Beauty from Order

If true minimalism is like clear-cutting a field, Kondo’s method is like weeding a garden. It’s a process of removing the background noise to create a canvas on which to build a joyful home.

Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee

I'm thinking this week about the connection between 2 of my BOLD words:

Beauty & Order

Beauty is connected to Order. The focus of my organizing business is Order. But good order is not the point. Beauty is the point. Joy is the point. What springs from order is the point.

In the same way, nutrient-rich, loamy soil is necessary for a fruitful garden. The soil is not the point of the garden, what grows there is. Lovely flowers. Flavor-filled food.

A lush, lavish garden doesn’t spring up on its own. There is preparation of the soil, planting of the seeds, and sustained patterns of care for the plants. It takes work, in other words. Why bother with all that toil? Obviously for the beauty and bounty it produces. A reward well worth the effort.

What joy do you want to grow in your life?

What goodness would you like to cultivate?

Similarly, the arrangement of 88 keys on a piano is necessary to produce specific sounds. The static structure of the instrument is not the point, the music is. Classical concertos. Children’s tunes. Country songs. Cinematic scores.

Good order underlies and fosters

creativity in our lives.

This requires work and effort, which is where I come in. The results of those hours of organizing go far beyond the order itself.

When I organized my fabric stash and my yarn stash, I was surprised by the difference it made. I was already pretty organized. Even so, following the spark joy selection process and the vertical storage principle still had a dramatic effect.

I am knitting and sewing more than ever.

I have finished multiple projects that were half-done.

I am inspired every time I walk into my craft room.

Inspiration and creativity. More time for my hobbies. That’s the point.

I love, love, love my job. Organizing and creating order brings me joy, certainly. The freedom and excitement my clients experience brings me even more joy.

Order alone is not the point, order is simply the foundation.

A beautiful, flourishing life is the point.

Tell me:

In what area of your life are you most creative?

How might more order and discipline fuel your creativity?

In what area of your life are you most orderly?

What does that order inspire and cultivate in your life?