There should be photographs for this post. Photographs of my car stuffed to the gunnels with books. Photographs of the shelves of books at Borderline waiting to be taken to new homes. Photos of the boxes and boxes of books Amina and I packed up out of my car. But I am afraid there are none. Because I forgot. Sorry.
I can show you a photo of what is left.
Despite filling the back of my Grand Scenic with books there are still more to go. Which is perfectly fine as that means I get to go back to Borderline and maybe this time I will have a shortbread. Better still I can take some with me.
This morning I had a meeting in Bensham with the lovely Meg Gilley to talk about spiritual direction, prayer, retreats and what do I think God looks like. It seemed the perfect opportunity to pop down the road with part one of my donation to Borderline. I am so glad I did. As we packed up the books from the back of my car into box after box, I occasionally came across one with which I wasn’t sure I wanted to part. But after talking to Amina and having the grand tour I had no regrets. My books would be going to good homes and would be read and loved, not left to gather dust. The memories are in my heart they don’t need to be on a shelf.
Borderline is essentially a free bookshop. They collect books that are about to be thrown out by publishers, book shops, charity shops and ordinary mortals. The books are sorted and stamped with their name and slogan and then redistributed – free of charge – amongst organisations that help refugees and asylum applicants, homeless people, women and children in shelters and others who have no funds for books.
Personally I can’t think of a better home for my books.
one pair of shoes at a time 
We love borderline 🙂 Great blog! Lynn (from Woodland Wellness)
I can’t think of a better home either! There should be a Borderline in every town…
Absolutely 🙂
yes, I do wish we had a Borderline around here, I checked their website, nothing in the South East sadly 😦
But you are inspiring me to sort my junk out and jettison what I really don’t need. I sorted, strained, re-sterilised and generally consolidated my shelves of home made vinegars and jellies yesterday. Still too many really, but I shall give some away and aim to actually use some instead of just sitting there getting dusty.
Next step shall be the books. I have books that are “useful” but never get looked at. Books I have read and re-read and may re-read again have to stay but there are others that I shall not enjoy if I do re-read them. These shall go to the Red Cross I think.
I sorted my clothes earlier in the year, but I think it may be time for the undies drawer to be cleared out of ALL old, tatty, shabby, grey looking dregs. I am worth more than grey undies!
Borderline is a very small outfit. Initially started by Amina in the Netherlands and now she is back in the UK we are fortunate to have one here. You could start up your own 🙂
For some reason Lynne we have a glut of strawberry jam from last year. I hadn’t realised how much we had made!
What a GREAT idea for a bookshop!!
Isn’t it. Don’t you think there should be more? Sadly there is only one Amina and she is the power and driving force.
I have never heard of this concept for a bookshop, but I LOVE it. How do they make any money for the rent? Is it established completely as a charitable organization?
Yes, it’s a charity. They are also rightly proud of the fact that the only items they have had to buy are the washing up bowl and a bin. Everything else from the furniture to the bookshelves had been donated or come through Freecycle.
Oh wow, what a fantastic organisation. You have made a great choice 🙂
Sometimes that is a blockage for us, trying to work out the best home for our donations.
Hi Everyone, I have always said that any town large enough for a Macdonalds should have a Borderline Books. I don’t see it as a free bookshop, I generally call them bookspaces…. And PLEASE! Anyone who wants to do the same thing somewhere else, jus write to me and I’ll tell you how we’ve done it and how simple it is. For the space itself, we have a hook-up with Healthy Planet (dot org) who take over empty office buildings and put charities in them. They have their own book project, giving books free to just anyone, Borderline Books really aims to give books to small organisations working with refugees, homeless people, women’s refuges, childrens homes etc since they really need books, but probably don’t have the time or resources to get them in for their clients/members etc. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to put the email address on but you’ll find it on our website http://www.borderlinebooks.org