We’re in the process of sorting ourselves out for some home renovation. Clearly there’s decluttering involved. And some decluttering creativity as well. Because of, or maybe for creativity. Or something.

Decluttering

Decluttering, for those who don’t know, is the process of removing items. Generally in the hope that the room or place that’s being decluttered will be more useful or pleasant. Or both.

The term doesn’t require the item to be placed in a garbage receptable, though it’s possible that’s the best place for it.

Removing the item is sufficient. Though I expect if you don’t make provision for the item, you’ll need to declutter it several more times until it finds a new home.

Either in your home, or external to it. Via a garage sale or charity shop.

Delayed Decisions

A lot of clutter is the physical manifestation of delayed decisions:

• What should I do about this item or service?
• Why do I even need to keep it?
• Where should I put this it?
• For how long?
• When it is likely to be needed?
• I hate this ugly vase Great Auntie Katie gave me, but she’ll know if I get rid of it and I don’t want to upset her.

So, every time you avert your eyes from your cluttered table or desk, you’re trying not to see all those decisions stacked up on there. And the main question becomes, what’s causing the delay?

Decision Fatigue

If your every day clutter represents the decisions you haven’t made, and you’re trying not to look at them (and perhpas you’re doing so well you don’t in fact see them), then why do you think you still have the mental capacity to think clearly enough to make further decisions.

Not only that, but everytime you see the “mess,” it generates congnitive dissonance by conflicting with your opinion of yourself as an organised person. Someone who makes decisions and gets things done.

Creative Decision-Making

Chances are, when you think of Creativity, you think of Art; of painting, writing, acting, dancing, and so on.

But every single one of us needs a bit of creativity. It’s a way to think outside the box (or rut) we’ve found ourselves in to find a different and perhaps better way of moving forward.

It’s the part of us that says, you know, if we just got rid of that ugly vase, we wouldn’t have to think about it again.

Decluttering for a Studio

Somehow, my post-mastectomy research led me through the rabbit hole to this YouTube video, and intrigued by the notion of decluttering space for a studio, I watched it.

In it, The Calm Nordic describes Ernest Hemingway’s reaction when his wife Pauline wanted to get a swmming pool installed.

She goes on to say, all of Hemingway’s residences played a crucial role in his creative processes – they weren’t just living spaces. Likewise, when Beatrix Potter married and moved to her husband’s farm, her house “Hill Top” was saved as a place where she could write. And presumably paint.

While your home might be your creative place, it must also exisit within the demands of your life, for which she suggests taking your creativity out of the home (e.g. a coffee shop). Not an option that serves us equally well, though she also suggests the shed, garage, or an attic.

Which reminds me of the value of thinking about your home’s purpose. When you know what its purpose is, you know what ro do about it.

Decluttering Life and Home

Decluttering is away of steamlining. Of increasing simplicity and efficiency by reducing resistance.

Regardless of whether your home is the place you practice the bulk of your creativity or not, it’s helpful to streamline your life as well as your house.

By not looking at that ugly vase (etc.), you’re not seeing the obligations and delayed decisions embodied by the vase. You can’t hide it in a cupboard, because everytime you open the door, it’s right there waiting for you. You have to bite the bullet and make a final decision on whether it stays or goes.

Decluttering not only reduces the time and effort you spend cleaning your home, but reduces the objects that might catch and hold your attention when you’re trying to increase your capacity for good decision-making.

If you don’t want to do it for other reasons, consider doing it for the sake of creativity.

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Photo of messy desk with papers by Wonderlane on Unsplash

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