It Takes More Time
See a problem, dream a project. In my mind, the path from Mess A to New Study Order B was a straight-forward weekend chore. Up roll the sleeves, out come planning paper and pens. And then? Well, then the weekend burned away as the dream met reality. Ever started a simple project only to discover you’ve stepped into a complex life lesson?
The problem: an out-of-control study room. The project: declutter and organize. The complexity? My husband and I share the study room. News flash: we come from different backgrounds, have different interior design tastes, and different hobby interests. During our initial efforts, it dawned on me that melding our tinkering space into a reflection of us—Mr. & Mrs.—was going to take more than just a weekend.
Sure, I could just “clean up” everything and attempt to squirrel away the plethora of computer parts, piles of books, sticky notes galore, and miscellaneous items in some form or fashion. But to make this room sustainable over the long term, it is going to entail figuring out the bigger picture and purpose of how we need the study to function in this current season of life. Once that is figured out, I’ll be able to better organize what we need to keep and declutter the rest of the stuff.
We spent this weekend looking at different bookcases and organizers at Ikea. That trip through acres of Swedish design sparked many deep, and at times, frustrating conversations as my husband and I strove to communicate with each other our ideas, likes, and dislikes regarding the updating and rearranging of some of the organizational furniture in the study.
But despite the heated conversations, the messy piles becoming messier, and this task stretching out into the foreseeable future, I am grateful. I am grateful because through it, my husband and I will continue to grow closer. I am grateful because I am learning to pace myself in the process so I don’t become burned out by it. I am grateful because it is teaching me that actions without loving kindness don’t mean anything. I am grateful because this process is teaching me that in order to clean up a mess, sometimes it gets messier first—and that’s okay. And I’m grateful for realizing that this project will take more time than I originally thought it would, because it will give me an even greater opportunity to learn and grow through the process.
Sometimes when we try to rush through things, we end up shortchanging ourselves and don’t reap the benefits from a situation that we could have if we had just taken the time to slow down a little. So take more time. It’s worth it.
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