Thank you for writing. It’s so hard to let go sometimes as a creative who sees the potential use of everything but I sure do love the first new project that comes once it’s sorted out 😊
Great article! My biggest problem is trying to find someone to use and appreciate what I’m getting rid of! That is so much more time consuming trying to accomplish that. I wish I were the kind of person who could just pitch everything in the garbage and not care. But,….I’m not! lol
I hear you on that. I’m not either. Local Facebook groups can be quite good for finding ppl to rehome your things. But appreciate that will depend where you live!
I’m struggling to declutter my art space as I am in the part where I have moved things on or recycled (the easy stuff) and now left with what I want to keep but it’s still too much for my spare bedroom art space. The old ceiling is also coming down in a part of it as it’s lost its grip nearly 150 years old), and I’ll need to clear the whole room of things on the floor and table and a bookshelf to get that fixed. It’s very daunting and makes me realise I’ve acquired a lot of stuff in the past 20 years living here, after spending my younger years with very little and moving a lot. I love interesting, natural and crafted things and have a lot I’ve picked up free or very little outlay so no money tied up in them and I am a visual person so really need to find a way that works for me. I’m going through all the different tips you’ve provided Jo 😊
Hi Sam, it sounds like you’re making good progress on an overwhelming situation it might be easier to ignore! So well done! It really is easy to accumulate stuff isn’t it? Especially when we delight in natural treasures & handmade things. Helps me to ask myself if I like it or LOVE it. I try to just keep the latter. Can’t remember if I put that in the article! Really hope some of the tips might help. I’m gathering more advice for a second instalment sometime soon. Keep going! Maybe documenting your progress visually might help? (Photos or doodles in a journal…)
Ooo, this was lovely and well-timed - I’ve been avoiding declutter bf and cleaning my studio. 😬 I appreciate how you balanced the “get rid of it” with how we see the potential in the little things we inevitably gather!
Just discovered your newsletter today - came as a suggestion in the Substack email. Such a useful and inspiring post - thank you!
I desperately need to declutter as the various spaces I use for my arts practice have become rather unusable, and the emotional weight of so many unused supplies - some of it going back years and inherited from my mother (and even my grandfather) - has made the job so much more difficult to tackle. Your suggested process will be very useful I think! I’m a big fan of clear plastic boxes as well :)
I dread and delight in decluttering. Such a process. I do love the feeling of walking in to a freshly cleared space. We're in the midst of painting a room so everything is extra out of order and cluttered. Would like to make some space once that's cleared up, especially as I find myself drawn inward and to creative, tactile projects in this season
Yes I find my inner crafter emerges in winter too 😊 Maybe you could keep a project in mind, to look forward to working on when the painting is done? Decluttering can take me weeks or months to build up to - but once I’m in the zone I love it! Dread/delight sounds familiar!
I can't get to the space I need to declutter right now, so it will wait. I think I'll tackle a shelf at a time. I have some needlefelting and zine materials handy, so I can work in other spaces in the meantime. I started this decluttering project, but got sidetracked by summer and then painting /reorganziation. I have a lot of "it could be useful" energy to contend to when I get there.
I'm a big decluttering fan too! It feels good to go through your things, choose what you like and discard what you don't, with healthy detachment. Lovely post.
not the fabric scraps😝 I totally agree it’s part of a creative process—if I do a little each day, once the space is looking better I can just use that time to make stuff.
😂 what workspace is complete without one? Must admit, a good tidy up gets my mind focused in a way that seems to help me creatively… little & often sounds like a great strategy 😊
Useful advice but so difficult! I changed direction from mosaic to printmaking and thought I'd have less stuff once I'd got rid of my mosaic stuff. Who was I kidding? Not only do I still have masses of mosaic tiles I'm still trying to sell (they are the expensive Italian type) but I now have half of Dartmoor, (bracken, feathers, stones, sticks, sheeps wool, acorns etc) , hand made papers, jars of hand made inks, paints, books, card, frames, rollers, and masses of old prints and 'clean up' mono prints, that I occasionally cut up to use in collages. It's never ending and while it's nice to be buried in Dartmoor, my studio is getting smaller and smaller, whilst I find myself more and more cramped! Ugh! I think it's time for a tidy up don't you? :D
I’m sure your comment will resonate with a lot of people Kate! It does with me. It’s easy to think our options are endless with creativity, especially if we love experimenting. At some point I think our stuff begins to suggest limitations could actually be helpful. When I sold more physical product my stuff was all different sizes - which means more of everything! (Board, envelopes, sleeves, mailers ETC). I like to think I’d do if differently now but I know I’m not really wired to think that way! It’s taken me a long time to see the pitfalls of a creativity-first approach… ! Is storage something you could improve to help make better use of your space?
