being brave (nearly)…
November 8th, 2008
I’m trying to be brave. Honest. Yesterday morning, in an attempt to get myself moving, I had breakfast under the golden arches with a good friend. He’s very neat (he even folds his MacBag before putting it in the MacBin). I was telling him about my attempts to clear and organise my studio. For him the solution is simple. Just throw everything away. He lived abroad for a number of years and when he left to return here he simply threw or gave the majority of his stuff away.
I wish I was more like my friend (and Michael Landy). I’ve been driving round for over a week with the back of my car full of old materials that I’m intending to give away, but haven’t quite managed it yet. I have boxes of things that I keep moving from place to place in my (not large) studio. I need to do something radical. So, I’m going to be brave. I’m going to throw away my beloved little stove-top espresso. The rubber seal is perished and I have a new one (admittedly not as quirky and neat as this little model; you just pop an espresso cup on top and watch the coffee spit and splutter into it). It’s on it’s way to the bin. I promise.
I’m not really sure what I’m scared of. I do know there really is ebb and flow. Let some things go and there will be new things arriving (on my post MacDonald’s walk I found a beautiful red bucket and some very lovely pirate currency) but I seem to have a desperate need to cling on to what I have just now. I’m going to try my hardest to loosen my grip…
November 8th, 2008 at 10:21 am
De-clutter: it’s only stuff. It’s liberating, Michael.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Ooo, you *are* being brave! Decluttering has never been my best thing. I need to let my daughter, who say’s she’s Monika from Friends, come over and blitz.
Remember Freecycle if there’s stuff with some life in it.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
It is hard to let go of things (I hang on to things for years and years). But, in the end it is indeed very liberating to de-clutter. Wishing you all the best
November 8th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I’ve been working and working on trying to let go of stuff and it seems to just leave in small dribbles. I need a BIG sweep…really thought Hurricane Ike was going to do it for me but gratefully didn’t so now I’m back to the BIG task and letting go. If you are successful, I want to hear how you did it. You have my sympathy and good luck.
November 9th, 2008 at 12:16 am
Chuck it out! Recycle away! De-clutter. Take your junk to Oxfam, let someone else have it. You need clean lines, open spaces, air to breath. I’ll give you a tenner if you will let me do it for you!
November 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Just found your blog, love the style, added you to my blogroll, i’ll be back.
cheers via twitter
November 9th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
well, i have bunches of papeer and trash like stuff at home. I just can’t throw it away ’cause i can see them becoming supercool recycled objects. the hard part is turning all the ideas into reality.
November 10th, 2008 at 1:19 am
you can get the rubber ring fixed - there is a place in Edinburgh which does it. I’m not sure about Aberysthwyth - but yes send it all to the charity shop. Then someone else has the JOY of fining exactly what they need. The chi or ki is much improved as a result
November 10th, 2008 at 11:21 am
hi michael, i’ve been reading your blog for ages but only commented a few times, and that was ages ago. sorry.
i also find decluttering very hard. i think its something to do with building a safe nest and not wanting to empty anything out in case it may be useful
. so, my problems are secutiry and thrift!
as another poster suggested, maybe you should try freecycle. (in yahoo groups, there’ll be a local group for everywhere by now). for me its been great because i know the things i’m getting rid of are going to homes and families where they are truely wanted and needed. that really helps my state of mind over decluttering. good luck!
November 10th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
OOH hard, hard, hard. I try and try to get rid of stuff but I too have a tendency to hang on. It’s a tendency of ‘just in case’ and ‘might bes’ —no good at all. On the odd occasion when I have got rid it has either been to Freecycle (which is excellent resource) or burning it — somehow watching the flames seem to be an excellent way of purging the demons