The corner of my workbench is just round the corner from the living room, so anything that's lying around in "the tidy room" is likely to get dumped in "the messy room" --
Not a pretty sight - and having slalomed past the bags of things waiting to go to the charity shop on one side, and the wedged-half-shut door and overflowing scrapbag on the other, would you feel you could produce anything serene here, even without seeing the strata of unfinished projects on the bed, and the fabric spilling out from under it?All that stuff lying around can make a person feel overwhelmed - it all cries out "use ME first!" If you're wanting to start something new, it doesn't let you think ... if you've got deadlines, it doesn't let you work on just one thing at a time. It drains you. It needs to be out of sight.
In my heart of hearts I know the "answer" isn't to have a bigger room or more cupboards, but to have less STUFF. But how many of us find it a struggle to let go of that stuff - the fabric, the art supplies, the old magazines? "That might be useful one day" and "oh that's too good to throw away" or even "if only I could find someone to give it to, who'd make good use of it" -- !
Beyond the workbench there is a cupboard that rarely gets opened. This seems to indicate that the things in it aren't being used. Looking at them through the dispassionate eye of the camera indicates that a consideration of what belongs where is overdue.
It's been instructive to take these photos and look at them, rather than at the reality they depict. I can see a way forward, and even estimate how long it will take to sort things, rather than feeling overwhelmed by impossibility.
This room is ripe for WSCW! I can organise stuff, put it in boxes, cupboards etc. and enjoy the process. But when it comes to returning used stuff to those very places I'm a lost cause!
ReplyDeleteBut a bet you've got a very tidy living room!
WSCW = World Studio Cleanup Week?? Yes, the world needs a designated week for clearing up studios!
ReplyDeleteI've found that labelling things - the boxes where certain kinds of stuff lives - is a big, big help in returning things to where they "should" be. Surely that works on some deep psychological level.
My living room is superficially tidy - I have a hidden but accessible place where all the heaps can be swept into. It's known as the compost heap!
Know exactly what you mean Margaret as I am - faced by the prospect of downsizing/moving in the next year - trying to declutter - lots of freecycling, recycling and ditching going on. And the studio has become a priority as I now have scarcely any clear space to move/work in. And I too have a tidy living-rooom but only because I've retired and I procrastinate by doing chores before facing all the artwork etc I promised myself I'd do once I retired!
ReplyDeleteBring in the WSCW! I too find that labelling is useful; and clear storage boxes. I force feed my guests with 'Roche Ferrer' chocolates (I don't like them myself any more), those ones that comes in little clear boxes, very useful for smaller stuff. I have only just learned that I should keep the goldpaper as well - more stuff.......... Perhaps I should keep one of those boxes for the goldpapers, hmmm.
ReplyDeleteHey Margaret,
ReplyDeleteIf you get a bigger room and/or bigger closet, you will just collect more stuff!
I just finished sorting through my quilting books and managed to sell a great bunch of books I was sure I would never use again. With the money I earned I bought one of those nifty little camera's I had been lusting about for a long time, to have in my purse and be able to take pictures of all things that I see on the way and look interesting to me.