by Alena Wendall, @alenawendall

While I made a bulleted list for all of our spring cleaning duties around the house, I always seem to neglect my writing space which doubles as the family study area. It was built with two pull-out desk areas. One for my husband and one for myself. Over the years it’s turned into a place for the kids to study for their classes and group projects. As you can imagine with four people working in and out…well it gets cluttered.

Did I mention that my darling hubby never throws away anything?  

I finally had to take it in hand because the clutter was super distracting to me while I tried to work and while I can ignore it for my day job, not so much when I’m writing.

If this is you, here’s a few hints to help you get control back of your creative space.

Move It

Go through and remove everything that doesn’t belong. Dump it right outside your study and label it. For me, it meant labeling it with each kids’ name and having them put it away.

Paperwork/Mail

We don’t all have the space for a separate place to write. Compartmentalize what space you have and try to keep it organized. I find that if I “see” stuff when I’m trying to be creative, I get distracted by it and think about the things I “have to do” instead of what I’m doing.  For me it means, a surface clear of clutter and business/work/bills.

Sorting

I had to train the family to put all that stuff (house bills, invitations, notices from school etc.) in a separate pile so I could go through it in one-swoop. When I go through this stack, I stand over a trash can and dump what I don’t need right away.

Then I organize by three sections. Everyone has different files, but mainly, it’s Bills To Pay, Kids Stuff (school etc.) and Filing.

Writing Space (Now we get to the fun stuff.)

I wanted to make my space fun again so I took a few moments to really thing about what motivates me.

Pictures:

I put pictures of past writing conference with friends, front and center, to encourage me to keep writing.

I also write down quotes that encourage me and I pin them up. I made sure and put this where I could see it and change the quotes out. It’s nothing special or elaborate. When I come across something that encourages me, I write it down on an index card and pin it up.

Furniture:

I rearranged my writing chair to face the window so when I look up an out I see rose bushes and trees and not “work” stuff. This is absolutely vital as I tend to work from home a few days a week and work-stuff can so take over my space.

I hope this helps.

Blessings!

Writing as Alena Wendall, Alena Tauriainen pens contemporary Christian romance novels that always end with a happily ever after. By day, she partners with her lifelong mate Clyde, to run the family HVAC business. She manages both business and family life with four lovable but crazy kids. She is the Retreats Coordinator for My Book Therapy. She is represented by Rachelle Gardner with Books & Such Literary Management. Visit her at alenawendall.com.