Artax's Blog: The Road Goes Ever On and On

[messymimi]

from someone who suffered from infertility for several years.

messymimi

[lizzie]

Hi Artax, how are things with you? What are you up to now? Regards, Lizzie

[grasshopper]

I am getting good tips from your account of desqualoring. I can relate to so much. The garage, the basement, the oven-these challenges are in front of me. Right now I am struggling with visible areas.

Also, you are funny and make me smile.

When you come back you should know that you have been helping people even in your absence. Thanks. I hope you are well.

[artax]

5-18-2013


Eeeek, it's been over a year since I've been on here. How'd that happen?

Sincerest apologies to those who wrote me without response -- I'm connected to the site via an email account that I rarely use for business (too embarrassed to use the address associated with my usual online identity) and so the messages got lost in the junk mail that was filling up the inbox. You see? Even my digital life struggles under clutter!

After the massive clean-out of 2012, things were going so astoundingly well that it took, oh, about five months for me to get back into my bad habits. Then things began to slip and now I'm back into I-can't-stand-it-I-need-to-do-something-now mode.

The good news? Quite a bit has been maintained, especially in the main level of the house. I've also been winning (at times) the overwhelming battle of the kitchen.

The bad news? The basement has re-accumulated even MORE stuff I couldn't mentally deal with, and my bedroom looks like it was ransacked by myopic burglars. Also the guest bedroom seems to now resemble a derelict art gallery, as at some point I decided to store some canvases and frames in there...and then a few more...and then a few more..until it's difficult to walk around. Ugh!

So if it's not back to square one, it's definitely back to square two or three.

Ah, well. I'm just happy to be riding the de-cluttering wave again. Stay tuned...

[Hurricane]

Artax!!! Good to see you back my friend!!! No problem with the "slippage"....it pretty much happens to everyone sooner or later. Just get bake on your horsey (that is, the horse Artax) and hit it again. Happy decluttering my dear. I haven't seen Sunshine (our Aussie friend from when you were here last) for almost as long as I hadn't seen you. It is good to have you back in the fold working along side of us.

[PaperGrace]

May 18, 2013 23:04:36 GMT -5 artax said:

The good news? Quite a bit has been maintained, especially in the main level of the house. I've also been winning (at times) the overwhelming battle of the kitchen.

Great job keeping up with some of it!



Welcome back! I'm sorry to hear that you're back from backsliding, but happy to have you around again!

[artax]

Thanks for the warm re-welcome, Hurricane and PaperGrace. ((hug))

5/19/13

Am currently going though several heaps of laundry. Once again, I find myself wondering why I feel compelled to have enough clothing to last two people the next thirty years.

An admission: Does anyone else get these occasional fantasies where a small comet has hit the earth, or the sun has released an electromagnetic pulse that has sent civilization back to the Dark Ages, and all of your neighbors are relieved that SOMEONE has had the foresight to save all the things that would normally be regarded as clutter?


Neighbor One: "It's a good thing she saved all those plastic Ziplocs, because the hospital's completely run out of IV bags..."

Neighbor Two: "Ooooh, all the copies of National Geographic since 1986! Now that the Internet and all the libraries are gone, we'll at least be able to make maps of the known world again..."

Neighbor Three: "Wow, all those heirloom seed packets she meticulously alphabetized, year after year, and never threw out if they had the remotest chance of being viable. Sure they're a decade old, but some will surely germinate, and in a few seasons we can feed ourselves on more than just MREs and SPAM."


And you all end up building a tightly knit yet loosely democratic commune that runs on all the lightbulbs, wire, spare parts and AA batteries you've squirreled away?

No?

Maybe it's just me, then...

[artax]

5/20/13

Have been doing all sorts of random cleaning today; mostly small do-able items that I've been meaning to take care for weeks/months but felt unable to for some reason. It feels good to break through the "inaction barrier", even if there's so much more to do.


Side Note Regarding Getting Going:

I've found that when I'm really lacking motivation, it's sometimes helpful to spend a few minutes looking over inspiring decor on sites like Pinterest, etc., so I can imagine what I could do with my home once it's de-cluttered.

Also, listening to organizing podcasts whilst working can be motivational, as well. One of my favorites is "Taking Control" with Nikki Kinzer and Pete Wright: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/taking-control-organizing/id368426151 I used to listen to Flylady's podcast, but over time it felt that there was more sociable chatting and less useful info on the actual decluttering process. I'm still grateful for her website, however, as it keyed me into the idea of starting small and keeping routines.

