I always thought creative and brilliant people had to be slobs.

Somehow, it seemed that they needed to see every paint daub, every fabric swatch, every piece of dust to be inspired. It was likely an excuse: “I simply CANNOT clean my room, mother – I’m an artist – I need to create! I can’t be bothered to straighten the bed when there are masterpeices waiting to be completed!”

She didn’t buy it either.

The Benefits of Mess

Mess has its benefits: you are more engaged in what you are actually doing than in considering the space in which you are doing it. Some people truly do find inspiration in chaos. In fact, I could argue that this article itself was inspired by the still life I have arranged on my desk. Unconsciously, I arranged three uneaten almonds, an abandoned mint, a few stray hairs, four stacks of Post It notes, a scarf, a tea ball, a crusty plate, my watch, a bracelet that clinks when I type, two tattered magazines, three binders – no, four, a book, one highlighter, a white board marker, a pen, my keys, a wallet, a receipt, and a nest of cables.

I actually feel disgusted with myself when I really take stock like that. I mean, truly – is the description of my haphazard still life in any way useful to you? Other than a possible blessing to you to go forth and scatter? It’s actually enormously distracting. Well, that could also be the fact that the toilet keeps running and makes me feel like I have to pee ALL THE TIME.

The Downward Spiral

Here’s how it plays out for me – maybe it’s the same for you: the toilet is running. That is annoying. I will call the plumber. I can’t find his number because of THE MESS ALL OVER MY DESK! I’m really annoyed now. And it’s not at the toilet – it’s at myself for making such a horrible mess that I piled myself into this situation! I must now shave my head and wear a toga. Amazing how quickly I spiral, isn’t it? I suppose you could call that “creative” but I call it slightly deranged.

The Solution

So, I have a solution. Albeit a temporary one – it works when you don’t have time to sift through every random piece of weirdness that has immigrated to the land of your own personal productivity. I call it …

The Magic Box of Tidyness!*

1. Get a nice box or basket (big enough to hold whatever is likely to land in your work space – be that errant paper to a spare exhaust pipe – hey, you never know)

2. Toss everything in it. Tah-dah! Instant serenity!

3. When you need something, you know to go box-diving.

5. When you have some time (when you’re on hold before being disconnected, when you’re involved in a completely one-sided phone conversation…) go through your box and put stuff where it’s supposed to be.

Easy breezy.

The Magic Box of Tidyness – Intermediate Level

1. Repeat the above steps 1 and 2

2. Seal it up and label it with today’s date.

3. If you haven’t needed anything in that box for 6 months, consider tossing it completely.

The Magic Box of Tidyness – Advanced Level

This is for Olympic calibre tidying. Only attempt this if you enjoy a healthy version of Obsessive Compulsiveness…or you’re really buried under chaos:

1. Repeat steps 1 and 2.

2. Write down whatever you put into the box. Just go nuts and shove everything you don’t see an immediate use for into the box.

3. Tape the list of “what’s in da box” to the front and you’re done.

Psychotic? Perhaps. Effective, you bet.

Are There Benefits of Mess When It Comes to Children?

Today’s post was inspired by the obstacle course that is my children’s bedroom. (The manufacturers of Polly Pockets will be forever damned! Sorry, but…yeah.) It occurred to me that if I whipped out The Magic Box of Tidyness in there, they probably wouldn’t even notice.  Mess doesn’t bother anyone else in my family. Case in point: my two-year-old emptied the entire laundry hamper in the bathroom in an effort to find my six-year-old’s underpants because she wanted to see the picture of The Little Mermaid. (Granted, the fact that my daughter has Little Mermaid underpants is weird enough, but given that my other one seems to be obsessed with them is weirder still.)

So we need to find a happy medium.  I can accept the weirdness of underwear obsession, but not the mess!

* Pandora’s Box may be a better name, depending on what collects on your desk. Just sayin’.