Hyperfocus of the Week: Decluttering

Confession: A lot of the time my hyperfocus of the week is actually a procrastination that keeps me from writing as much as I’d like. But if I’m being gentle with myself, I also have to admit that I do a good job of balancing all the craziness that comes with four kids still at home who need to eat on a regular basis. This week my hyperfocus took some time away from writing—sort of—but also made the house feel much more peaceful. 

I stumbled upon Minimalist Mom YouTube channel while looking for something totally different (it was a wood turning video). Thinking that bathroom decluttering sounded slightly more relevant to my life, I watched a few minutes…then I watched another video, then I got caught up in her divorce drama and suddenly 45 minutes has past and I am jotting notes about the psychology of stuff. Regardless, I was inspired.

I started off my decluttering process early the next morning by going through my research books and using MM’s bathroom decluttering questions.

1. Am I using this right now?

And

2. Am I going to use it in the future.

The trick is that the real and honest me has to answer that second question, not the me I want to be. I weeded out a good thirty books. I also have a significant number in my “time will tell” mental pile that made the cut for this round but will likely leave depending on where my characters end up heading in the next book in my series. 

Part two-five of decluttering happened in the kitchen. The utensil drawer got a weed-out although my husband insisted we keep five of the six veggie peelers until he has a chance to try out and rank them all. A pile of pans and serving bowls made their way home to my mom’s house along with the mugs that keep wandering over. I also made a cursory pass at the dishes, but ran out of steam. 

Now, as I mentioned in my confession, often my hyper focus keeps me from writing (although I tend to indulge in whatever it is during times I can’t focus enough to write creatively—while homeschooling, cooking, or when the small kids need some attention, etc.) but decluttering kind of inspired me to try a new way of writing my novel in stories this week. 

For those not in the know yet, a novel in stories is a novel made up of independent chapters often told by different characters that can be moved around in different orders but eventually tell the same story. Louise Erdrich is a master of the form. 

Usually I write using my story building method—know the characters, know the world, have a basic idea of what is happening and let the characters loose. This week I started “decluttering” my brain so to speak. I started a chapter and wrote about half, then started the next chapter and wrote a few hundred words, then I started a random chapter and wrote three paragraphs before realizing that the image I had just created was going to be mirrored in the climax of the book. 

It’s bonkers. I don’t write this way, but here I am having a fantastic time letting whatever is in my brain out. It’s working too, although I’ve reached a point where I need to do some world building to keep things consistent, but the ideas are flowing and sparking all sorts of possibilities. Now. This is absolutely working because of the form of the novel; I’ve tried versions of this method in my HisFic and I hate it, but in this moment this is my process. For now. 

It’s felt like a frenetic week. The kids were all sick with a cold, my great aunt had a health scare and my mom was in and out taking care of her, and the weather was finally nice enough for a stretch to get some long awaited outdoor projects done. Spring is finally here and decluttering has made it feel like the whole house is throwing off the winter layers. 

Have a fantastic Week!