The Big Mess

When I was a senior in college, I had a tiny single room in an old dorm. Next door to me was another senior who became a close friend that year. At one point we decided our rooms were too big a mess to bear. I dug into the project by emptying my room into the main space outside our doors and then collapsing from exhaustion, too tired to sort, clean and re-organize. Next door Stephanie was working on one corner, taking a break, and then moving onto another. At the end of the day, I had to move everything back and just stacked things in piles once again. Steph's room was tidy and sweet.
I'm thinking about that now as I'm trying to deal with the on-going challenge of the basement. For so long, it's been a place to dump half-finished projects, models and new paper purchases. Much of it is protected in plastic shoe-boxes or other similar storage, but I have no idea what is where. However, I have a different vision for it now. Simply put, I want to know where everything is.
I did quite a bit of this kind of work when I left my job last winter. Closets, kitchen drawers, pantry cupboards all got cleaned out and what was not being used was assigned to the garage sale. There is something emotionally exhausting about facing what you own and that is coming back to me again today. Part of it is embarrassment (I'm not even going to tell you how many sheets of Japanese paper I have). Part of it is facing old dreams...all those ideas you had that you never realized. And then there is coming face to face with who you used to be. (At my garage sale, someone quipped "I see you're getting rid of your blue period".... a reference to the profusion of blue bowls, pitchers and dishes for sale.)
While I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the basement project I know that it will be tremendously rewarding once I'm done. My upstairs home is so much more livable, and so much more beautiful after the work I did this winter and that inspires me in many different ways. I still am painting this week, but my other goal is to clear all of the flat spaces in the basement entirely. I'm just going to need to take more than a few breaks so I don't get overwhelmed and give up!