Thursday

I was not born an orderly person. In fact, to be frank, I don't have an orderly bone in my body. Only in my illustration am I detail-oriented. So opening a home business has been a bit of an education for me.
I realized very quickly that organization of my home office (trust me, you do not want to see the "before" pictures) would be essential to my survival.
Chaos is my natural state, and I do not look at a room, or a stack, or a pile, and automatically see a way in which it might be put to rights.
Organizing my shipping supplies, art supplies, work files and workspace has been quite the challenge for my disorderly, impulse-driven mind.
But I have to say, now it's done, it feels awfully good. Is it funny to say that I am actually surprised at how much easier it makes everything?
And, as you can see from the Q's face, it's still a room that one can have fun in.
A room with a few surprises left in it.
A room where creativity can still take the bit in its teeth.
Ta-da!
At least now, once I've re-wound all the twine, I know exactly where to put it so I can find it again when its services are required!
And though office supplies are still not always used as intended, the new purposes they find are often delightful.
Yes, this is my new inner sanctum. And really, it's much more user friendly.
The Q has given it her stamp (or footprint) of approval.
As has her bunny foofoo.

Dress by vdj (minus the twine).

11 comments:

Evelyne said...

Je viens de terminer un livre de réflexions d'un maître Yogi "La mère", elle disait que l'ordre dans la maison correspondait à l'ordre dans les pensées !Et Françoise Dolto conseillait aux jeunes filles qui voulaient commencer une thérapie de faire d'abord leur lit chaque matin !

Yoli said...

This is beautiful Maia. I am highly organized and it does bring peace and ease when tackling projects. Q looks stunning in her VDJ dress. Fairy tale child.

caramelcaramelo said...

lovely! you made my day! (well my night since it is nearly 10 PM in delhi). the photos, the text, all adorable and tender. as we say in mexico, you can almost feel honey coming out of them. thank you! kenza. pd-i have to admit that i am extremely organized which is easy since i have very few things. the zen part of me i guess.

Mlle Paradis said...

You made me feel better with your terribly honest comments about your untidiness Maia! Having a system is definitely valuable especially with a "startup". Sadly, I set up systems and then completely disregard them and find alternate places to let chaos reign. It's terrible. But we are who we are. I was organized when I was working outside the house!

Fei An said...

Q is so happy that mom is a tidy lady now:) I also find it does bring peace and ease when it is highly organized. It is very important to keep it up;)

anna said...

great post..so recognizable :)!

lovepics said...

a lovely set of pictures... your little Q makes me smile, she's a real sunshine :-)
great dress & hat!!

alliot + iza said...

I'm melt ... by her gestures and facial expressions ... her way of leaning against the door with her bunny ...
and, VDJ with twine ... good idea :)

Maia said...

Alliot, I have to admit I'm with you on the twine - that was an excellent fashion choice on Q's part. There's something very Gregorian about that look she created...which is why I couldn't get too worked-up about the stolen office supplies ;) Sometimes you have to let Q just run with it.

Maia said...

I am so delighted by all the thoughtful comments on this post.

Evelyne - These quotes ring very true (wish I could respond in French, but my writing is SO much worse than my reading). My orderly mother chose to do my cleaning for me when I was a child, because she felt it was easier that way. Probably if she'd taught me how to do it myself, it wouldn't have taken me so long to learn. Fortunately, Q is very orderly with putting things away - though she's equally as destructive in taking them out again!

Yoli, I wish I had your sense of order. I envy you that.

Kenza - I aspire to your zen existence. I think that's why I love your blogs so much. I am gradually reducing and reducing what I own, and feel better with every step in that direction.

Mlle - you understand me. I also tend to find new areas for my chaos to reign. And it has always been easier for me to organize when I worked outside my living space. I no longer have that luxury...but I love that I am able to work from home. So this learning process is as pleasurable as it is arduous.

Feian, I have found that I am able to keep it up more diligently with each step I take toward an organizes existence. It's interesting, but it really is cumulative.

Anna, I'm glad you can relate!

Lovepics, the dress was a gift from Charlotte, and will show up in many future images (as has Q's summer VDJ dress, which she has worn throughout the seasons!)As for the hat, it's one of mine which she has appropriated, and which she wears with far more panache!

Merisi said...

As one of those people who fervently try to stay organized, yet are regularly (always?) overcome by "creative chaos" and thrive under pressure (ha!), I admire your resolve to stay organized. What a beautiful work space you have now! :-)