Energy (Clutter) and Home #3
Home #3
©2008
10.5" x 8"
Purchase Here
Organization and Energy
When people ask me about having a lot of energy, one of the common threads is to ask how I have the energy to stay so organized with everything I do. I think the answer is that because I stay organized, I have energy for other things.
I find that clutter is a huge energy drain. Be it clutter in my mind or the more concrete piles of junk all over the house. If I let things get into too much disarray, all of my energy is spent thinking about what I have to do or hunting for stuff I can’t find and there is little energy left for doing anything. Staying organized frees up a ton of energy for other projects.
Mental Clutter
When my mind is full of unresolved issues with people or events or projects I tend to be low on energy. Or maybe more accurately, all of my energy ends up going towards ruminating about these situations.
Yesterday when I got home from work I ended up doing very little. Watched old episodes of The Office online. I never watch TV and I had 5 hours that could have been spent on studio time but something was off.
When I find myself stalled like I was last night I don’t beat myself, instead I look around and try to figure out what is draining my energy. I made a list of the things that were nagging at me and will spend today cleaning up those lose ends so I can get back to focusing my energy on making art, not worrying about stuff.
Getting the jumble out of my head and down onto paper, including my thoughts on how I feel about some of these things, is a huge help in plugging up the energy drain. Just recognizing all of the things that are pulling me into different directions is very freeing. Now I can prioritize the list and deal with the issues in a sane manner, instead of freaking out and shutting down.
Physical Organization
It’s not just my brain that need to stay organized for me to think clearly and have the energy to get things done. I also work better in an organized environment.
I’m a big believer in "a place for everything and everything in it’s place". When I don’t have that my things end up in random spots and I spend too much time looking for them, which is a complete waste of energy.
Just because I know a piece of paper is in a huge pile doesn’t mean it’s a good use of my time to dig through that pile every time I need it. Getting and staying organized is a way better use of my energy, so when I need something it is easily found. No distractions about clutter need enter my head when I’m in search of papers. I was able to pull together all the documents I needed for my construction loan in about 10 minutes because my files are so organized.
I had to buy an new quick release thing to attach my camera to my tripod as the old one disappeared. In my old house that thing had a home, if it wasn’t on my camera it was in it’s home. It had no home in this house so it apparently felt neglected and went on vacation. I spent over a month hunting for that thing, worring about taking pictures without and in general letting it annoy me. All of which was a huge waste of energy. The new one just arrived and first thing I did was decide where it will live in my house during the remodel. Energy drain plugged by a bit of organization.
This might sound like a silly example, but when a huge number of silly little things like lost quick release plates pile up together, I end up with a life that is only about distraction, not about making progress.
Home #3
These thoughts about clutter and organization tie in nicely with my thoughts about what makes a home. One thing I ask myself is why I crave so much space in a house. Why is my 900 sq ft house so in need of being made bigger for me to live here?
One of the answers I came to is that in 900 sq ft it is really really hard to be organized and uncluttered. There is simply not enough space to put things. Or to be more precise, given the things I own, there is not enough space to get organized. If I were told I had to live in 900 sq ft I could do it. But I would get rid of a lot more stuff. A huge roll top desk is not something that fits into a house of this size.
Fortunately I do not have to live in 900 sq ft and it turns out with the addition my house will be closer to 2300 sq ft. I’m pretty excited about that as I love big clear open spaces with minimal stuff. So while the frugal, virtous part of me feels like a big american pig for wanting such a big house, the efficient, productive artist in me is excited that in a few months I’ll be able to get really organized again and hence have more energy for making art. My energy is not best spent riffling through a cabinet crammed full of pots and pans to find the right one.
I’m ignoring the voices in my head that tell me there is some virtue in living small. I’m listening to the voices that say there is virtue in living large and honoring my desire for space for making art.
