snow, and stuff

A winter epiphany. On occasion, life hands you lemons, and you struggle to make lemonade. Or maybe you think of making lemonade. Dream of it, put it on the to-do list, procrastinate, and then beat yourself up for not making it. The to-do list gets longer and the stagnation grows. Until one day you wake up and realize, in not making lemonade, you have stopped yourself from making other things as well.

I am not a hoarder but I have far too much stuff. Boxes I haven't unpacked since my last move. Boxes of things I buy to accessorize my life. Boxes of things I supposedly need in order to have a fulfilling life.

How do you get in the flow, connect with your muse, when your spirit is weighted down by the undone to-dos and the collection of unused items that sit around you in the corners and the closets?

It is difficult enough to struggle against the doubt that arises every time you sit down in front of the blank page. The undones and needless proliferation of stuff become a stop sign too as they are always there in your peripheral vision.

I have tried setting the goal of going through a box or a drawer daily. The trouble is one starts, begins new piles of recycle, rehome, junk... and becomes overwhelmed after a few days. The reorganization grinds to a halt and becomes another bit of guilt-inducing evidence.

I think the only way to really deal with it is to force yourself to do everything now. Devote three days to one job, which is going through stuff, and removing to the charity shop or recycle or to the junkyard everything that you don't need to put hands on in order to live.