The Art of “Feng Shui”
It truly is an art, that of tidying up, picking up things and putting them back in their right place. At one time I was pretty good at this. Sometime in my childhood I was able to put things back, but not always pear them down, remove, gift, and just throw out stuff. Something happened in adulthood that ended up making the process overwhelming.
I am now working with a coach to be able to tackle the piles of stuff that have crept up around my house. While I’m not quite ready to be in an episode of “Hoarders”, I sure don’t want to get that bad off. So I’m taking small steps to make things happen. On Monday, after about 40 minutes of talking, my coach and I came to a plan. The plan was that I would dedicate 10 minutes a day to tackling one particular mess. After the 10 minutes, I would stop (hopefully still wanting more) and write about the experience. Slowly I began. It seemed overwhelming, but I did it. Whatever I touched I asked myself, “Where does this belong?” and I went to put it in that place or that room. What started as a stressful event with a lot of anxiety, slowly morphed into pride.
Today, Tuesday, I dedicated 10 more minutes to the Feng Shui art. It was a little harder because these things today didn’t all have a particular home, so I put them in the garage, in piles, according to their destination. Some things will go to Habitat for Humanity, but not till they open back up. Some things will be packed up in boxes. Other things will go to the Salvation Army on July 1st.
Tomorrow I will do another 10 minutes and hopefully feel accomplished and proud of my progress then too. On Thursday we will visit by phone again and revisit the plan and make adjustments. I think I have come to terms with the fact that this is not going to get done in one afternoon. After all, it didn’t become what it is in a short amount of time. Having a target date for delivering the things that are in the garage makes me feel better that I’m not just shifting piles.
So while I continue to dedicate 10 minutes a day to this art, I do so more out of determination and the fact I now want to keep the streak alive. After all, it’s been two days in a row! I don’t feel joy. I can’t seem to hold up an item, thank it for being a part of my life, then gladly put it in the to-go pile. I’m not there yet. That may never be my style. But for now I am content to keep the streak alive, and go do watercolor for my true art pleasure!