I completed Home #3 this morning and find it interesting how this piece of art, which I subtitle in my head Big House, Little House, and this posting came together at the same time. Rather serendipitous. And it’s the first photo I’ve taken in about 2 months with my tripod. Woohoo.
Posted by Lisa in: Being an Artist
Tagged: Art for Sale, distractions, energy, energy drain, Organization, remodel, size, space, todo lists
You have just explained exactly why I crave organization and why I’m grumpy when stuff is messy! Next time someone asks me why I NEED to have things organized I will direct them here ;-)
More importantly, I LOVE the colors in Home #3. I’ve also been playing around with chartreuse and gray/light blue!
Candy
Thanks Candy – I have that same feeling – that almost being a craving for organization!
Yikes – the colors of this piece are light blue and yellow. It looked good at home so I came to work to look on my monitor here – and yes – still blue and yellow. Not perfect colors but I’m having a challenge with adjusting colors on my very very bright laptop screen. On my “really want to get” list is a nice monitor that I can dock my laptop into so I don’t have to do color correction on the laptop. Someday!
No matter the size of space, it’s always imperative that it work hard.
Regardless, being a person with a home-based biz, it’s funny how people react when we talk about expanding our house: Most of it’s studio/workshop that just happens to include a kitchen, bathrooms, & a few bedrooms.
For now, it’s a matter of getting that woodshop cleaned & reorged so that I can work in there, too.
Great post, Lisa. I have to make lists. Call it a brain dump or a brain drain or whatever but if those nitsy things don’t get put onto paper, I’ll either forget something or my head will explode. (Well, maybe not that bad, but you know what I mean.) I’ve found that if my studio is getting messy I have to clean it because it drains away the muse. I have a bad habit of just dumping things here or there in the studio. (There are advantages and disadvantages to lots of table space…) I think I need to set an intention to rework my studio organization as it comes in fits and starts.
What works for you in terms of organizing (e.g. file systems, storage devices, etc.)?
-Amy
Yes, I see light blue too. The Yellow you’re working with is what I’m calling chartreuse, but most other folk would still call a relative of yellow, so I think your colors are coming across on the computer screen pretty consistently. To me, the dark yellow of the bottom right house is this lovely deep, intense yellow with undertones of black in it. It’s so hard to dye variety/texture/depth in yellow, it’s something I’ve been working on lately.
Candy
Love your comment about how the “frugal, virtuous” part of you feels like an american pig for wanting a bigger house. I totally identify with that!! We just moved into a 3 bedroom house, and I am constantly guilty for feeling like it’s too small for our little family of three. I just don’t have anywhere to put anything, and it doesn’t help that we both work from home. I’m not the type that does a ton of shopping or buys a lot of “stuff”, but my frames and painting stuff fill an entire room, and Nate’s office is another. I think 2300 sq. ft. sounds just about right!
When will the remodel be done? Exciting stuff!
You are so completely right about getting and staying organized. It’s been a huge struggle for me and it shows in my energy level as well as in my ability to actually create.Finding, storing,keeping pitching.!?!?..it’s so easy to become overwhelmed and just zone out and watch TV.And the distraction from the constant and various to-do’s in your head! This is great insight and what I’ve been needing to hear for quite a while..awesome advice …..very helpful…thanks again!! Looking forward to seeing your construction progress
too.
Thank you for the posts on energy levels and being distracted by ‘concerns’ and disorganisation. I find list making, prioritising and organisation make a huge difference for me in achieving anything as I do have low energy levels (health issues) and have to husband the time and energy reserves I do have. I’ve slipped up of late but with warm weather coming our way in Oz and your ‘push’ I have been inspired to get my lists done and time organised. Thanks for that.
Shirley
Hm – I wrote a response to some of this and it got lost…
Amy – I’ll try to write about how I organize in some future posts.
Candy – glad the color isn’t that off. I know the yellow you are talking about – I love that color and try to mix my dyes to create it very often – I don’t always succeed.
Everyone – thank you for your comments!