THE TIMES ON "DE-STUFFIFICATION"

This article by Stephanie Rosenbloom, "But Will It Make You Happy?" appeared in the New York Times yesterday. Seems fitting that it was published in a paper housed in one of the world's great capitals of overconsumption.

Thoughtfully brought to my attention by my friend cj Madigan, the piece looks at simplification in this time of economic challenge. I appreciated the fact that it moves from a story about physical decluttering to a nuanced exploration of deeper issues, including research not just on what people buy but on how satisfying those purchases are.

I share it not because I believe that we need to toss out all our stuff, but as an invitation to continue thinking consciously and clearly about the role things--as opposed to experiences, for example--play in the creative life.

It was also heartening to see the current recession spoken of in a positive context, with a focus on some of the things it has brought the country as well as what has been lost.

SIMPLE: IT'S NOT THE SAME AS MINIMAL

When you think about clearing out or decluttering, don't confuse function and style.

Clear, unclogged, functional, open, simple to use, and easy to maintain describe the experience you have in, and with, a space. Minimal, empty, modern, Shaker, and Zen just describe its look.

Your creative space can feel everything named in that first group of word without looking like any of the words in the second.

My friend Dolores' Manhattan apartment was a case in point. Her apartment was small, her interests were many, she taught piano lessons at home, and she had already lived six decades of rich, varied life by the time I met her. It's not surprising that she had a lot of things, and that they were packed fairly densely in the restricted space. Yet Dolores' apartment wasn't problematically cluttered. Things were in their place no matter when I dropped in. The cupboards and closets she opened were orderly, the pathways clear, the furnishings old but well maintained. Her piano lessons were given and enjoyed in comfort. Dolores struggled with a whole lot of life challenges in the years we both lived in Manhattan, but feeling hampered or confined by her stuff wasn't one of them.

Don't shame or blame yourself your house or studio doesn't look like a Zen monastery or a home from a lifestyle magazine. Accept your own personal style, taste, and preferences without judgment. 'Test' your spaces based on how free and comfortable you feel within them, not on how they look.