Another invaluable help has been Organizing From the Inside Out, by Julie Morgenstern. I've read quite a few organizing books, but for whatever reason her methodologies seem to click with my scattered-yet-analytical mind more than most.


Okay. Off for another round of de-cluttering...

[Celeste]

May 19, 2013 17:49:48 GMT -5 artax said:

Thanks for the warm re-welcome, Hurricane and PaperGrace. ((hug))

5/19/13

Am currently going though several heaps of laundry. Once again, I find myself wondering why I feel compelled to have enough clothing to last two people the next thirty years.

An admission: Does anyone else get these occasional fantasies where a small comet has hit the earth, or the sun has released an electromagnetic pulse that has sent civilization back to the Dark Ages, and all of your neighbors are relieved that SOMEONE has had the foresight to save all the things that would normally be regarded as clutter?


Neighbor One: "It's a good thing she saved all those plastic Ziplocs, because the hospital's completely run out of IV bags..."

Neighbor Two: "Ooooh, all the copies of National Geographic since 1986! Now that the Internet and all the libraries are gone, we'll at least be able to make maps of the known world again..."

Neighbor Three: "Wow, all those heirloom seed packets she meticulously alphabetized, year after year, and never threw out if they had the remotest chance of being viable. Sure they're a decade old, but some will surely germinate, and in a few seasons we can feed ourselves on more than just MREs and SPAM."


And you all end up building a tightly knit yet loosely democratic commune that runs on all the lightbulbs, wire, spare parts and AA batteries you've squirreled away?

No?

Maybe it's just me, then...

It isn't just you, artax.  I think disorganizeddragon has also written very similar scenarios as well.  Dad has been saving flower pots since the year dot in case an atomic blast did away with all pots.  My grandmother cornered the market on empty tea bag envelopes. She had boxes and boxes of them just in case someone decided they had to have one.  (I wonder which relative inherited THAT collection?)  Me?  I was working on an impressive supply of accordion check files.  All that effort was wasted now that everything has gone electronic.  Ah well. 

May 20, 2013 15:48:52 GMT -5 artax said:

Another invaluable help has been Organizing From the Inside Out, by Julie Morgenstern. I've read quite a few organizing books, but for whatever reason her methodologies seem to click with my scattered-yet-analytical mind more than most.

I also got a lot from Julie Morgenstern's methods. Did you know that her old forum is where Kimmy, Pigpen, AH, and I (etc) met? Met a lot of nice people there. Some of them are still with us.

[artax]

Thanks for your thoughts, Celeste. I was being a bit tongue-in-cheek with my "maybe it's just me, then" comment, but as many of us know, it's so easy to feel like we're the only ones that think a certain way...

5/21/13

Tuesday is Grocery Day, and I somehow still bought a bit more than I'd planned.

Disasters in the news really do a number on my ever-active imagination, so it's very hard to overcome the urge to stock up on bottled water, first aid supplies and canned goods. Of course this stems from a connection I made somewhere in childhood that "having the right items = mitigated threats", but even having insight into why I emergency stockpile doesn't always make the feeling go away. Even now I find myself wanting to rummage around until I know exactly where my shortwave radio and flashlights are. *sigh*

On the cleaning front: Yesterday I was able to empty out and organize the entire kitchen pantry and the depressing area around the bathroom sink. Happily, the pantry wasn't as daunting as it was a year ago, as there weren't any out-of-date canned goods or potatoes or onions sending pale shoots into the dark recesses.


Okay. Time to tidy up the remaining bags on the kitchen counters, as I just realized that I've put away the veggies and other fridge items, but forgot the dry goods entirely. Doh!




Thanks for following my determined attempt to keep going,

--A

[artax]

5/22/13


Actually found enough courage to start de-cluttering the studio, which has become so jumbled that I can no longer blame it on "creativity". Yes, there are many artists whose work spaces thrive on sheer chaos, (Francis Bacon comes to mind: www.francis-bacon.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/1963.14smaller.jpg) but when I spend an hour looking for a particular paintbrush only to find it ruined or when I step on and crush an expensive frame because it was under an archaeological strata of unopened letters, I realize that I no longer feel creative -- I feel exasperated.


