for the first 10 years we were married, maybe more.  She helped me understand how to organize my storage space, kitchen, bathroom, closets, my kid, garage sales, etc.  And how to clean them out and purge, purge, purge.  Unfortunately in one purging session a couple years ago I purged this book, one of only about 2 or 3 things out of the hundreds I have purged which I have regretted getting rid of over the years.

While I don't know if you can still buy this book in bookstores you can definitely still get books written by Emilie Barnes.  She has broadened her writing outside of home organization to wonderful devotion books and another of my favorites, "If Teacups Could Talk".  A wonderful book about the relaxing and connecting nature of tea with lots of different tea party ideas.  I should be doing a whole post about this book I love it so much.  While the book is about tea it's not about just tea.  It is really about spending time with people, really stopping and connecting, relaxing, making your guests feel special.  Or sitting down by yourself for a cup of tea and taking care of yourself for a few moments.  Not just the sitting down but the whole process of making and serving tea is a ritual that is part of the tea experience.  It has inspired me to share many special cups of tea with family and friends and I am thankful for the tradition of tea which she added to my life through this book.

Your library reading assignment of the week:  Get a book by Emilie Barnes.