Tuesday Tricks and Treats: Pin yourself to a book

I took a wee hiatus from blogging for a few days so I could focus on some writing and editing work I had to get done. Sometimes unplugging, even just partially, can be a real boon for productivity.

TRICK: A college roommate used to do this and I realized how ingenious it was and started doing it too. I've been doing this for over 10 years and it saves time, money, and socks!

Inevitably, you've lost some socks in the wash. And the ones you don't lose you have to spend time putting together and folding before stashing them (unless you just give up in frustration and dump all your socks into a jumbled mess in a drawer--if that's your style, more power to you!). Instead of driving yourself batty, use a safety pin to pin your socks together before you throw them in the laundry basket. It keeps them together in the wash, the pins don't rust or anything, and when you take them out of the dryer, not only are they all there, they're already clipped to their mates and ready to be tucked away in a drawer. I haven't lost a single sock since I started doing this. This is especially handy when you have socks that are the same color but slightly different patterns or textures. Those are a real bitch to match up and fold. The pin eliminates this.

Just leave the pins in when you put them away. Then, when you put them on, stash the pin somewhere like your dresser. Repin before tossing in your laundry basket.

TREAT: I'm a bookworm. I love to read and always have. And I've always felt guilty when a book was sort of out of commission for reading, whether it was because it was damaged in some way or even just terribly bad. What to do with that book? I could never bring myself to toss them. Thankfully, there are numerous creative artists who repurpose books and give them new life as art objects.

Here are a few images of some amazing sculptures made out of books. 

My fellow blogger over at Foxtail Sun also has an entry where she shares some more images of beautiful artwork made of books.

Which is your favorite? What do you think about repurposing books to make other objects? Is it awesome or an aberration?