Decluttering for Creativity

The Karen Kingston book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, showed up on hold at the library just as I was finishing the third draft of my novel. Perfect timing. With that draft behind me, I was ready to clear the decks, and Kingston's book has taken me to a whole new level of purging stuff.

I've always been good at getting rid of things that are broken or no longer usable, clothes that are old or don't fit, duplicate stuff. But I hold on to perfectly good things that we're not using, just in case we might need them some day, or because we haven't gotten our money's worth from them yet. Kingston challenged me to let go of these perfectly good things, using these reasons:

1. Instead of leaving something in a closet to go to waste, release it so that someone else can use it.

Ten years ago, I bought a squash racquet. I used it for a few years, and then never touched it again. It's a pretty safe bet that I won't be playing squash in the near future. And if I ever decide to take it up again, I can get another racquet. So I sold it at the sports consignment shop. Now maybe it'll see the inside of a squash court again!

I also filled three bags with a sizable portion of my yarn stash, full skeins as well as leftovers from previous projects. I'll never knit all that, who am I kidding? I only kept the yarn that I love. I found three women on the Full Circle Yahoo group who were thrilled to take away my yarn.

(By the way, I also gave away our old camping stove and cordless phone using Full Circle. It's so neat to actually see the people who'll be using your stuff, rather than dropping it off anonymously at the Salvation Army. It doesn't take much effort, just a quick post to the Yahoo Group, and an email or two to arrange pick-up.)

2. Let go of things that make you feel bad when you look at them, even if they're perfectly good.

After seven years, I finally sold the ice skates that were too small for me. I got frustrated and cranky whenever I used them, because my feet hurt and I was mad that the salesperson sold me expensive skates that didn't fit. Yeah, now I'll have to buy new skates. But maybe I'll actually enjoy skating again! And maybe those old skates will go to someone who will be happy to wear them.

3. Keeping things from your past can keep YOU in the past.

I'm getting rid of even more books. If I haven't read them by now, I doubt I ever will. And if I DO want to read them, I can get them from the library. I love getting books from the library: they feel current and valuable and transient. They show up serendipitously, weeks or months after I put them on hold. They come in and out of my life at just the right time. And they don't permanently clog my bookshelves.

I'm also letting go of the black lace jacket I wore at the launch of my first book. I loved it at the time, but I've only worn it once or twice in eight years since. I have photos of myself in that jacket, and wonderful memories. But I don't need the article hanging in my closet to keep those memories. I don't like to wear black so much anymore. I want to wear clothes that are sexier and more colourful.

4. Holding on to something "in case I need it someday" shows a lack of trust in abundance. Instead of hoarding, I can let go and trust that if I need something, I'll acquire it again somehow.

I was so amazed at how everything we needed to care for a child somehow showed up within the space of two months, most of it given to us for free. And I can't think of a single thing that I've regretted letting go after the fact. (Just the opposite, actually: I've remembered stuff I used to have and thought, thank goodness I got rid of it and don't have to deal with it anymore.)

5. Unfinished projects suck up creative energy.

We have a fairly small house and minimal storage space, so even when the closet doors are closed, I know there's a pile of quilt blocks, some fabric and a skirt pattern, unframed art, and boxes of unorganized photos hanging around. These projects are open loops that tug at my subconscious and discourage me from working on priority goals like my novel ("What's the point? I can never seem to finish anything.")

So I framed my favourite quilt block from the class I took five years ago, and sent the remaining blocks to a quiltmaker for sashing and binding. I'm going to find a seamstress to make that skirt (seeing as I no longer have a sewing machine!). I pinned some art to the bulletin board over my desk, and bought a scanner so I can bring some order to the paper in our filing cabinets.

It's amazing how this cycle of decluttering feeds itself. The more stuff I ship out, the more energy I have to keep cleaning and organizing. When my space is clearer, my mind is clearer too.

Random decluttering links

POSSESSED: A superb documentary about four people whose hoarding goes to extremes.

How to Find Peace Living With a Packrat at Zen Habits (for those of us whose partners are less inspired to declutter)

Clutter-Busting Game: I'm Moving Overseas! at Unclutterer

Let Me Fall

Yes, I am a sucker for Josh Groban, and this song almost always makes me cry, especially when I'm watching the gorgeous acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil. What I wouldn't give to be able to soar and fall through the air like that. (I love the feeling of flying, and I harbour secret dreams of paragliding off a mountain someday.)

I've listened to this song a lot in the last few weeks. In many parts of my life, I feel like I'm on the edge of a precipice, trying to decide whether to take the leap. Certainly, having my novel so close to completion makes me ask these questions. Am I leaping off the right cliff? Do I have the nerve? Am I alone or do I have support? Will I survive? Will everything be okay?

Someone I am is waiting for my courage
The one I want, the one I will become will catch me ...

Those are my favourite lines, because they remind me that even when I'm alone, I'm never alone. I am accompanied by my future self, my higher self, by all my potential and the best things in me.