Messy by Laurel Donaldson

At some point in the chapters there was meant to be a decluttering. But my path has mostly been one of cluttering.

A process of adding to, dusting off, confusing and enlarging. It started with the fridge, usually full of takeout meals which slowly deconstructed into the necessary ingredients. An old sweater bleached, which inspired a new sweater designed (shout out www.customink.com).

There was a wall which became a collage of discarded drafts, oddly complete in unison. It was a space that I didn’t mean to, but have, looked at every day from my computer chair, and now it feels bigger. It reminds me of making things.

A leather notebook full of mean little lists which slowly (for goodness sake. wake up early. take a trip. drink more water. punctuate the gray paste of days. train your dog. and on.) became more general and then something softer, drawings of mustaches and airplanes and other opposites of lists.

An empty shelf always dusty turned into an altar of stones and shells and things pulled out from drawers, which collectively upstage the dust. A bunch of little things that together have felt big.

Why not have an altar of good things? Love your stickers. Invest. For goodness sake. No shouting in the temple. (So the voice is still sometimes mean, but at least more fun.)

Clean wall → messy wall 🎨

Serious notebook → lighter notebook 🏓

Dusty shelf → can’t see it 💨

Other things 🪐

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