(Well, it seems more like summer,really,….but anyways.)

I am not sure about you, but over the years of last minute moving and than more moving, I’ve hauled around most of my stuff from middle school to high school and the 4 years after that with me. My first big move with all my things was to Saskatchewan when I was still living at home after I took a class in Vancouver, with little to no time to get rid of things.

Now that I have slowly been settling more after moving back to British Columbia and hopping different neighborhoods, I am getting a grip on the stuff after my mother sent the final loads via greyhound for me to go through. If there is anything I’ve learned, is that it sure was fun to collect various things while I had a more stable life during those old grade school years, but after awhile it becomes a burden physically, financially and psychologically. I had already started to toss broken things (many dragon figurines included, sadly) and donate misc items left and right, but now that I live in an even smaller space and with less time (now that I’ve been in a relationship), it’s that real sobering time to truly confront the remainders, even some of the stuff I actually kind of like–but need to just let go of.

I suppose you may wonder why this even matters or is relevant or why one ought to even care, but I can tell you for sure that it is incredibly draining and hard to focus on your projects and keep a stable energy level when you got ‘stuff’ everywhere. I have anxiety and this honestly heightens it and adds indecisiveness, leaving me tired and exhausted, sometimes feeling at a loss as to how to even start the cleaning. At that point I can hardly think of focusing on my work. Even in the background processing of the mind there is the unconscious awareness of your environment, and while you think you are immune, you really are not…and it adds a feeling of panic and hopelessness if you are undergoing any other stress factors.

Also I have this dresser filled with art things: misc supplies, prints, filled sketchbooks and sheets, reference materials, and my general drawer for stuff I consider important or has no other place. Before I went through it, there were a lot of old drawings and just things I stuffed away. It was a bit hard at first, but I tore through some of my oldest sketchbooks and kept only the drawings that had any future usage or I felt was good enough to keep, the rest I tossed into the recycle bin. Now I can happily say it is so much easier to navigate, and the junk is gone.

After you clean up a space it feels so relieving and kind of like you found a new space in your home you almost forgot existed. That feeling of clean, clutterless room that almost instantly inspires you and is like a weight off the shoulders. After experiencing that I really don’t want to put up with the cluttered life anymore, and I plan to unclutter my mind as a result and become more focused and less prone to anxiety of all the unfinished things and crowding (after all, there is more peace at home between house members when less chores need to be done!).

I have proudly donated bags of clothing, misc household goods and other essentials to our local youth center, the Salvation army thrift shop, and things of a certain minimal value or physical condition have listed up on Craigslist (also got my fiance on it too). Some items that were never opened I decided to gift out, and I also recycle as much as possible. From now on, more quality and less quantity, and most of all, more quality of time and mental well being vs holding onto all that stuff. The hardest part is the more nostalgic items and some of my books and video games I hoped to keep for many years (when I was a kid I dreamed of having my own library in the house complete with painted ceilings).

And to put the two topics into more relevance, I recently just dropped off 20 pieces of random older art for Papergirl Vancouver to give away after their mini art show night. A good way to avoid tossing out things you think someone may still like, and declutter your pile of work that will eventually overflow by keeping it.

In summary, while it is fun to collect things, sometimes you need to let go of the idea after a certain point if you don’t own a big house and make your living space more simple and move on so you can focus on new things (certainly not ridding myself of all my video games, of course!). It also feels great to give items to people who have a greater need of it, certainly doing two good things at once—but don’t feel guilty to resell things either of course, I mean, why not re-earn some of your money back and pass it on to somebody else who will use it more often?

Since my previous post I completed a colouring page and did some playing around on my shiny new Painter 2015 software. Needless to say, the symmetrical mirror drawing tool is pretty fun. I’ll post some of my experiments soon.

Here is a fan art sketch I did for some spontaneous fun , based off a video game called Savage Skies for the Playstation 2..