Decluttering Part 5: Hobbies

There is a keyboard on one corner of our apartment, a sewing machine in the closet, two bicycles in our dining room, a rock-climbing harness and pair of shoes in a plastic tub, board games in our coffee table, and a shelf full of DVDs in the living room. There is a computer and exercise ball in the guest room, a roasting pan above the washing machine, a sushi-rolling mat (never used) in a cabinet in the living room, a set of golf clubs next to my two cocktail dresses, and a box of old video game consoles in a trunk.

We have no paucity of hobbies. What we are lacking is storage space. If you are one of those blessed people who have one interest, stop reading. This post is not for you. If, like me, you are interested in everything, read on!

How does one balance the joy of hobbies with the deep seated need we have for peace in our homes? Aesthetic peace is almost as much of a necessity as personal peace.

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10

Arguably, it is much easier to be still, to meditate upon our Lord, when you have a place to do so! If your home and your life are so full of activities and hobbies that you cannot be still, it is very hard to meditate on Christ. Granted, lack of clutter is not a sufficient condition for peace and stillness, but I do believe it is a necessary one.

So, given the above conditions, that (1) we need stillness, (2) we need aesthetic peace to create a place to be still, and (3) we have many and varied hobbies, how do we keep the clutter caused by our hobbies at bay so that conditions (1) and (2) can be satisfied?

Here are some ideas:
1. Know which hobbies bring glory to God. Pursue those and leave other hobbies behind.
2. Keep equipment for lesser-used activities stored away in tidy containers. Plastic tubs are very good for uniform storage in a closet. If your storage is visible, pretty but opaque baskets are good. I like ones that have lids.
3. If you have given up hobbies and no longer use the equipment, give it away or throw it away.
4. Finish unfinished projects! This is huge; most of us have projects that simply need to be finished. I have a bag of knitting supplies in my coffee table that has been there for two years. The project would take me a week to finish if I just got to it!
5. Do not allow projects to exist that do not have a "home." Everything in your home needs to have a place, otherwise it just becomes "kitchen table clutter". If it does not have a place, find it a place. (Also, make the place logical, so you can find it back.)