Helen English Artist
Creativity tamed
What entices you to tidy up your space? Is it a daily thing, a weekly thing, or a “I actually couldn’t fight my way into this space with a light sabre” kind of thing! I have to be honest – I vary widely! Having explained how my projects have exploded, you may have the picture of where I got to before organizing my space properly again this weekend. I also found the sock which I lost three days ago!

Part of my problem is that we are so close to finishing our extension, which will double the size of our home. The closer we get to finished, the longer we have spent in a squashed living situation where things have to take turns and then be put away if you don’t want to hurdle through the lounge to get to the front door.
I had just got to the point where I thought a bit of hurdle practice might come in handy when I had a message from my lovely friend who I work on some creative projects with and who I meet out for coffee “because my place is tiny at the moment!” She has been having a clear out and had a couple of things to pass on to me. Was I around tomorrow? Panic! My partial tidy up last week had undone itself and four projects are taking over the room. Time to do something about the problem.
Three hours later – yup, I love a really good tidy up once I start – and my lounge is back. Seating area over there, office over here, clear walkway to both and no stuff which I need to sort through because I know where everything is and it is organized. Lesson learned? Don’t do partial tidy ups and leave ten minutes for putting a project away when I have finished working on it. Best part? Triumphantly finding the other sock under the last thing that picked up!