Action on shameful clutter continues

Last week I bit off more than I seem to be able to chew. It started with the work surface in the studio - an impulse to brighten, lighten it up with a coat of paint - and a week later, three coats of paint and much sorting later, the chaos continues.

There was a moment when a glorious expanse of white stretched unblemished and unadorned - to recap, this was that moment -

After smiling every time I looked at it, I started work on the shelves - mission: they should hold tools in constant use, and projects in current development. 

Here, 9 of the 12 shelves have been emptied, ready for repopulation - 

Some items have been put in new homes, including those sorted into lovely new plastic boxes (paints, marker pens, inks, linen threads, etc). There is a (transitional, cardboard) box for "things that need thinking about", another for "things that need to be matched up", and probably several others along those lines - I really should label them...

What you don't see is the state of the floor - covered with heaps! - and the accumulation on the table under the window. Feeling very overwhelmed, I gave myself a talking to and started making lists, not just of what needs doing in the studio but in All Of Life. (This is a remarkably soothing displacement activity, don't you find?) These lists are helping me decide what constitutes a Current Project ... and where to put those that don't fit on the narrow shelves. 

But what was really needed was a strategy for clearing table and floor. The workspace was getting more and more crowded, too. It didn't help to have this spanner thrown into the works, a bit of reciprocity with my son doing some small tasks -

... one of the dreaded Brown Drawers, which contain my pre-digital collections of magazine cuttings, dating back to 1992 and perhaps earlier ... things I liked the look of then and still find interesting. Pieces of paper are very flat and you can fit hundreds if not thousands into a stack of repurposed kitchen drawers. They need to go, and I've made a small start. But the drawer is back in place ... in a place that's needed for something else. (One day soon it will be done...)

So I resolved to start at the left of the table and work around the room. A simple strategy. A little at a time. Set the timer for 15 minutes ... you can do anything for 15 minutes. 

This morning the table under the window was completely clear, and received a good sanding, ready for a lick of paint. I also took the opportunity to clean the window, a job previously impossible because of the many spools of thread and other tiny items arranged in front of it -

Then came another spanner in the works, a domestic problem requiring a search through my pads and sheets and shelves of paper for some Japanese mending tissue (found it!) -

...leaving the papers in a sorry state. Much sorting is needed. Drawing paper is "too good to throw away" if the other side can still be used (but will I use it??) - it can be returned to the shelves, which are wide and deep. To store the pads, it would make sense to clear a space in one of the overhead cupboards ... which means something else will need either a new home or a Decision To Discard.

So much muddle!

One step at a time...

Thanks for the comments on my previous post. Encouragement is a good motivator! Something that's been triggered is whether this is happening because I'm between projects ... or have nothing to go on to; is it displacement activity, something to fill a void?  Also it may be that this is just the first round of elimination: knowing what you have no further use for is a very grey area! True, there are some projects you never go back to - "one door closes so another can open". Carpet tiles are a great idea, once the floor is visible again. I'm sure it will all be worth it, and all that's needed is a bit of ruthlessness and a lot of resolve.