Well I already have storage solutions. Two of those BigDug shelving units with plastic boxes full up. No, it’s a Kate problem…definitely a touch of ADHD 🥹
I see :-) Do the boxes work for you? Do you get them out - to get stuff out or to put stuff away? I find I don’t use the big ones - which adds to the forgetting what’s in there… but smaller ones that stack make it more likely I’ll actually use them to stay organised (ish)
This might not work for you, just thought I’d share incase it might
Thank you, you are so kind to offer those ideas. The big news is…. 🥁 🥁 🥁… I TIDIED UP YESTERDAY! Woo hoo! … well some of it that is , not the boxes, they will have to wait til the new year. Thanks for the initial post, it made me start 😃
Brilliant ❤️ So inspiring ❤️ This really helps to clarify my all or nothing approach 🤣 Baby steps I am seriously going to try this I am so overwhelmed by ideas ❤️❤️
I hear you Dawn. A big part of my process over the years has been learning to accept my abundance of ideas A. needs some sort of system to keep track of 😂 & B. means I can let some go, let lots go infact, bcs I can be fairly certain there will be plenty more! (Experience tells me so)
Am in the process of reorganizing/decluttering basement studio and garage. While the weather was nice I mostly did art work outside. Winter’s coming soon so time to get cracking. I share love of string! Paper for collage! and rusty found metal… argh :) Really appreciate being part of this group. xx
Rusty metal 😂 if I had a garage it’d be full of god knows what !! But plenty of rusty metal. I sometimes think it must be worse for textile/fibre artists bcs man that stuff is hard to resist!! & there seems to be even more choice than with drawing/painting supplies… lovely to read you’re happy here Patty 😊
This come in te right timing Jo, glad I read it now bc I'm currently tidying up and decluttering my art space! Started today, but it's definitely a task for more than one day 😌 it's hard to let go somethings.
Wow, what a coincidence! Well done on getting started - that can be a hard step in itself. I think somethings takes me longer to process letting go of. Like I have to consider it, leave it for a while, come back to it and gradually process the reasons that might make it tough. Just curious - is there a particular reason you are decluttering, or doing it now?
Well my art room is in a corner of our dinner room and it was getting chaotic 😄 since we bought a new cupboard to storage most of my supplies I thought it was the perfect occasion to do this!
This is something I have been thinking about a lot recently. I moved spaces and there is so much stuff, most of it stuffed into drawers and it has moved to the point where it is overwhelming. And I don't want to die and leave all my clutter to my family
I have started putting things I have made that I like on the walls rather than sticking them in boxes where even I don't see them.
I've managed to pass materials onto other people, downsized a bit but it feels like a drop in the ocean of things.
Going through all the boxes of work I feel like I have learned about the paintings I love and the ones I hang onto out of a sense of not throwing it away. Still so much to do in sorting through everything I have though.
It’s been a process of years for me. I know we’ve exchanged messages about it before. It sounds like you’ve made progress?
I struggle with anything put away that I can’t see ! (So I’m all about the transparent boxes!)
Getting the work out to help you enjoy it & sift through sounds good.
I forgot to add that an ABC pile system can help - A defo keep, B not sure, C defo chuck. Review like B at the end of the process
I do think it’s probably harder for those of us who experiment and dabble with all kinds of techniques (my memory is that you work across disciplines) - there is more stuff all round!
seeing the potential in everything resonates
Thank you for writing. It’s so hard to let go sometimes as a creative who sees the potential use of everything but I sure do love the first new project that comes once it’s sorted out 😊
Love this post! It is such a huge concern for so many creatives (including myself !)and so appreciate your tips and gentle approach
Thanks Heather, good to hear it resonated. I’ve been gathering more advice for a second part sometime in the next few months!
