Ode to Clutter
my desk, sketched in tempe, on september 13th, 2008*)
Clutter, clutter
we adore thee
sign of life and liberty
jumbly-muddly topsy turvy
lively scenes of life’s beauty
knick-knacks, post-it, and scrappy noties
are part of cre-a-ti-vi-ty
giver of immortal freedom
clutter oh yes we loveth thee
poem and song by merlyna lim, 2008, adapted from Ode to Joy, with a deep apology to Beethoven ;p
for a four-part acappella choral sound of this song (I sang lead, the clones of me sang other 3 parts), click play:
I think I am a clean person, but it’s hard for me to keep things neat. So, best is not to start anything, once I start doing something I would end up with a big mess. When I still lived in Dayeuh Kolot, my parents, especially my dad, always complained about how messy and disorganized (and forgetful!) I was. Bad combination, I could never find anything in my room! I guess, I just was born in disorder. I am naturally clutter-istic!
Having a place by my own changed me, though. Now, every week, or every other week, I do clean my place. But usually it doesn’t take long for it to be messy again. My close friends in Tempe, having seen my house so often, distinguish me from regular messy people. They said,”You’re organizedly messy or messily organized” Haha…. as if….. Good goodness, my living room, at least, is rarely messy (that’s where guests stop, hehe).
Of course, I would get a big headache when my house is dirty and too chaotic. But I also need some clutter here and there. Honestly, I cannot be in too-neat-too-clean kind of place. Once I came back home (in Tempe) after a long summer getaway and found out that a housekeeper (well, a colleague of mine) had cleaned all possible ‘disturbance’ to the eyes that I saw nothing on the floor, nothing on the table, desk, sink, etc. I felt lost. I felt too sterile, it scared me!
My desk, once it’s not empty, then it cannot be not messy. I enjoy working in a clean place, but I am more creative when the place is messy, with clutter everywhere! A sketch above is a snapshot of my messy desk — taken two days ago. This morning, it’s even messier!
Take a look at my sketch above. I do think the most interesting dimension of this sketch is its clutter-ness! Without clutter, the sketch would be much less interesting.
It’s like looking at the city from above, of scenes of rooftops. The more jumbly-muddly and topsy-turvy the more beautiful they are. There’s something rich, bohemian, and alluring about such scenes. There are interesting and intriguing narratives behind these scenes.
Our personal places — home and office, too, aren’t meant to be sterile, simple and clutter free….. except when guests come over, of course. In our home, we keep our stories through photos, bookshelves, knick-knacks, artwork, and some other personal stuff. In our desk, we keep electronic gadgets, file folders, markers, scrap-notes, stamps, stickers, favorite paper clips, and other (un)working, sometimes silly, stuff.
They are utterly personal. Each of them has different stories to tell.
Clutter. Many seem to want to get rid from it. Amazon even lists so many books to help people to be free from clutter, from Stop Clutter from Stealing your Life, to Clutter’s Last Stand: It’s to De-Junk Your Life, to Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui.
Oh well, some say clutter signifies ineffective, messy, disorganized, life. Oh well, again, do I need to be unmessy, de-clutterized, de-junked, to have life I want to live?
While not claiming that clutter is the detritus of creativity — which could be ;), I do think there’s place for clutter in life. I do need clutter to a certain degree. For me, there’s a place for clutter in the personal, in the individuality, in the realm of personal freedom, for life is clutter in itself, with its complexity (no matter how hard you try to simplify it). Rather than seeing it as a negative force, I’d rather see it as a sign of life. And perhaps we can see that above the clutter is actually……. culture? 
Oh well, forget my mumbo-jumbo….. I wrote this just to justify the existence of my cluttered desk!!! Gotcha!
Viva higgledy-piddledy desk!!! Viva clutterism!
*) do you notice that I do the multiple framing (more than usual) in this sketch?
p.s. to mbok Inem, in the fight against clutter, i take Don’s side 
19 Comments so far
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Love both the ode and the sketch! It’s our own desk, our work spot, so nobody else should touch it.
