Creativity In All Its Forms

I believe that women, in general, are pretty good at multi-tasking. 

I'm not quite as good at it as some.  It seems I can handle several small things at once (I am, after all, a mom), but big projects?  One at a time, please.

I finally sent my skit to be edited and I guess my brain decided it needed to take a break.  So in place of creatively writing, I've been creatively decluttering.

I don't like a lot of "stuff".  Clutter stresses me out.  I'm not a collector.  My preferred style of decorating is minimalist.  Of course, I'm married to a pack rat, so our house is a happy medium.  

However, one thing I do seem to collect is information.  I am a pack rat of paper.  So this week I've done a complete 180 from writing.  Rather than create more papers I am flinging paper.  Flylady would be proud.  I even came prepared with a new box of band-aids on hand for the inevitable paper cuts. 

There are several places in my kitchen and office that have become repositories for paper clutter.  I want my info close at hand, but then I can't find what I need in the piles, if I remember I have it in the first place.  Those places are now either gone or severely edited.  Anything I want to save I'm placing in a bin until I get my filing cabinet drawer "flung through" (hopefully next week).  

This newly decluttered drawer will be a haven for ideas and other information I find interesting and worth saving.  It will be organized.  Even if I only have one piece of paper per folder, that paper will have a home in that folder.  Hmmmm.  I may need to purchase another box of file folders.  Or two.  Better add that to my shopping list.

You may remember a few weeks back when I posted a picture of my "office space."  Here is the before and after:

It feels amazing to have the clutter thrown out, or at least put in temporary housing in the basement while its mansion is being built.   I can't wait for next week to tackle that file drawer!  

Some may ask why I didn't start with the file drawer and have it ready before sorting the office and kitchen papers.  The answer is that I know myself, and if I can accomplish a few smaller tasks and get them out of the way I am more motivated to tackle the bigger task.  Starting with the big task can seem too overwhelming.

 I guess I'm proof of the old saying, "You can do it all, you just can't do it all at once."  

Maybe that makes me a Minimal Multi-tasker...?

2 things

This will be quick, as I only have a moment before laundry/Nathan/farming/lunch chaos begins:

I have wondered for a looooonnnnngggg time about the words at the end of some of the blogs I follow.  They are like little guidance words for your posts, like if I write about kayaking, at the bottom it would say "kayaking" and then anyone could click on that to find what else I've written about kayaking.

Finally figured it out (it's good to ASK for help) and updated my past blogs with this Labels feature.  I know.  Sometimes I amaze even myself with my sheer lack of tech savvy.  It may slow me down, but it's not stopping me!

Secondly, and completely unrelated in any way, I am now okay with giving away my maternity clothes and Nathan's baby clothes.  What is it about telling others of your concerns and troubles that frees you from them?  I am learning more and more about the power of the spoken word every day.  Hope to post more on that at a later date...

Be blessed today!  :)

Holding On

Flylady.net has been, and continues to be, a huge help to me.  This wonderful lady and her team are revolutionizing my life by helping me declutter and organize.  My basement looks better than it has since we moved into this house 9 years ago, and my cabinets and closets, papers and piles, are slowly but surely coming into line.  Babysteps rule!

I have pitched and/or given away literally dozens of large trash bags full of stuff.  If I don't use it, need it or love it, it's gone.  Outta here.  Later, gator.  Several local organizations are benefiting from this process, and I am overjoyed to bless others with these items. 


However, there are a few things I am struggling with getting rid of.   I'm having a real hard time parting with my maternity clothes.  And Nathan's baby clothes.  I know for certain that neither of us will use them again, but I can't bring myself to let them go. I've happily loaned them out to others, but there's just something about the permanence of giving them away that so far has made me hesitate.


I do know that I will get there, that one day (hopefully) soon I WILL HAVE HAD IT and I will quickly grab them and take them to our local crisis pregnancy center...just not yet. 

I'm saddened that this seems so difficult for me.  I understand about emotional attachement and what not and I know I will be okay with it eventually, but it makes me wonder...


What other things in my life do not work for me, do I no longer need, and do I not love, that I still stubbornly refuse to throw away?  What habits, attitudes, agreements am I harboring like fugitives in the basement of my spirit?  


Who'd a thunk that decluttering the basement would have such an impact on the clutter in my soul?