Great article! My biggest problem is trying to find someone to use and appreciate what I’m getting rid of! That is so much more time consuming trying to accomplish that. I wish I were the kind of person who could just pitch everything in the garbage and not care. But,….I’m not! lol
I hear you on that. I’m not either. Local Facebook groups can be quite good for finding ppl to rehome your things. But appreciate that will depend where you live!
I’m struggling to declutter my art space as I am in the part where I have moved things on or recycled (the easy stuff) and now left with what I want to keep but it’s still too much for my spare bedroom art space. The old ceiling is also coming down in a part of it as it’s lost its grip nearly 150 years old), and I’ll need to clear the whole room of things on the floor and table and a bookshelf to get that fixed. It’s very daunting and makes me realise I’ve acquired a lot of stuff in the past 20 years living here, after spending my younger years with very little and moving a lot. I love interesting, natural and crafted things and have a lot I’ve picked up free or very little outlay so no money tied up in them and I am a visual person so really need to find a way that works for me. I’m going through all the different tips you’ve provided Jo 😊
Hi Sam, it sounds like you’re making good progress on an overwhelming situation it might be easier to ignore! So well done! It really is easy to accumulate stuff isn’t it? Especially when we delight in natural treasures & handmade things. Helps me to ask myself if I like it or LOVE it. I try to just keep the latter. Can’t remember if I put that in the article! Really hope some of the tips might help. I’m gathering more advice for a second instalment sometime soon. Keep going! Maybe documenting your progress visually might help? (Photos or doodles in a journal…)
Ooo, this was lovely and well-timed - I’ve been avoiding declutter bf and cleaning my studio. 😬 I appreciate how you balanced the “get rid of it” with how we see the potential in the little things we inevitably gather!
Thank you ☺️ I tried hard to get that balance between “sort it out!!!” whilst also saying “but go gently” 😂
This is so good. Thank you!
Pleasure 😊
Just discovered your newsletter today - came as a suggestion in the Substack email. Such a useful and inspiring post - thank you!
I desperately need to declutter as the various spaces I use for my arts practice have become rather unusable, and the emotional weight of so many unused supplies - some of it going back years and inherited from my mother (and even my grandfather) - has made the job so much more difficult to tackle. Your suggested process will be very useful I think! I’m a big fan of clear plastic boxes as well :)
Snap! I also have art materials inherited from my grandmother! I’m glad the suggestions feel helpful. Let us know how you get on!
I dread and delight in decluttering. Such a process. I do love the feeling of walking in to a freshly cleared space. We're in the midst of painting a room so everything is extra out of order and cluttered. Would like to make some space once that's cleared up, especially as I find myself drawn inward and to creative, tactile projects in this season
You have my sympathy! Really works for me to focus on prioritising a space that feels good but appreciate that might not work for everyone!
Yes I find my inner crafter emerges in winter too 😊 Maybe you could keep a project in mind, to look forward to working on when the painting is done? Decluttering can take me weeks or months to build up to - but once I’m in the zone I love it! Dread/delight sounds familiar!
I can't get to the space I need to declutter right now, so it will wait. I think I'll tackle a shelf at a time. I have some needlefelting and zine materials handy, so I can work in other spaces in the meantime. I started this decluttering project, but got sidetracked by summer and then painting /reorganziation. I have a lot of "it could be useful" energy to contend to when I get there.
I'm a big decluttering fan too! It feels good to go through your things, choose what you like and discard what you don't, with healthy detachment. Lovely post.
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. It’s a creative process isn’t it? A form of editing I suppose?
Absolutely, it feels creative, too!
not the fabric scraps😝 I totally agree it’s part of a creative process—if I do a little each day, once the space is looking better I can just use that time to make stuff.
