Clutter Sketches: The Beginning

I first fell in love with clutter sketches due to Stephen Reddy’s work. He has a number of clutter sketches published in his books. It was love at first sight. Not only did I want to be able to draw like that, but I also felt such sketching would be a great way to handle my growing clutter problem in my own house.

Why might sketching the clutter help? Sketching is often like meditation, especially when the subject has so many lines. You create a new way of looking at and thusly thinking about what is in front of you. They say clutter blindness is a thing. I wouldn’t say I had blindness, as much as paralyzing overwhelm. My clutter erupted in a short period of time, born of grief, and depression. I call it pandemic clutter, because the profound losses that first year of pandemic, gave birth to it. I have yet to overcome the damages. I still believe sketching is an excellent way to cope, to change thinking, and grapple with the impossible. There are so many negative feelings trapped in each square inch of clutter.

My very first clutter sketch, which I drew right after seeing Stephen Reddy’s book and getting so inspired by his clutter sketches, was of my treacherous staircase. This sketch I did from a photo, in pen and ink, and ink wash, copying his technique for shading. Or at least trying to. Ha!

Drawn Christmas Day 2020.

I hated this sketch at the time, due my lack of skill with both lines and shading. Skills I STILL work on. At least I’ve learned now that they are skills that never finish developing.

Drawn 1 April 2021.

The next clutter sketch I attempted I also used inspiration from Paul Heston, who does these amazing room sketches, always including his own hands drawing. I used my iPad. I felt like I was cheating, but I really wanted to make clutter sketches, and felt my drawing skills were simply not up to the number of lines required, the proportions, any of it. So I put the photo into Procreate and drew the lines, basically tracing the photograph. This is what I ended up with. I loved it. Just the lines, simplifying the scene into basic black and white. I still use this approach today.

I just realized that’s a covid mask hanging on the doorknob. Woah. That stirs up some feelings!

After this I decided that before and after sketches would be a great way to document my efforts to declutter.

Drawn September 2021.

I had to scroll through nine months of photos to find when I took this photo, and did this sketch! I apparently need to add dates to the iPad sketches! I read the book Decluttering at the Speed of Life, and took her advice to start at the front door.

I have a few random clutter sketches, which have no dates. I believe they were all in that Autumn of 2021.

January 2024.

I found this third one, which I did in January of 2024.

The next big push for such clutter sketches was a year later, January 2025, when I participated in the All Day Declutter with Take Your House Back, which I wanted to document. I’ll share those in a future post, as I get them uploaded.