I don’t know about you, but I’ll sheepishly admit that I’m quite messy. I’m definitely on the messier end of the spectrum. There’s piles of books, papers and other odds and ends on surfaces where they really don’t belong.
I usually don’t notice the mess around me. There must be a filter in my brain that just blocks it all out. I can count on one hand the number of ‘decorative items’ I have. Things tend to be functional in my house or they don’t have a place. But I am a ‘keep it just in case’ kind of person.
I want to tell you a story about a miraculous burst of energy I had, over the weekend and what I did with it.
Let me give you a bit of background.
My ailing old car failed its MOT in August, and it’s not worth the cost to restore it. After much agonising, and a few sleepless nights, I decided to let it go. I spent weeks searching and finally bought a replacement car.
My previous 2 cars were too big to fit in the garage, so for over 10 years I’ve got into the habit of parking on the driveway. In case you’re wondering, my ‘new-to-me’ car is a Honda Jazz. It’s small but perfectly formed. It’s cheap to run and deceptively spacious. (It even has room in the boot for my Bernese Mountain Dog, Henry – that’s him in the photo)
I’m told that Jazz owners are fanatically loyal, and I can see why. On Saturday I had a chance conversation with one such owner. They told me that you have to be careful not to leave them out in the rain because they have a tendency to rust. Now I’ve only had this car for 3 weeks, but I’m already smitten and attached. The idea of my new little car rusting prematurely was hard to bear. So it got me thinking.
I have a perfectly good double garage, which could comfortably house my new little car.
There’s only one problem.
My garage is currently filled with all sorts of random (but potentially useful) stuff. I say random, but most of the stuff in there is related to my veggie growing. Piles of cardboard boxes, plastic pots and tubs of all shapes and sizes. Bags of rotting horse manure, soil and compost. Bales of hay, and piles of drying wood. Tins of paint, various garden tools, plus my 5 recycling bins. (Although two of those are filled with 3 year old manure – the best of the best!)
I could clearly see the potential!
In my minds eye I imagined this space, clear and tidy with only the essentials stored. And my new little car being housed there, covered by a proper roof and protected from rain!
I was filled with a powerful urge to clear all that cr&p and rescue my garage!
I started with a few little bits and bobs. Then that turned into a layer by layer, systematic clearing and removal process. I’m lucky that I have other spaces that I moved a lot of the useful stuff to. But it was very satisfying to get rid of piles of broken/useless things. It took me 6 hours and a lot of hard graft but I finally did it!
(I forgot to take a ‘before’ photo, but you can see the three quarters point)
Now the reason I’m telling you all this (apart from the urge to share my triumph!) is that it begs the question.
How did the garage get filled with so much cr$p in the first place?
It’s because I find it hard to make decisions.
Maybe you find it hard to make decisions too?
If you relate to my story, you’ve probably got areas of your house/garden/shed that are equally messy. If that’s how you roll, then that’s ok. There’s no shame in that. We just have to deal with it as best we can. (I’ve written about the impact and origin of this here.)
The truth is it’s easier to put stuff down where there’s an empty space, rather than DECIDE where it should go. It’s in that moment of in-decision that things go awry.
I’m not sure there’s a moral or a lesson here. But it does show how things gradually deteriorate. There’s no right answer, and I’m not going to preach to you. But what made the difference for me was having a REASON to clear stuff away. My little car needed the space, and I was determined to protect it.
Could you imagine a compelling reason for clearing and tidying your space(s)?
I challenge you to vision what it could be like. And ACT on any useful impulses that come your way. It’s amazing what you can get done when you have a fire in your belly and a reason to take action!
Happy clearing (when you’re feeling inspired!) x