😂 what workspace is complete without one? Must admit, a good tidy up gets my mind focused in a way that seems to help me creatively… little & often sounds like a great strategy 😊
Useful advice but so difficult! I changed direction from mosaic to printmaking and thought I'd have less stuff once I'd got rid of my mosaic stuff. Who was I kidding? Not only do I still have masses of mosaic tiles I'm still trying to sell (they are the expensive Italian type) but I now have half of Dartmoor, (bracken, feathers, stones, sticks, sheeps wool, acorns etc) , hand made papers, jars of hand made inks, paints, books, card, frames, rollers, and masses of old prints and 'clean up' mono prints, that I occasionally cut up to use in collages. It's never ending and while it's nice to be buried in Dartmoor, my studio is getting smaller and smaller, whilst I find myself more and more cramped! Ugh! I think it's time for a tidy up don't you? :D
I’m sure your comment will resonate with a lot of people Kate! It does with me. It’s easy to think our options are endless with creativity, especially if we love experimenting. At some point I think our stuff begins to suggest limitations could actually be helpful. When I sold more physical product my stuff was all different sizes - which means more of everything! (Board, envelopes, sleeves, mailers ETC). I like to think I’d do if differently now but I know I’m not really wired to think that way! It’s taken me a long time to see the pitfalls of a creativity-first approach… ! Is storage something you could improve to help make better use of your space?
Well I already have storage solutions. Two of those BigDug shelving units with plastic boxes full up. No, it’s a Kate problem…definitely a touch of ADHD 🥹
I see :-) Do the boxes work for you? Do you get them out - to get stuff out or to put stuff away? I find I don’t use the big ones - which adds to the forgetting what’s in there… but smaller ones that stack make it more likely I’ll actually use them to stay organised (ish)
This might not work for you, just thought I’d share incase it might
Thank you, you are so kind to offer those ideas. The big news is…. 🥁 🥁 🥁… I TIDIED UP YESTERDAY! Woo hoo! … well some of it that is , not the boxes, they will have to wait til the new year. Thanks for the initial post, it made me start 😃
Awesome news!! Hope you’re revelling in your new found freedom! (That’s how it feels to me) a clean slate ✨
Brilliant ❤️ So inspiring ❤️ This really helps to clarify my all or nothing approach 🤣 Baby steps I am seriously going to try this I am so overwhelmed by ideas ❤️❤️
I hear you Dawn. A big part of my process over the years has been learning to accept my abundance of ideas A. needs some sort of system to keep track of 😂 & B. means I can let some go, let lots go infact, bcs I can be fairly certain there will be plenty more! (Experience tells me so)
Am in the process of reorganizing/decluttering basement studio and garage. While the weather was nice I mostly did art work outside. Winter’s coming soon so time to get cracking. I share love of string! Paper for collage! and rusty found metal… argh :) Really appreciate being part of this group. xx
Rusty metal 😂 if I had a garage it’d be full of god knows what !! But plenty of rusty metal. I sometimes think it must be worse for textile/fibre artists bcs man that stuff is hard to resist!! & there seems to be even more choice than with drawing/painting supplies… lovely to read you’re happy here Patty 😊
This come in te right timing Jo, glad I read it now bc I'm currently tidying up and decluttering my art space! Started today, but it's definitely a task for more than one day 😌 it's hard to let go somethings.
Wow, what a coincidence! Well done on getting started - that can be a hard step in itself. I think somethings takes me longer to process letting go of. Like I have to consider it, leave it for a while, come back to it and gradually process the reasons that might make it tough. Just curious - is there a particular reason you are decluttering, or doing it now?
Well my art room is in a corner of our dinner room and it was getting chaotic 😄 since we bought a new cupboard to storage most of my supplies I thought it was the perfect occasion to do this!
It’s an ongoing process for lots of us I reckon! 😊
This is something I have been thinking about a lot recently. I moved spaces and there is so much stuff, most of it stuffed into drawers and it has moved to the point where it is overwhelming. And I don't want to die and leave all my clutter to my family
I have started putting things I have made that I like on the walls rather than sticking them in boxes where even I don't see them.
I've managed to pass materials onto other people, downsized a bit but it feels like a drop in the ocean of things.
Going through all the boxes of work I feel like I have learned about the paintings I love and the ones I hang onto out of a sense of not throwing it away. Still so much to do in sorting through everything I have though.
It’s been a process of years for me. I know we’ve exchanged messages about it before. It sounds like you’ve made progress?
I struggle with anything put away that I can’t see ! (So I’m all about the transparent boxes!)
Getting the work out to help you enjoy it & sift through sounds good.
I forgot to add that an ABC pile system can help - A defo keep, B not sure, C defo chuck. Review like B at the end of the process
I do think it’s probably harder for those of us who experiment and dabble with all kinds of techniques (my memory is that you work across disciplines) - there is more stuff all round!