Creativity, order and chaos

Posted by Shelah | August 15, 2008 | 20 Comments

While I was gone on vacation last week, my husband decided to organize the filing cabinet in our study. He pulled out everything in all of the drawers and put them in piles on the computer desk and the surrounding floor. Then he quit. That was six days ago. I have a bad habit of getting in a cleaning frenzy and throwing away important documents, so I’ve been put under strict instructions not to throw anything away even touch the piles until he has a chance to deal with them.

It’s been four days since I got home, and the room is driving me crazy. When we moved in the house, we decided that we needed a study more than a dining room, which is great most of the time, but it’s the first room people see when they enter the house, and when it’s messy, I’m not happy. Right now it’s such a mess that I feel like I can hardly work at all. I have several writing deadlines coming up this week, and just glancing into the room where I do the writing makes me feel like l’m going to hyperventilate.

Growing up, I never thought I was a neat freak, probably because my mom is compulsively anti-clutter herself. Then I went to college, where my freshman roommate brought enough stuff to fill two dorm rooms. Fifteen years later, she’s still my best friend and one of the most creative people I know, but the chaos of our dorm room made it hard for me to focus. We lived in the same apartment for the next two years, but I knew that we couldn’t share a bedroom with her and her projects anymore, preferring to share a bedroom with someone who could not only find her bed but also regularly made it. Now that she’s a grownup with lots of space, she’s no longer a walking tornado, but she’s also able to put off things like cleaning the bathroom and folding laundry when the painting bug strikes.

I’m not. When I have a writing project, my first mode of attack is to clean the house. I brainstorm while I clean, then I can sit and write in an uncluttered space. The main problem? It never stays neat and pristine (something about having four kids…).

So what about you– are you one of those creative messy types who can overlook crumbs on the kitchen table when you’re feeling inspired? Or are you like me, writing late at night when everyone else is asleep and no one’s around to make a mess?

Category: Daily Special

Comments

20 Responses to “Creativity, order and chaos”

Emily
August 15th, 2008 @ 7:38 am

I can only create when I am at peace…and my peace is directly correlated to the cleanliness of my house (amongst other things).
Jen
August 15th, 2008 @ 7:50 am

My family jokingly call me “Monica” from Friends but I am unapologetic about my clean freakiness. In a world, and sometimes a life, of chaos, having the space around me organized and clean is a must. I don’t apologize for it and I hope that someday, when my kids go to college and live with a slob, they will finally appreciate the atmosphere I provided at home and try to replicate it in their own lives!
Jennie
August 15th, 2008 @ 8:36 am

I have to force myself to clean. When I’ve got the creative juices flowing, I give myself permission to let the house fall apart. The crumbs on the floor will not being going anywhere–believe me!!! The creative muses are fickle creatures. I have to obey them when they speak to me.
amanda
August 15th, 2008 @ 8:54 am

I used to be a “Monica” but after 27 roommates during my college/grad school years, I learned to relax a little.

My room always had to be clean and organized before I could study though. Sometimes I thought I used that as a procrastination tool, but I do concentrate better in an orderly environment
shelah
August 15th, 2008 @ 8:57 am

Amanda– I think you nailed it. I clean to procrastinate! But it’s healthier procrastination than surfing the net or watching Oprah, right?

Tell me I’m right, because I’m still procrastinating.
Maddison
August 15th, 2008 @ 9:17 am

I am totally someone who has to have a clean environment when projects need doing. Including cooking. I just can’t cook or bake when there are dishes in the sink, etc. Of course my husband thinks I’m nuts, but all I have to say to quell those comments is, “Well, would you like to clean the kitchen for me??”
Susan M
August 15th, 2008 @ 9:31 am

I’m fine with a mess. I almost constantly live in a mess.

But if I were you, I’d dump all the papers back into the filing cabinet (or a box) and tell him he took to long to get back to it.
lyn
August 15th, 2008 @ 10:02 am

A woman after my own heart. I can’t relax if my house isn’t picked up. We even have our own term for it: “putzing” – defined as wandering the house and picking everything up, usually at 10:00 at night. Maybe I am just procrastinating… hadn’t thought of it that way!
Sara
August 15th, 2008 @ 10:08 am

I am the same way, if my house isn’t picked up to a certain degree. I just can’t do anything. I get really grumpy and depressed. And it makes me incredibley lazy. I agree with Susan, dump all the papers back and tell him he passed his 48 hrs grace period for it.
Nettie
August 15th, 2008 @ 10:27 am

I think I am half and half. The kitchen must be clean for me to cook/bake. But, I’d far rather jump into a creative project than clean the rest of the house first. My filing is a mess, complete with piles, right now, too. Thankfully, we keep the file cabinet and its overflowing mass of papers in my basement where no one can see it.

