Writing and the Art of Simplification

So it's September 2nd. I'm enjoying an extra day to my weekend and grateful for it. I thought I would start back up on blogging now that summer break is over-the fall cicadas are singing and leaves are starting to drift slowly to the ground.
I didn't exactly tell you that I was taking a blogging break for the summer. I didn't exactly plan to take a blogging break for the summer, but that's what happened; so now I am returning in hopes that you will all join me again as I find somewhat random things to write about and try to write about writing and a life of writing. Thanks for checking in!

Writing and the Art of Simplification.

Lately I've found myself drawn to the most amazing tiny houses. They are from a company called Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.
www.tumbleweedhouses.com.
You should check out the website, the houses are really quite cute and economical. No, I am not being paid to say so...I think they are fabulous and want one somewhere to use as a writing cottage. I do love to dream:-)
I've found myself drawn to the simplicity of the homes. With such a small amount of space everything has to be in its place and everything must have a place. There's a spot on the website where you can look at the floor plan for any given house and add your own touches to it, beds, couches, t.v.'s etc. I can't tell you how many times I've dressed up my favorite house.
The Whidbey:

I started to wonder why I was spending so much time imagining moving into a smaller house. Smaller?! We're bursting at the seems in our current house. I can't tell you the square footage, I never seem to remember no matter how many times my numbers-oriented husband tells me. Suffice it to say that it has three  bedrooms, a living room and an eat-in kitchen. It also has a two car garage and a rather nice deck with a moderate backyard-which could use some landscaping, but I digress.
So, I'm wondering, why is it that I am longing for this tiny house?
I can be a bit of a clutter-bug. I like things clean and neat and organized, but have a difficult time getting things that way and keeping them that way. My "stuff" has a way of multiplying-especially books-and taking over.
What does all of this have to do with writing? And my addiction to tiny houses?
Clutter.
Stay with me.
When my house becomes cluttered and discordant so does my brain. I don't even recognize how much until one day I realize that I'm longing to start over in a tiny house and take nothing with me but my laptop and favorite book of poetry. (Adrienne Rich The Fact of a Door frame-in case you were wondering) On Saturday I took a look at my house and I got into "project mode." I couldn't seem to do one more thing until I got my house back in order. At least some of my house anyway.
Clutter kills my creativity, somehow the clutter around me infects my artistic mind, keeping me from creating anything at all. My writing stalls, comes to a standstill and I start obsessing over the floor plans of tiny houses, imagining myself happily typing away in the small, neat and organized office in my tiny well appointed home. (I always make sure there's room for my husband!)  I imagine my words flowing smoothly and the pervasive peace of knowing that all is in order...
Yep, time to de-clutter.
I don't have the luxury of finding land somewhere, and having one of these tiny homes built just for my writing career, at least not at the moment, but I have high hopes and crossed fingers!
So, it is that I spent Saturday morning with my kitchen. I rearranged, tagged for garage-sale, and basically got rid of at least 1/3rd of my kitchen gadgets. Things I never use and rarely use; things I don't recognize or know what their function is and things that are broken, never to be used again.
It felt so good to clean and pitch that I found myself beginning to breathe a lot more easily. I finished the job with extreme satisfaction and managed to write for several hours afterward. It was like a release valve had been flipped.
I did a little poking around on the internet and found a great article that gets one started on getting the house clean. It's on a great site called Apartment Therapy. Click on the link and it will take you to the article. Thanks to Apartment Therapy for the ideas!
Apartment Therapy
I have decided that every room in my house needs help.
Am I procrastinating? That's a fair question. I often procrastinate when I don't know what to do next with my novel, however this time, the procrastination proved quite useful. While I scrubbed and de-cluttered my brain was doing the same thing. It was also working in the background on a scene I needed to write and wasn't sure how to begin. When I sat down later, the scene was there and I was ready to write it.
Is this the solution to everyone's "writer's block?" I'm going to say no because different things work for different people and different things stress different people out.
I will say, however, that having a space that is clean and comfortable where all you need to do is go in, sit down, and start writing is extremely helpful. Ridding your world of clutter rids your brain of clutter and allows you to think more clearly and creatively.

Tune in next week in which I will talk about Writing and the Art of Creating a Writing Space that Inspires You
Happy Writing!
Jess