From Mess to Less

story and photos by Maria Blokhina BEFORE

Jeremy Christopher works as a computer specialist at the University of Florida. He is also a photographer, a mountain biker, a musician and a collector of guitars. In the 16 years he’s lived in his home, he’s accumulated more than his fair share of clutter.

For Jeremy, cleaning his house is more a necessity than an enjoyable activity.

"It needs to happen, or it will become unbearable. I can tolerate a lot of it, though,” Christopher said. “Usually, what sets off a major cleaning spree is when I'm looking for something and can't find it."

At the same time, Christopher feels cleaning is futile as clutter just keeps coming back.

After watching “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” on Netflix, Christopher was inspired to try her methods of tidying up in his home office.

“[My office] is a space where I can put things that are in the way,” he said. “It's a space that other people don't see when they visit because it's out of sight."

He wanted to reorganize and repurpose his office into a structured creative studio, a space where he can play and record his music, edit his photographs and occasionally do computer work. The biggest challenge was finding a way to store all the equipment for recording music. According to Christopher, microphones, speakers and an infinite length of patch cords need to be accessible but not necessarily used all the time. This problem was solved by storing the items in containers based on the frequency of use.

At the beginning of the cleaning session, Christopher couldn't tell for sure how many guitars he had in the room. By the end, the guitars were neatly displayed and accessible on the wall.

The room was rearranged based on Christopher’s preference. The computer and light table were easier to access, proper shelving for the printer and scanner was arranged and new curtains were installed.

"It certainly feels much more welcoming and enjoyable to walk into and work,” Christopher said. “It will take a little bit of time to remember where things are now, but I am definitely happier to be in the space and work.”

He postponed the chore for too long, and after finishing the experiment, Christopher felt relieved as the room finally became manageable. Cleaning up and facing your mess is something we often neglect and avoid, but it is a necessary evil to living a healthy and organized life. O&B

The first step to tidiness was addressing the loose piles of various items on the floor. Eight hours later, the room was unrecognizable. Following Marie Kondo’s method of keeping what “sparks joy” and discarding what doesn’t was a good baseline, but Christopher found the ideology too limiting.

“I know what stuff I use and what I don't — some things you only need once or twice a year. Throwing infrequently used items away is a waste of money and resources,” Christopher said. “It might be possible that you have some things that you are not going to use in five years, but you'd have to buy them if you got rid of them." AFTER