Every weekend I take care of my bookshelves and dust them. For some this might be a short quick little dusting that’s done in a few minutes. For me, it takes anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. This is because I take everything out dust all the inside of the shelf and then clean every single book/ item on my shelves before putting them back in their place.

Today I took about an hour and fifty minutes to complete my dusting routine. Why it almost takes longer then me cleaning the entire store at my work.. I don’t know. I almost dread the day when I have my own library, because that is my dream. To have my own private library in my home full of books that I’ve read and loved.

Today I took this weekly routine as an opportunity to count the books I own and what I have and haven’t read, because I haven’t done that in a long time and I thought it would be cool to see how much my shelves have grown.

Currently I personally own 160 physical books.

In addition to that my family own 44 that also sit on my bookshelves.

Of the 160 I own I have read 92 of them. Which is kinda sad, but also I blame Netgalley for it. I’ll be working on raising that number much higher ASAP.

Currently I am reading 3 books from my shelves. I’m back to reading multiple books at once and I have no regrets.

I have not read or started 65 books on my shelves.. which I can usually get to reading that amount in a year so.. I’m not feeling too badly about it. If I’m feeling like I’m slacking I can always do some reading marathons. That could be fun.

For a long time, taking the time to clean my shelves every week felt annoying and kinda frustrating, but now I understand it. I need to upkeep my shelves as much as I need to upkeep myself. I care about the books I own. If I want to have a big collection I need to care for it. To keep it clean and my books free from damage. It’s like any other part of your home. Keeping your room clean or your kitchen or living room. Sometimes self care is putting on some music and cleaning your environment. Taking time every week to keeping things clean is important. Even when it’s frustrating or tiring. Taking things one thing at a time eventually it’s all done and it feels good. It feels good to live in a clean environment. It’s necessary to put in the work to keep things clean.

Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts down in the comments below.

-Till next time!