So I pried opened the windows, put on some music, and had a rather productive session. I did catch myself doing the maddening thing of moving certain objects around the room about 3-4 times because I'd no idea what to do with them, but I tried not to beat myself up too much about it. Also, if I stare and stare and stare at a bookshelf, it's not because I'm catatonic but simply because I'm really trying to put things in their OPTIMUM ergonomic position instead of just wherever they'll fit without toppling over. And this can take a lot of brain energy, because I'm actually visualizing all the possible placement permutations. <-- Alliteration alert. Ack.


Well, it's past my bedtime. Hopefully I'll be able to find a few spare hours tomorrow, as I'm a little nervous about having moved so much around. It looks worse than it did before I started, but I know from experience that if I keep plugging away and actually remove some things, it'll get better, bit by determined bit.


--A

[artax]

5/24/13


It's a full moon out tonight. Or as my technically-minded husband might point out, it's waxing gibbous at 99% full.

Either way, the moonlight is so incredibly and ridiculously bright that I'm having trouble falling asleep. Not to be deterred, I've been taking advantage of my inner werewolf and have cleared out a respectable amount of studio clutter.

Aaaawooooooooo.......

[lucie]

Hello, Artax, you have made a great progress! Keep on going.
I can see that being a werewolf can be very usefull sometimes

I also like Julie Morgenstern's book - she used to be a hoarder too, so she know what she is talking about.

Regarding saving things in case of a disaster - it may seem harsh, but seeing what happened in Oklahoma recently, I do not think it would help much - more things that can injure you. A good clean basement was more usefull. And in case of floods (remember New Orleans few years back) - so many things that were ruined anyway and had to be cleared out later.

Here is some energy to keep you going when the moon wanes again.

[messymimi]

Artax, i like the way you think, write, and work!

The tendency to store up emough for the UN to host a convention on the lawn and be able to feed them all is in many of us. What i have to keep reminding myself is that, if all of society does collapse and i can never again get these things, having them stored up for looters will not keep me alive much longer, what i really need in that case is a place in the country with my own ability to live without contact with anyone else at all until things settle down. Since that's not going to happen right now (either the total collapse or me having the money to procure such a set-up), i don't need to have that much stored. After all, i can still go to the store and get more, and that way, they are storing it for me!

Good luck on the remainder of that studio.

messymimi

[artax]

Thanks for your kind words, Lucie and Mimi.

5/27/13

Still digging the studio out.

It seems so painfully slow, but I am making sure this time to pay keen attention to the overall functionality of the space, eliminating whole categories of items I'd been storing "just in case" instead of just cramming everything into wherever it fit.

Over the past several days, I've successfully removed and/or boxed up the following:

*at least five large bags full of trash
*six bags of recyclables, mostly paper
*a whole shelf and a half of books I'd accumulated as research for a novel I'd been meaning to write for 20 years -- but never did.
*boxes of cancelled checks from 1997-1998
*lots and lots and lots of artwork that I wasn't happy with
*a dusty collection of glass bottles blocking the entire west windowsill (allowed myself to keep seven)
*several fat binders of notes from past conferences
*a broken pair of sunglasses I'd convinced myself I could somehow repair
*a slightly bent erasure shield
*an evaporated bottle of dish detergent (who knew it could dry up into a solid?)
*two broken work lamps

However I am still having great difficulty parting with:

*art magazines with "useful articles"
*an excessive amount of stationery, envelopes and thank-you notecards
*letters and cards from friends
*business cards from people I've met
*reference/research materials from past projects
*aging-yet-useable art materials like worn brushes, half-dried pens or yellowing sketch pads
*old cameras (I have at least seven, two of which are completely broken)
*outdated travel books
*outdated language books
*boxes of cassette/VHS tapes
*broken or overly distressed frames
*ethnic and/or historical costumes, hats and props crammed in the closet, along with boxes full of beads, feathers, rocks, shells, pine cones, dried leaves, sea glass, bottle-caps, coins, postcards, buttons, corks, and other items I've deemed interesting enough to collect.


It's sooooooo hard, making these decisions, over and over, hour after hour. In an alternate universe, I'd somehow be able to incorporate every single bit of ephemera into a multimedia project, and would have time to scan/archive every important magazine article or send every friend a hand-painted card filled with calligraphic encouragement.

But the truth of the matter is that I can't currently do ANY of these things. I've accumulated so much stuff, that it's hard enough to use the space to do what I'm paid to do -- much less all the extra activities I daydream about doing "someday".

I feel like I've generated some form of super-strong static electricity that's attracted all these items to me, and I'm walking around, scuffing my feet in the dark, in search of a metal doorknob so that ZAP! Everything can fall away and I'll be free...