“You’re organizedly messy or messily organized” … it can be true. I have a super clutter desk, but at the same time I file my documents neatly. I had a colleague whose desk was very neat, but her filing system was awful. I guess one way or another, everybody has his/her own mess.
You know teh, the weirdest things is, hubby just finished put the add-ons of my secretary last weekend. I already took the before-and-after pictures and ready to write a post about my ‘uniquely organized’ desk and how I found the solution to keep it neat. Then I saw your post on the same topic! How funny that is! Can you read my mind, teh? LOL.
mer: hahaha, perhaps i do read your mind…. only your mind, though, not others, haha. you? super-cluttered desk? cannot be possible
By santi on 09.15.08 8:13 pm
To clutter or to de-clutter; that is a constant question that waxes and wanes with time. The derivative question is how to decide when to do what, and why, eh? I know…. it’s relative….:-)
mer: to clutter isn’t something intentional, sometimes/most of times, it’s unconsciously done… it happens in life all the time, right? but to de-clutter is something that you consciously do. so, at least one job is done, you never have to think when to clutter… just when to de-clutter ;P
By wild lilac on 09.16.08 8:38 am
Hehehe lucu, aku bisa bayangin mbak Mer menari-nari dan nyanyi2 diantara serakan barang-barang di kamar mbak Mer…:-D du..du..du..du…:-p
Iya, aku juga setuju kok kalo kita memang memerlukan ketidak-teraturan sampai tingkat tertentu, yg ndak ada standaranya. Buatku indikasinya adalah kalau aku masih bisa menemukan barang2 yang ingin kucari diantara keberantakan itu (krn gk pengen org lain bisa dengan mudah menemukan barang2ku :p). Bela diri banget hehehe
Tp kadang suka manyun juga kalo ud mesti beres2 tp tus lg males. Kalo ud gini OB kantor sering jadi korban deh. “Ehm, Kas, sibuk gak?” :p
mer: kasihan deh nasibnya si Kas
oh, pas aku nyanyi2 lantai kamar sih bersih, ngga ada barang2… cuma desk yg cluttered dan kasur… hehehe.
By sisca on 09.16.08 8:40 am
I love your song! And I fully understand the comfort and creativity a little clutter can bring.
I just posted a funny article I found on clutter. Kinda goes with the theme…
http://www.cluttercontrolfreak.com/2008/09/10/ten-simple-rules-to-help-you-avoid-organized-living/
Thanks for posting this!
mer: you’re welcome Eva. glad you love it
yes, the article is funny, thanks for posting it.
By Eva Wallace on 09.16.08 8:58 am
Gwahahaha.. ngakak dengar lagunya
Keren.. keren.. *turut berduka ya Pak Beethoven*
“knick-knacks, post-it, and scrappy noties
are part of cre-a-ti-vi-ty”..
mulai bersenandung ga jelas.. terbayang-bayang
mer: haha, beware….. kedengaran sama fans-nya Beethoven ntar dikutuk lhoo
By credo on 09.16.08 9:54 am
Haaa… an organized clutter person, just like me. I would always clean up things after doing some “mad” work. But, yeahh.. most of the time my room is messy.
mer: are you organizedly cluttered? or clutterly organized? :p
By ichi on 09.16.08 9:03 pm
hehehe..lutu juga.
Ada-ada aja lu eMer!
Tp gw ga nemu even one of your kuncis a.k.a keys, di gambar
mer: wah…. kemana ya kunci2 gue? :))
By verenamaya on 09.17.08 3:49 am
Nice one… I enjoy it very much. ’till the next one… tx.
mer: glad “the bat” guy enjoyed it. thanks for swinging by. hope to entertain you again, next time
By Harold on 09.17.08 4:33 am
I like the expression.. messily organized.. pas banget mer. Maybe you know me as a neat person, but.. believe it or not.. my desk is messily organized, too. Although it looks messy, but I can find a sheet of paper right away.
Anyway, I can’t imagine your desk or your room without clutter. You’re right, your picture will be boring without clutter. Nice picture..
mer: thanks. wow, cluttered desk of yours? impossible
actually my rooms (progress2x) are fine… but my desks, ya, hard one…. ugh.
