So, I’ve been looking at these ideas of what to do with time on your hands. You know, like meditate? Good luck with that while your head spins out of control. Or write a letter to a friend? Really? How many of you even have stamps in the house? Hard enough to get a box of Kleenex. Just say’n. Cooking? I tried that. Not only did it dwindle my rations, but I ended up with new self-medicating “treats” shared with my trusty partners in crime, Prime, Hulu and Netflix.
Let’s face it. There’s only so much binge watching one can do before the 10 feet between the TV and the refrigerator becomes 12 inches that go directly to your waistline. Right?
Besides, a little inside scoop: all my showbiz production friends are stuck at home now too. So best to ration your “new” media content. Trust me, there won’t be much of it for a while.
Yet that doesn’t mean you can’t put a “classic” on in the background and get creative at home.
It’s only through the active act of employing personal creativity, that the mind shuts the **** up and the mental spinning subsides. After all our creativity program was designed as a key part of our genetic make up for times exactly like this.
When there’s nothing else in the world one can control, creativity becomes the savior putting one outside of time (and crazy humans) in a way even passive TV watching cannot. And remember don’t confuse our inherent creativity software (possessed by all) with “talent” possessed by few. Besides, most of my “talented” friends are home going berserk.
So, while you’re stuck inside, now’s the time to tackle what’s not working about your lifestyle. Attack the seemingly anal stuff you’ve been postponing like those crammed closets and those bursting dresser drawers and all that useless stuff you rummage through to get to the stuff you really need.
Just because it’s mistakenly classified as “organization” doesn’t mean it can’t be as transformative and artistic as “design.” Actually, it comprises over 50% of the design process (if a designer is worth, they’re salt).
Yes, on busy days when you’re slammed for time and just need to get the hell out the front door, the last thing you want to do is stop and organize. But ummmm… you’re probably not going anywhere for a while, so at least feel productive rather than fear.
There are a lot of ways to make it fun too. Rather then the online cocktail party where everyone just gets snockered (then bitchy) do the ‘Sex In The City,’ Carry Bradshaw closet purge fashion show.
Start trying on those cloths that you haven’t touched in years while your friends watch with cards that say “Keep” or “Kill” ...er...on second though how about thumbs up or thumbs down. It just might make having to try everything on worth the entertainment value of a campy, retro fashion show. Oh, and they, the sisterhood, have to do it too!!! Tit for tat! Pun intended. Make sure you have a big non-transparent garbage bag in view. Thumbs up…you keep it. Thumbs down…in the bag it goes. Bye-Bye now!
If you’re currently not part of a “traveling Pants/ Yah-Yah circuit” clan, then set your scope on the money earning aspect of it all.
Pre-owned cloths are now the rage in most consignment shops and due to the economy, it will only get bigger. In fact, with the “used” stigma now a thing of the past, in just the last three years, the clothing section has tripped in a lot of these stores (which actually pisses we designers off. lol).
Your clothing, if in good shape, can fetch up to at least half of what you originally bought it for. --Or at least enough cheddar and free space to rationalize a wardrobe update. Best of all, you can now get payed for paying it forward. Who knew? Oh, and don’t forget what’s not on hangers. Hit the dressers and those overhead shelves too.
You’d be surprised how a little fun/tough love can help you actually free up some of the most important and emotionally valuable real estate in your home.
Look, if life as we knew it is changing, then now’s the time to get ahead of the curve and start that vital reinvention process that you claim you never had time for.
More importantly, as your creativity starts kicking in, you’ll actually feel the fear and frustration migrate back to your head where it belongs and away from your heart where your ability to dream of the life you really want now, is there waiting for you to discover.
More Ideas later.
Later,
CL