I like the box idea.
Mommom
August 15th, 2008 @ 12:01 pm

Please don’t come to my house – You would hyperventilate and possibly keel over and then I’d feel REALLY guilty. Because I would so much rather be creative than clean. I’m working on cleaning first so I don’t feel guilty about being creative
tonya
August 15th, 2008 @ 12:08 pm

Nothing drives me more crazy than when hubbie decides he will help me get organized! I think I’m a pretty neat person, but I don’t have my own space. When I get going on a project my stuff kind of takes over the family room. He tries to “help” by organizing my piles. MY PILES! Leave them alone! He has his own office, for heaven’s sake. I try to keep the rest of the house clean and only make a mess in one area.

I do have to admit that I sometimes have a hard time finishing things. But can’t he see he makes it harder by moving my stuff?!
shelah
August 15th, 2008 @ 12:24 pm

Mommom– I don’t care at all if other people’s houses aren’t clean. I really admire the people who can set the laundry aside to quilt or paint or, say, play with their kids.

Tonya– I think you and my dh would get along. He did finally clean up his piles, since I actually wrote the blog post a few days ago. Once I had him read it and told him I was publishing his dirty (pun intended) little secrets on the internet, he sat down and got to work. Maybe not the nicest tactics, but it worked.
Dalene
August 15th, 2008 @ 12:56 pm

I have ADD of housework. I used to think I was simply using that as an excuse, but then I read some random study that indicated it is a true phenomenon. I did discover this summer that I can manage a two bedroom cabin w/ next to no stuff as long as a maid will come in and make the beds and gather the wet towels. I call it “knowing my limitations.”

Sometimes the odds are against you from the start. I took the day off work today to clean my house for company Sunday (my son is speaking in church before leaving on his mission) and then the Olympics happened and we got TP’d and I waited up until after 3 in the morning for my other son who was hiking Timp to get home. I’m too tired to clean house now.

*sigh*
amanda
August 15th, 2008 @ 12:59 pm

Shelah – I totally think it’s a healthy form of procrastination! I tell myself this all the time At least once everything is clean I have no more excuses.
shelah
August 15th, 2008 @ 1:03 pm

yeah, the house is clean. And here I sit, checking comments on the blog. Not such a healthy form of procrastinating.

Dalene– that’s one reason why I don’t want a big huge house. I like having it small enough that I know my limits. I can handle maintaining my 4 bed, 2 bath house– but something with eight bedrooms and three family rooms? No way.
les
August 15th, 2008 @ 1:40 pm

I wish I could say I had to have order, lookas like i am in the creatuve bit of chaos minority. I do prefer everything in its place, in fact nothing can inspire me to embark on a new project more han a clear counter, or organized studio, but alas the inspiration takes me right back to where I started. My mom is like you and over the years I have learned her prioritizing influence is conservation of order, mine is conservation of time, packing as much into a day as possible which sometimes means shoving off some tasks till later. Glad you survived years in my creative wake.
Emily (Emlouisa)
August 15th, 2008 @ 7:21 pm

The clutter drives me crazy, but not enough for me to do anything about it. My house is in a constant state of “almost clean”. I wish I was more like you. Or at least lived close to you so you could come clean my house when you got the cleaning bug.
shelah
August 15th, 2008 @ 7:31 pm

I’d come declutter your house any day of the week, Emily. Yours too, Les. And I have to reiterate that Les keeps a perfectly wonderful house now. Back in college, the primary problem wasn’t that she was a slob, it was just that she had SO. MUCH. STUFF. But she was an ElEd major– apparently it went with the territory.
les
August 17th, 2008 @ 8:43 pm

LOL- okay I am going to get banned from commenting on seguallah by all you writers. Klutsy fingers and typing while holding a squirmy baby as I am running out the door yield error laden comments.
Being a teacher/artist does bring a curse of “stuff”- I have to ditto emily ont he “almost clean” it is torturous