A Deep Breath (#19)

One week of purging and organizing. By next weekend,
that table to the left, and the stuff above and below it,
should be cleared out. 

My basement is split into two parts: finished and unfinished. Both need organization and decluttering. Well, I spent the better part of last week focused on the one half I have come to call my office. It is where many a rushed creative session has taken place. Like for my daughter's sweet sixteen, and the eight Christmas seasons we have had in this house. In addition, this space has birthed several Nutcracker props. Mostly because my garage has no insulation and is not heated. Painting and gluing during the winter seasons requires use of the basement. Hopefully it becomes the permanent center for my writing and drawing goals.

First, I have to transform it into the proper environment. In my last post, I included an image of the mess that overran the space. A few of the boxes already had a home somewhere else--they contained Christmas decorations. I just needed to move them. Some of the stuff was scraps of paper and poster board from finished projects. They went into the trash bin. However, a good deal of items in that photo, demanded more attention. A decision had to be made: save or toss. 

I have a reputation for getting rid of clutter, even sentimental objects. In fact, the day after New Years, my daughters witnessed how ruthless I can be with decluttering. I gathered over six trash bags while ransacking my youngest's room. People will criticize the level of waste I collected, and my child may regret a few of my choices, yet, she felt better immediately. A clear, clean, organized environment fosters a healthier mind and body. And it opens up opportunities, especially to fill the space more effectively.

There comes a time when a physical mess interferes with growth and change. You can promise yourself all you want that you can upcycle those unused items languishing away in some corner of the room. Pinterest is full of possibilities for those slightly broken furniture pieces. Or, you tell yourself that all you need to do is take a few photos, post them on Facebook Marketplace, and those old toys will find a new home. Better yet, share them on free sites, and they will disappear into the arms of more productive, creative people. In the end, you convince yourself that those old drawings, slips of paper from fortune cookies, the canvas pencil case with your name on it will be just fine tucked away into a sturdy plastic box with a tight lid. 

But we all know you end up shoving it all into a torn cardboard box that you do not bother to close shut, or a cracked container with the wrong lid. Because, who has time to run out and buy some quality storage bins. Over time, you pile more receptacles of broken goals and forgotten dreams into those crowded recesses of your room. And if you find it too difficult to look at, eventually you hide them away in the basement.

Yet, a few things are worth saving, if only just long enough until your next burst of productive creativity. Afterall, creation is not consistent. It spikes, then languishes. And you never know when that collection of half-used poster board, pile of cheap fairy lights, or reams of various colored card stock that you have been holding on to since your teaching career ended eight years ago, will come in handy. In your experience, it some times does. Like two weeks leading up to Christmas, and you are stuck on how to wrap up a handmade gift for someone, thinking you will need to spend a good deal of money, or just give up. And then it hits you, somewhere in that collection of loose ends, is the perfect length of corded rope. Your project is saved.

The key is knowing what to keep, how to keep it, and when to let go of it. Well, I like to believe, after collecting and purging for a greater part of forty-five years, I now have a keener eye. I know what size of cardboard or length of wood is worth keeping. What I do not doubt, however, is my ability to organize things and place them in sturdy, well-labeled bins. That comes from my days teaching and stage managing. Hefty makes a great line of plastic containers, and Lowe's continues to restock them. Finally, I need to work on trashing stuff. It has been twenty years, and I have yet to turn that stack of oak cutoffs tucked away along the side of the garage into anything worthwhile. It may be time to clear them out.

So, I found myself, alone, last Tuesday, in the basement, overwhelmed by the sight before me. The ease at which I began my daughter's room a week before, eluded me now. The smaller scraps were easy. So, I started there. Garbage. Then there were the ribbons. Loose pieces. Long enough to make bows. And they had a labeled, plastic bin. Saved, snapped closed, and put away into the unfinished side of the basement, for another day. And that was okay, because I will use them again next year, and they are contained. 

Now I had momentum. I soon discovered more stuff that could be tossed, or had a specific bin that could hold it. Progress! Until, of course, I met an item that gave me pause. Do not ask me what it was. I cannot recall now. But I remember finally throwing it out, and feeling immediate relief. That I have forgotten the object's name and purpose is proof I made the correct decision. More importantly, it inspired me to purge more stuff. 

In the end, what you see in the photo required five days and four trash bags. I could probably have done it in two, but I had other commitments to make and daily chores to finish. Also, cleaning and organizing the basement forced me to tackle another area of my house, the garage. As I was returning some items to the garage, it occurred to me they were of no use to me. So, I tossed them. That led me to look around, and start throwing out other useless objects. I had to stop myself, noting that the basement was priority. There would be plenty of time for the garage (in fact, this upcoming week).

There is still clutter, some of which you cannot see directly in the photo. But it is now manageable, and the end is in sight. But it will have to wait until tomorrow. Today was laundry day, and I decided to tackle other chores as well. Also, the stuff remaining is mostly papers, mementos, and necessary, but uncategorized items. All these require some thinking and planning.

Once I clear off that table on the left, and move it off to the far right (I will have to find a place of a bookcase that you cannot see in the photo, but it has wheels, so I am not concerned), clear off the papers on the black shelf behind it, and reorganize my desk on the left, Phase I of the basement will be complete. Then I can move on...

Wait, I did not mention that this effort was only the first phase?

Interesting...

(To be continued...)