One of my goals for this year is to re-line a room that was built out of a lean-to garage down the back of my house and turn it into an art studio and classroom.
The studio had been used as an art room, but mainly as a space to store the overflow of stuff from my house. It has office supplies – dispensary bottles, bags and stationery, projects I haven’t gotten around to doing, leftover bits from other projects, photographs, music CDs, art that I’ve made and done nothing with, old journals and diaries, jars, collections of knick knacks, essential oils, fabric, yarn, pieces of furniture I’ve been given or no longer require, boxes of folders, paper, tools, jars of dried herbs – you get the picture. There’s also a stack of boxes of Mum’s things in there that no-one seems to want. Last winter I moved my art stuff upstairs into the lounge and closed the door on the downstairs studio.
Last year (2023) I started teaching the Coaching Club, which I’m thoroughly enjoying, and this year 2024 I also want to start teaching some courses in art and creativity, hence the desire to convert the ‘junk room’ into a space that will be suitable for hosting art classes.
As we were discussing goals in the first Coaching Club series this year, I decided with my coaching club regulars that we would do a declutter challenge in February, as this was something that a few of us realised was a problem. I knew for myself that there would be things I would have to face up to and address, but I made a start – as I always suggest to my clients – by doing a little bit at a time (inchies). I’m a learn-by-doing kind of person so by analysing my process and experience I can then help other people to do it as well.
The first few areas that I tackled were not too hard. A few bags and boxes of yarn to sort through; a bookshelf with a few too many candles, plants, books and knick knacks; and my collection of jars.
The area I really wanted to start cleaning out was the downstairs room. There were a couple of dining chairs in there that were from the family home growing up. They’d been passed from my brother to my sister to my son and then to me. I thought they’d be a good project to up cycle, and they would be useful for my art studio.
I brought them up to my lounge to work on. As I started to dismantle and clean them, memories associated with these chairs started running through my mind.
It was a rimu dining suite with an extendable table and 8 chairs that had been purchased when we moved into our newly built home when I was 13 years old. It was never a happy home. Dad would often fly into a rage with little to no warning, and if we were eating dinner at the time, we would all flee from the table. The chairs would be flung out of the way in all directions as we scrambled to get outside to avoid being the one to get caught and beaten for no known reason.
Previous memories such as these had brought up feelings of fear and terror, but this time it was sadness that overcame me. As I unpicked the fabric, washed the foam, cleaned the frames, and repaired any broken bits, I allowed myself to process the memories and associated sadness.
I painted the frames with black chalk paint, which was an unusual choice for me because the rest of the furniture in my house is white. Then I re-upholstered the seat and back rests with a cheerful boho fabric with bright coloured images and messages like ‘Make love not war’, ‘flower power’ and ‘peace’ embroidered into it’s tapestry.
In the process of up cycling the chairs, I feel like I’ve processed yet another layer of my childhood history that I wasn’t aware was still lurking in the depths. I absolutely love what I’ve created, and now when I look at the chairs I feel a spark of joy – even though it was quite an emotional journey.
This experience really helped me to understand how come we end up with excess stuff and find it so hard to let go. I also understandable why it’s easier to help other people get rid of their clutter than it is to deal with our own. Our stuff contains our memories, which are filled with emotions. In order to let go of stuff physically, you need to let go of it emotionally first.
In the February series of the Coaching Club we will be working through understanding the mindset that causes us to hold onto stuff (Tidying up from the Inside Out), learn a Blueprint for Tidying up, and a process for addressing the emotions associated with the memories of your things (How to Empty the Too Hard Basket). In this way tidying up becomes an opportunity for healing and making peace with your past, so you’re not just creating space in your home but in your heart as well.
To book into ‘Tidying up from the Inside Out’ click here
To book into ‘A Blueprint for Tidying Up’ click here
To book into ‘How to Empty the Too Hard Basket’ click here
