A Moment of Seriousness...

I want to take a few minutes to be serious with you in regards to my post from yesterday. I've shared with you before on my attempts to get my craft room cleaned/organized, and I've lamented the fact that I can't seem to keep it clean. After some time, and much thought, I have at least come to realize maybe why *I* have difficulties in doing this.

The most important questions in any situation like this are:

1) How did it get this way?

2) Why wasn't I able to regularly keep this room clean, and am seemingly unable to do so over, and over, again?

The answer to both questions for me really is this: I had a 2nd job for about 6 months working at Jo-Ann and purchased  a lot more craft supplies than I needed simply by being around them all the time, having an employee discount, and feeling that I'd soon get a promotion at work that would require more formal dress at work. For this last point, I bought a large amount of fabric for the intent of sewing my own work dresses, along with a number of sewing patterns when on sale. Once I didn't receive that promotion however, and was instead somewhat demoted, I hit an emotional rock bottom. I went to work, I came home, slept, then did it all over again the next day, and the next. The emotional low of this having happened made it so that I couldn't find much joy in creating or making anything, since I couldn't be creating or making anything I felt worthwhile at work. And when I don't feel like making anything, who cares if my craft room is unusable? I sure as heck didn't...

We all go through ups and downs in our lives, and the important part is finding your passion again for those things that once brought you joy, focusing on them, and working to make those things a part of your life again in order to be happy. I let myself stay in my low for far too long, and I'd been struggling for years, still am in fact...but what I want to say to you is that you mustn't let yourself go down those rabbit holes your emotions drag you down to. Take the time to find what brings you joy, and do whatever you can to let those things shine so you can get out of that hole and do what makes you happy.

It can be a long journey for some, even longer for others, but I want you to know that you are not alone. It doesn't have to be crafts; your happiness can be in volunteering your time/efforts to good causes, it can be exercising or meditating, even yoga, etc. Whatever your happiness is, let it be your light out of the darkness and don't be afraid to share your story with others so that we can all learn and grow in our journeys to finding our joy again.

Now, what about you? Do you seem to always find yourself desperately trying to keep organized and clean, and you're not sure how to make the cycle stop? Ask yourself the 2 questions above first, and you'll be on your way to finding the solution! It's similar to the idea that, "First you have to realize there is a problem, own up to it, and then you can work towards finding a solution."

Same thing here. Realize that you are tired of feeling this way, then figure out WHY it is/you are this way. Then the next step will be to think about these next 2 questions:

3) What do I want to change?

4) Why is this important to me?

For me, I want to change how I think of my craft room and my crafts. They really do bring me joy, but only when I have a space that's conducive to allowing me to do my crafting. This includes my craft room, but also extends to the rest of my home and in myself, whether I feel comfortable enough in either to sit down and craft something, or not.

The idea of learning how to organize my home and getting comfortable in my self has been in the back of my mind for awhile. Only recently, with having difficulty finding a new job where I feel appreciated and in which I can grow and be happy, being able to organize my home and be happy with who I am otherwise is a strong encouragement to work towards this goal. Especially so is the fact that these are the things that are in MY control. I control whether or not I clean my home, I control whether I do regular tasks to ensure my home stays clean and I'm able to feel free to sit down and work on any craft or project I choose, and I also control whether I go for walks/runs, do exercises, eat healthy, etc.

A clean and open home can create a clean and open mindset, and will allow you to do more of the things you love, which leads to being able to feel as though it's ok, and that you can be happy.

Stay strong folks, I believe you can find your happiness!!

Until next time,....

Craft ya laters! :)