Can you be creative when your house is a mess?

I'd love to know if you can find your flow when your space is chaotic or if you find this a barrier to getting to work?

Let me set the scene for you

As I write this, there is a massive pile of washing to put away in our bedroom, the kitchen is a tip and there’s a selection of baby and kids toys dotted around the lounge.

We currently live in a two bed flat in London so there isn’t a lot of space for - the dream - loads of drawers and neatly labelled boxes to chuck stuff in.

Before I had kids, on a workday I’d probably wake up, do a meditation, some yoga stretches, make a leisurely coffee and most likely make sure my immediate surroundings were clear and uncluttered. I felt like I needed this to give the work my undivided attention. I needed things to be tidy before I could begin.

At various points I’ve rented studios and been a member of a bouji hotdesk/workspace club so having a clear separation from home life meant the temptation to just put a wash on or unload the dishwasher, or tidy up the endless toys, wasn’t there. I could crack the fuck on immediately.

👆🏼 Ahh my old, beautiful, bouji workspace in Peckham, RIP

I think I’ve always been a lover of tidy-ness

I was chatting to my sister about this (who remembers a lot more about our childhood than me for some reason) and she always remembers our mum needing to tidy before we could do something, or play together. My mum is a productivity machine, always getting stuff done around the house and tidying - I don’t think I’ve seen her sit down and chill, ever. And of course this has filtered down to us.

I don’t ever remember a time when things being a mess didn’t stress me out.

And now I have two (sometimes three if you include my husband) humans to tidy up for. I can’t remember where I heard this (soz) but someone said that motherhood is mainly tidying up. There’s a lot of tidying. Day in and day out.

I do feel like the ‘Clean Up Woman’ most days (and sing Betty Wright’s song to myself as I’m wiping down the high chair or picking up food from the floor).

Toning down the tidy freak inside

Now that I’m in a bit of work-motherhood-juggling-both limbo land I’m having to work from home in the snatches of time I get to myself, so I’ve had to tone down how tidy I need things to be.

I’ve done better with leaving the domestic bits n bobs until I’m out of the ‘peak’ part of the day, which for me is after that first coffee until lunchtime. Beyond 3 or 4pm I’ve normally maxed out my energy and have to start getting ready for nursery pick ups, so relegating the tidying, sorting and clearing until late afternoon is happening more regularly.

Time is such a luxury now I’m being more conscious about how and when I do things. Instead of putting clothes away first thing, I’m pushing the pile to the side and deciding to swap that time for a full body stretch before I sit down at the laptop and drop into a creative flow state.

PS. If it’s really messy, just leave the house 🫠

HELP - How do you approach wfh, creativity and tidy-ness?

I would LOVE any tips or advice or mindset shifts you’ve got about this. Can you drop in to a flow state as soon as you’ve got time to yourself? Do you make every minute count? Or do you need things to be tidy for your brain to feel free enough to be creative?

Drop a comment below,

Amy x