Clutter

I have a pro/con relationship with clutter. My home can be tidy when things are organized, but when I start working on something disorder creeps in. I maintain some level of clutter, but it takes a while for me to restore it to a more clutterless state.

The clutter is sort of like a mental block, or it can be. It makes me put off doing something about it, because then I'd have to remember how I had everything before. Or, God help, if I introduced something new that wasn't originally part of the clutter ecosystem. Then I have to reevalute how things were previously. This all makes it difficult for me to step out of my routine, and do new things... Because the clutter is in the way, if only because the fact that I should do something about it takes up mental real estate.

On the other hand, I usually get clutter because I have actually been doing something. And if it's the right circumstance, it can keep me on track, in a weird way. A simple example is building a project on a table in the basement, and having everything out – it's right there where I need it, as opposed to digging through a shelf. Yes, I could organize things better, and that is a longer-term goal. However, despite mental blockage, I do appreciate things being in a state of flux sometimes.

Part of this is exhaustion. It can be difficult to work on something like tidying up or making progress on a project when I just got home from work and am tired. I'd rather be making dinner or playing with the cat. And then when I get time I'd rather be doing other things. But when I can get into decluttering, that in itself is kind of a project, and sometimes I do keep at it.

Find me at @toroidalcore@hackers.town