Yesterday, Lois over at the fabulous blog Midlife at the Oasis wrote about all the possible ways she might use the bonus hour that comes with Daylight Saving Time. Like me, Lois pondered productive ways to use her hour, including using it for sleep.

Last night, after spending the full afternoon clearing out my closet, purging clothing that should have been buried  released long ago, and installing a new organization system, I crawled into bed convinced I might use my extra hour for sleep, however, I struggled with the idea of wasting my freebie on sleep.

Here’s where I’m weird: Like Lois, I love the “fall back” hour that comes each fall. I love that my body will still awake at its usual time, but it’s an hour earlier. I love that I will hold onto that extra hour of quiet time for at least a month, maybe 6 weeks, giving me 60 minutes of solitude that is mine and mine alone. (My husband and daughter savor that extra hour for sleep; always have, always will.)

Some days, I will use my “extra hour” for exercise, some days for meditation and journaling or writing, and some days for getting household projects done. Despite the fatigue in my body last night, I split the difference today. I slept in for 30 minutes but was still up by 4:30 and went straight to work on another household project.

As a family of 4 passionate readers and homeschooling family, books fill the nooks and crannies of our home, so a few years ago I re-purposed our 4th bedroom into our family library. Shelves line the walls and books fill every inch of space. However, over the years, stacks became piles and what had once been an organized space became a dumping ground for every book and movie that needed a home. Earlier this week, I began the process of reorganizing, but the demands of homeschooling, teaching (at a private school once a week), and tutoring, not to mention the daily household chores got in the way of completion. Feeling empowered with my extra  hour 30 minutes, I went straight to work in the library this morning. 6 hours later, I emerged after having touched every single book and DVD in that library. My husband guesstimates there are about 1,000 books. I think that estimate is high, really high, because if it was accurate, I’d feel bad about adding another book, and I don’t ever feel bad about bringing another book into the house. Completely dusted and vacuumed, I have revisited our little library several times today. I’ve sat on the reading bench, tucking up my feet and sinking into the pillows while watching the weather move in, changing the colors of the farm behind us. Finally, our little library is a room I like to be in once again, and I’m feeling pretty darn good moving another project forward today.

Tomorrow will be a new day, and I’m looking forward to another bonus hour of productivity. I might even use it for writing, so I’m not trying to crank out my daily  NaBloPoMo post with half-closed eyes. (Please forgive any typos.) Or, I may just use it for sleep because there may, in fact, be 1000 books in that library.

How did you spend your bonus hour today?