New Year typically means new resolutions, as it did for me, but it also meant moving into a new apartment! After seven months of looking we finally found the perfect place and last weekend the Big Move took place.

And a Big Move it was indeed, maybe not distance-wise, as we only moved a few hundred meters, but in terms of things and what is more important books, it was huge. We stayed in the last place for six years and apparently despite not being a hoarder, I managed to accumulate an insane amount of things. I really thought I was doing so well with my spring clear-outs every year! Until it came to packing everything into boxes and then things literally expanded. I swear! They increased in volume, I’m sure it has something to do with the theory of relativity.

I also discovered that two bookshelves fit into four suitcases, not sure how I’ll ever need this knowledge, but I can now say both how many bookshelves full of books I own and how many suitcases.

When we got to the new place I basically put all my books in one corner (I know ‘nobody puts Baby in the corner’, and yet needs must), so they were not in the way of other things. Because our new place is bigger, I cheekily ordered two additional bookshelves while ordering other furniture from IKEA and they were due to arrive on Sunday.

They did arrive, together with everything else. That was when I learned another lesson: if an IKEA delivery guy tells you there are around 50 boxes for you, you won’t be able to assemble everything in one day. There is no way. It’s not even about the time or the amount of work, but your back and legs will give up on you. There is only so much time one can spend bent down or squatting without damaging oneself. I just learned in a painful way how much time that is…

But just as all good things come to an end, so do the bad ones and the move is almost finished (i.e. we unpacked and settled in the living room and bedroom, the office still looks like a rubbish bin). You can see on top where the books started and below how they ended, I think they are pretty content, I know I am.

What do you think?

Books to be read ended up in the bedroom and the corridor, with plenty of empty shelves:

books to be read in the corridor

books to be read in the bedroom

Travel guides and books read went to the living room, they always come handy as an icebreaker when people come to visit. Fairy lights initially were for Christmas, but I think they’ll stay, I like how they make the room more cheerful:

And this is the office, with the books that scare me, the Thick Ones! I hope that now that I gathered them in one place and can see it is not that many of them I will start picking them up one by one. The criteria were set in a  very arbitrary way (they are my books in the end) at above 380 pages. To make it a bit more friendly I also got some candles to warm up the atmosphere…and yes, I did colour coordinate them. Just in case you were wondering.