By rini on 09.17.08 9:46 am
WOW…so very amazing sketch u’ve done…
though i am a designer, i cannot draw as good as u are..
you’re such a talented woman. nice to know u
gbu
mer: thanks, glad you like it. nice to know you too, thanks for swinging by.
By sophia on 09.18.08 1:28 am
First and foremost, congrat on the new place. Love the ode. Can’t listen to it. Yet. At work now *ahem* Like my husband said, also to justify his messyness, “At least I know what is where even though my desk is a mess.”
mer: thanks. glad you love the ode, luckily you’re not Beethoven
a little messy is fine. too messy is headache 
By Diny on 09.18.08 1:48 pm
hehehe ngerti deh aku.. berantakan tapi “terpisah2″ ya teh
asik acapellanya. semua pake suara sendiri ya
ps: aku ganti alamat blog
mer: thanks for the new address, geekgirl. ya, malu ngajak tetangga, jadi ya sendiri aja hihi.
By geekgirl on 09.18.08 2:35 pm
Did you do the sketch? Wow, you’re good! I love it.
I like a messy desk. It shows that you actually use it
mer: yes, i did. i sketch for fun. happy you love it
messy is not always entirely bad, indeed.
By Zhu on 09.18.08 8:07 pm
Can’t but agree. The few people I know of who are effectively creative, are definitely not neurotically strict archivists. I love to go there because they are fun themselves and because of the “gezellige rotzooi” ( can I tranbslate that by ‘cosy mess’?).
It’s an interesting question if it’s the other way round as well: are people who hate tidying up there place every now and then ( people like me that is) usually creative? Awkward question because in case that it is true, I must be the exception to the rule.
By colson on 09.19.08 2:50 am
Can’t but agree. The few people I know of who are effectively creative, are definitely not neurotically strict archivists. I love to go there because they are fun themselves and because of the “gezellige rotzooi” ( can I tranbslate that by ‘cosy mess’?).
It’s an interesting question if it’s the other way round as well: are people who hate tidying up their place every now and then ( people like me that is) usually creative? Awkward question because in case that it is true, I must be the exception to the rule.
mer: i think the answer is depend. i like ‘cozy mess’, too. or i don’t know the answer. there’s a research saying that some people with clutter are usually warmer friends/parents, (relatively) more flexible and creative than neat-control freak. but some people are messy for messy sake…. without creativity, haha. that’s a killer :p
By colson on 09.19.08 2:50 am
That’s neat - compare to mine which are much messier
mer: well, it’s not a clutter contest, but i’ll let you win
a little clutter is a sign of creativity. too much clutter is obviously chaotic, hehe.
By domba garut!~ on 09.19.08 5:34 am
buset, itu mah masih rapih pisan….
mer: kalau rapih pisan sih ngga mungkin (standard elu kacau), tapi kalau berantakan pisan juga ngga sih… lagian krn monochrome, jadi terlihat lebih ‘acceptable’ dari aslinya. p.s. a little cluttered does not equal ‘very messy’.
By henry sujaya on 09.21.08 10:38 am
Gilaaaaaaaaaaa……….
Kikikikikikikik… cacat abeeessss…
But, how can you sang the bass part? You converted it on octave below?
I hate messy and clutter, but to clean it is hater. Hikikikikikikikikikikikikik.
mer: cacat itu ada level-nya…. cacat yang model menyumblim atau cacat yang keren? yg jelas dong, hihihi…. gila juga ada tipe-nya, gila yang luntang-lantung ngga jelas di bawah kolong jembatan, atau gila yang rumahnya di kolong jembatan (itu mah rumah gue di Dayeuh Kolot, haha). the bass part, i sang it like that….. hihihihi…..
By sahat on 09.22.08 9:58 pm
somehow, i always have an urge to clean the table before work, but always end up with a messy table. i don’t mind. i like “beres-beres” part afterward. hihihi
mer: great, then i’ll invite you to come to my place because i hate ‘beres-beres’… but love to see the after-beres-beres result…
By melly on 09.23.08 6:32 pm
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