I started out with a very serious topic today, but realized it needs more time to settle.
So instead, I thought I'd share some tips I've found helpful when cleaning a studio.
1. Enlist a friend. Preferably, one who does not think you are crazy.
Do not ask anyone who already thinks you are crazy.
Try to pick someone who, if in the course of cleaning, they then decide you really ARE crazy, can be bribed to secrecy with jewelry (or whatever you make.)
It helps to avoid asking ANYONE who does not understand creative clutter. The last thing you need when baring your dirtiest corners to the world is someone who is whispering, "oh sweet jesus" in horrified tones.
If you ask a friend, keep the time short. And don't ask very often. Be sure to reciprocate, too. Maybe, an afternoon helping you in exchange for you helping them clean THEIR house.
Why is it always more fun to clean someone else's house??
2. Focus on one surface or area at a time.
Don't try to do to much in one fell swoop. A few hours or even 30 minutes a day attacking one table or one bookself will result in visible results. If you try to tackle the entire space, you will end up overwhelmed and with very little to show for it at the end.
On the other hand, there is nothing like sheer panic ("My open studio is TOMORROW?!!!") for the ultimate in motivation.
3. Large paper grocery bags are your friend.
My mom taught me this trick. Just be careful you don't overdo it. If you are facing a mountain of paperwork, just shove the whole kit and caboodle into a large paper bag. Stow it somewhere out of sight where you won't forget it--behind a desk, under a table.
You'd be amazed, in a few weeks or so, how much of this stuff you'll be able to throw away. I think paperwork bogs us down because so much of it has "potential"--a catalog with a jewelry design that intrigues us, a call for entries to a show we think we'd like to do, information we "might need" someday. A month later, most of this stuff has lost its cachet and can be safely tossed.
Caveat: There will be at least one piece of really important paper you'll wish you hadn't stowed. Even so, my theory is, if you REALLY need it/want it that badly, you'll go through the bag for it.
4. Put on high-energy music.
But don't get carried away. If it's a GREAT dance CD, you may end up doing more groovin' than movin'.
5. Keep stuff together.
Some organizational books suggest you group things by function. That may work for some people, but not for me. I have too many things that can be used in too many different ways. And too many different places to look for them.
What works best for me is to have all the "somethings" together in one place. Then always check that place when I need one.
For example, let's take measuring tapes. I SHOULD have some at my sewing table, some at my beading table, some at my paper station, etc. But I still carry them from one place to another, and soon I have none. And when I need one, I have too many places to search.
Now I keep them all together in a little drawer. Yes, it's a small hassle to go across the room to get one every time I need one. But it's ONE place to look, and there's usually always one there. And when there isn't, I know it's time to do a search and round some up.
6. Think about where you look first.
When I'm trying to think of a "home" for something, I'm in trouble when I get creative. I never remember where I put it! Instead, think of the last seven times you went looking for it and couldn't find it--which place did you look first? Put it there.
On the other hand, it's such a great feeling when you finally find the glue/tacks/solvent/business cards you put away in that "great little spot" you thought you'd remember, but promptly forgot, six months ago. It's like a little Christmas. ("Oh, what do we have here?? I've been looking for that!")
7. Accept that you cannot save every ugly necklace in the world.
Sometimes we make something, or buy something that we think we can make over or salvage.
Sometimes we can. And sometimes we can't.
Don't feel bad or guilty. Just move it on to someone else. Maybe that was your job--to save it, then give it to someone else who will love it more.
8. Just because it's published, doesn't mean it's worthwhile.
I buy a lot of books. Sometimes they are just not as good as I thought they would be. If you are my age, it was hammered into you at school that books are precious things. They should not be written in, torn up, thrown away or carelessy given away.
I hope you've realized by now that "they" were talking about school books and library books, right?
Do you know what happens to unsold books nowadays? After they are remaindered and then returned to the publisher?
They are pulped.
Yup. They are pulverized and mashed into paper pulp, to be used to make.....more books!
If you outgrow a book or decide you don't need it or don't like it, you will not be automatically condemned to purgatory if you give it away, or regift it to someone else. You can even toss it.
You don't HAVE to find a home for it. It's just a book.
Now, if only Bunster hadn't chewed the edges of that new bead book!!!
This applies to anything else you've got sitting around your studio that is "too good to throw away" but you are never going to want, need or use again. Fabric, yarn, buttons, patterns...someone else will love it, but you don't have to decide WHO. Take them to a thrift shop, a recycling center, leave them in a box on the curb with a "FREE!" sign on it.
9. Accept that life is entropy.
No matter how well organized and clean your studio is now, it's going to get messy again. Don't worry, it's not really your fault. It's the nature of the universe.
10. And accept that creativity is messy.
When my space is TOO clean, I don't want to mess it up. And I stop making things because it will get messy again.
Not a good place for your head to be.
11. I was going to tell you to be careful about buying supplies and stuff "because it was on sale" or "maybe I could make something cool out of it" or "it's such a good deal" or "maybe I'll go into candle-making someday."
When I thought about it, though, I remembered how much fun it is to do this. Our hunter/gatherer, nifty/thrifty nature, I guess. Whatever it is, I LOVE to scrounge and pick up rusty washers, folding wood carpenter's rulers, funky fabric, vintage sewing patterns, sale yarn and handmade paper.
So go ahead and indulge.
Just move it on when the thrill is gone.
12. No matter how tempted you are, do not set a match to it all.
The fire department can always tell. The insurance company will not be amused. And you might accidentally burn down the house, too.
On second thought, then you wouldn't have to clean your house, either.
