RhythmicStitch: "Less Is More" Sparks Joy

After a summer full of adventures, gigs with several different bands, sewing, and printing some new items to sell at a local market, I was ready to take a breath. I could write many blogs about all of those great experiences. But, I'm just going to start where I currently am, and maybe those stories will reveal themselves as I carry on with this blog.

I wrote a post a couple years ago about embracing the chaos. Yes, there are some things I cannot give up. I have a lot of passions, yet I am unwilling to pick just one. In that way, I may always be a balancing act. But, what if I had less to juggle? What if less is more? More space to work, more space in my mind to think, and less clutter to distract me.

I applied this to my vending booth over the summer. Rather than having a bunch of random things I had made, I focused on a few designs, and made multiples of those in different colors. I was still able to go back and add special, personalized touches to the items, but I noticed that I was improving and getting faster at the overall process. I also felt a fell into a flow, a rhythm, while working on these items. It felt good!

And so, I began to think about harassing my energy. Rather than let it chaotically go everywhere, I directed it to less, and ended up with what felt like a more cohesive collection. I had a new mission: to simplify my life. "Less is more!" is hard to hear when you are a borderline hoarder, but I knew where I needed to start...I needed to get rid of things from my work space!

One trouble I have is seeing possibility in everything. I know this sounds like a positive thing, but when you have so much stuff, it's hard to maintain it all. I had a big box full of brown paper bags that I was planning to make into handmade journals, a guitar with a giant hole in the body that I was going to turn into an art piece, tubs of unfinished sewing projects, school books from college, more yarn than I would probably use in my lifetime...just to name a few things I was going to use someday. Then, there were the sentimental items like photos, other memorabilia, and fabric from my grandmothers. And, there were the supplies I've been using pretty regularly, but weren't organized very well. I was overwhelmed and didn't know where to start!

Luckily, I stumbled across an interview with Marie Kondo on YouTube. She is the author of the book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. She had a couple points that I really liked. One thing she does when organizing is puts everything from the room together. It's a way to see everything that you have, then organize by category. She also asks, "Does this spark joy?" She encourages you to hold each item and think about how it makes you feel. It sounds a little crazy, but it really helped me. If it didn't make me feel excited or energized in some way, why was I keeping it in my life?

Yarn contained to a few old suitcases

I went through all of my supplies, projects, books, boxes, piles, papers-everything in the two rooms where I work. Though it took me a couple weeks, I got through it all! What I kept, I organized. I made a deal with myself that it had to fit in a designated area (box, tote, spot on shelf, etc.). If it didn't fit in said area, I had to get rid of it. That really helped me whittle down what I wanted to keep/what was most important to me. What I got rid of, I passed on to friends with similar interests, took to the thrift store, recycled, or threw away if I absolutely had to. Though I still have a lot, I cut down to about half to a third of what I used to have in that space. And everything I kept now has a place. It is so refreshing! Rather than feeling overwhelmed just by walking in the room, it feels clear and open. I have room to think, create, breath.

Yes, that's a flip phone

I even found some treats including money and gift certificates! My favorite treasure I came across was my old cellphone from seven years ago. To my surprise, it still turned on! I found pictures of my boyfriend and I when we were first in love, old messages from friends, and memories from my 3-week road trip it took with my best friends that summer. In the pile of random items from the room, I also found past newspaper and local magazine articles about myself, friends, or positive improvements that were being made in my town, song lists from concerts I played in, and long lost photos that made me laugh. Cleaning ended up being a fun trip down memory lane!

I will leave you now with some before and after photos of my creative space! If you need to massively clean and simplify your life, getting rid of physical items is a great place to start. And, remember to ask yourself, "Does this spark joy?"