Friends of the Library Open for Book Donations

Clear off your shelves and drop off your gently used books, CDs and DVDs Aug 23-29

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Among-Friends.html?soid=1104907686970&aid=4r1tm-ArFqU

Out of the Darkness

I will be joining with thousands of people nationwide this fall to walk in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's (AFSP) Out of the Darkness Community Walk. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is at the forefront of research, advocacy, education and prevention initiatives designed to reduce loss of life from suicide. Robin Willliams along with more than 38,000 lives are lost each year in the U.S. and over one million worldwide to suicide, the importance of AFSP's mission has never been greater, nor our work more urgent.

I hope you will consider supporting my participation in this event. Any contribution will help the work of AFSP, and all donations are 100% tax deductible. Donating online is safe and easy! To make an online donation click the "Donate Now" button on my fundraising page. If you would rather donate by check please make the check payable to AFSP and mail it in with the offline donation form.

AFSP holds hundreds of events nationwide throughout the year, including the Out of the Darkness Community Walk.  I am joining my friend Paula Fields-Nicols’ team, Our Sons. Paula lost her son Stephen in 2010 and we will be walking in his memory. If you live in the area and would like to join us October 12^th in the Northwest New Jersey Walk, Stanhope, NJ, click on the link. We would love to have you walk with us. Thank you for considering this request for your support. If you have any questions about the Out of the Darkness Community Walks or AFSP do not hesitate to contact me or visit www.afsp.org 

Spring Cleaning Tasks

It Spring, time to enjoy the flowers and warm breezes. It's also time to clean the house to really enjoy those Spring breezes. I put together a list with the help of other blogs and am partially done with the work. I'm hoping posting it here will help motivate me to finish the tasks.

1. Clean vacuum cleaners & filters - check
2. Organize & purge medicine cabinet - check
3. Organize clothes closet. Donate unused clothes. Pitch un-wearable. Organize what’s left. – Check, check, check
4. Wipe down walls and baseboards – check
5. Clean & polish wood furniture – check 
6. Wash bedding – check
7. Clean stove top – check 
8. Clean out Dryer lint trap - check
9. Clean your washing machine – trying this right after Home Depot run
10. Clean your dishwasher.
11. Clean the inside of microwave.
12. Clean drains naturally – Home Depot run needed for snake
13. Clean inside of oven.
14. Clean inside of refrigerator – half done, Freezer complete.
15. Organize Spice Cabinet – buy that in cabinet spice rack I’ve been looking at.
16. Clean & sanitize the inside of all the garbage cans.
17. De-clutter the tough spots: (partially done)
• magazine clutter - check
• foyer closet - check
• home office – in progress   
• utensil drawer
• above the refrigerator 
18. Weed out bookcases – donate books to Friends of the Library
19. Vacuum the furniture.
20. Vacuum under the furniture. Add fix Roomba so IT can vacuum under the furniture.

How is your Spring Cleaning coming along?

Wanted: Volunteers

Small local charities, such as the Friends of the Roxbury Library, rely on volunteers to provide vision and execution of programs and fundraising for the causes they support. Volunteering for your favorite charity can be a wonderful experience.  In today’s busy world, carving out time to volunteer can be challenging, but oh so rewarding.  There are several ways for you to become more involved with the Friends; as you do your spring cleaning, put aside your unwanted gently used books for our upcoming sale. We will begin accepting book donations Thursday April 19^th.

Or do you enjoy browsing our semi-annual book sale tables looking for your next bedside read? It takes a village of volunteers to take the mountain of donated books to make those neatly sorted tables you peruse. Circle March 31^st on your calendar for the Sorter Orientation meeting and join the village.

Another option this summer, murder will be in the air as we partner with the Roxbury Arts Alliance on murder mystery night to celebrate the finale of Adult Summer Reading. We are looking for a murderer, witnesses, detectives as well as behind the scenes helpers. If you have murder on your mind, e-mail us at FriendRoxburyLib@aol.com or post a message on our Facebook page.

Recycle Books at the Roxbury Library

Hooray - today has arrived. In my quest to de-clutter my home and life I have been tossing, selling and giving away un-needed items from around my house the past few months. I even took a pass at my book collection, amassing 5+ bags of books to be donated. And there they've sat in bags & boxes cluttering up a corner of my guest room rather than gathering dust on my shelves. 


Professional organizers recommend removing boxed items ASAP, so why have these books been around for months? Well, the Roxbury Twp Friends of the Library (where I serve as VP) only has book sales twice a year. This year do to the Jewish Holiday schedule are well known book sale has been pushed back from the usual 1st weekend after Labor Day to the end of September. Consequently we didn't open the doors for collection until today.


So today, the car gets packed and my books will be looking for a new home. Stop by the Roxbury Library Sept 23-26 and take home a few of my books.

Today's Successes

In my continuing quest to de-clutter my life, today I managed to sort my purses, added clothes to the donation pile, emptied 2 drawers and found a home for my parents’ photo albums. The purging netted 1 bag for donation and another for trash. Phew, I’m tired just reading through the list. I am beginning to feel the feng shui of de-cluttering beginning to take hold. A few weeks ago we brought my parents photo albums to my house to scan pictures for my Aunt’s party. Since then, they have been sitting on my coffee table, waiting for a home. Today while clearing out drawers in my guest room, the perfect place for the albums struck me. They now have a new home on a recently emptied shelf in my bookcase.

I really wish the video shop in Mendham was still in business. They had a great side business selling on Ebay.  You could drop off knick knacks and such; they’d handle all the details of transacting with Ebay. If the item sold, they mail the item to the new owner and a check to me. If it didn’t then they’d donate the item to charity. Either way, it was out of my house and hair. God bless them. Unfortunately they are no longer in business. So now I’ve got a bunch of collectables as well as other knick knacks that I’m sure would net a few $$ however, the thought of hassling with Ebay has the stash sitting in my house. If you know of anyone who loves to sell things on Ebay let me know.