Cleaning for Creativity

It’s a gray day here in the Northern Virginia area, and honestly, it’s okay with me because I am feeling a little gray on the inside. I’ve been a creative person for as long as I can remember, and have always loved channeling that energy in my craft space. But, in the last week or so, I just haven’t felt the spark. I have felt a little stagnant. Not that I can’t create, just not feeling especially motivated to do so. It almost feels like my space is closing in on me a bit, looking too familiar, too filled, too overflowing. And that feeling was not just in my craft room, but in the rest of my house.

Creating is my job, so it can be really difficult for me to take a break from it. The way being a content creator works is that if you are not producing new content on a regular basis, you simply don’t get income. But, the trouble is, creativity does not always come on demand! Despite all of that though, I have been taking time away from creating in search of a new “spark” of sorts. My go-to inspiration has always been to clean and reorganize my craft space, but I will be honest, my craft space is pretty well optimized and orderly! I spent some time reflecting on how I could create a little more space for my mind to be open to creativity again, and then I think I stumbled on the solution.

I am a busy mother, wife, volunteer, and small business owner, and my time is filled to the brim with all those things. As a result, my house is also filled to the brim with all those things. When you walk into my house, you aren’t necessarily overwhelmed by “stuff”, but open any cabinet or drawer and you will see what I am talking about. After COVID, the sudden shift back to our busy lives really created some organization problems throughout our house. I brushed it off by telling myself it was fine and that most families function this way. And, it is true, it was fine and a lot of families function just fine with an overflowing house. I know myself though. I had to be honest and realize that my cluttered house was also taking up space in my brain.

I am someone that is most definitely Type-A. I do not unwind easily. I like a to-do list, and I don’t really give myself permission to relax if that to-do list is left undone. I am definitely working on giving myself more grace and making time for rest, but that is an evolving process! In order to clear up space in my head for creativity to flourish, I knew I needed to clear up space in my house…not just in my craft room. I began in my daughter’s room, directly across from my creative space. She is at the age where she wants to keep all the things. Filled with soccer gear, lego, art projects, and stuffed animals, it stressed me out to just walk by her room. I started helping her go through her things, choose what she really loves, and install a few systems that will help her enjoy her space more.

Next up was the twins room. When you are fitting two 8 year old boys in one room, it gets very crowded fast. I quickly realized that I had never finished changing out their last round of clothes as they were growing out of them. Their interests have also grown a lot in the past year, so I needed to help them move out old “babyish” items and make room for a growing book collection and more complicated lego sets. I now love walking by their room and peeking in to see just how functional it is. I can tell they love it too, because I have not had to prompt them to make their beds at all since I cleaned out their room. They are loving their space and wanting to keep it nice!

The cleaning project has grown from there. I’ve done the primary bedroom and both upstairs baths. I’ve moved to the kitchen and front hallway closet, and will slowly work my way to the basement. I am saving the basement for last because as I clean it out and organize it, I will also be prepping it to be turned into a brand new creative space for myself. So far, I’ve donated 12 trash bags full of items to a local charity and have probably thrown out 12 bags of trash that had just accumulated around the house. I’ve invested in a few bins and baskets that really fit the spaces properly and function well for my families needs. It certainly isn’t transforming overnight, but I can start to see the light at the end of this cleaning/organizing tunnel.

All of this to say that cleaning out and organizing my entire house is starting to help me breathe a little easier. My mind is loosening up a bit, and I feel like I can better focus on tasks at hand. I still haven’t quite recaptured the creative spark, but I know it will come. I can feel it getting closer as my brain now has more room to relax and my family has more room to function. There are all kinds of ways to work through a creative slump. Some are quick solutions and others take a bit more time. Give yourself some time to reflect and try to find your way out of the slump. Give yourself a little grace and a lot of love. And if it takes reorganizing your house to free up a little mental space, well I am right there with you!

Keep it creative,

The Scrappy Wife