Empty Room. Empty Shelf. Empty Calendar - I love them, ok?

When I clean my house or a room in the house, I make sure there is empty space in it. Like, if I clean my kitchen, then at least one shelf will be empty. If I organize my bookcase, one shelf or half a shelf will be empty. Moving onto my calendar - I make sure there is empty space between meetings, even if it’s five minutes, or a thirty-minute block here and there. When we first moved into our house, I usually kept one room furnished with the bare minimum, rather than filling the entire space.

Usually, if I am stressed, under pressure, or not feeling well, organizing of any kind makes me feel better. It could be creating an Excel sheet for something, or just rearranging my desk, my clothes, my earrings, or my spoons in the pull-out drawer. Something magical happens when I do that.

Now, there is an exception to that. In a contained space, I am ok to make a mess, like a fridge door - it can be filled with magnets, and it does not bug me because there is a boundary. I can have one drawer which is a catch-all and is not organized, and that is ok. I can have a day or days when it is just chaotic at work, as long as I have a contained space for myself.

The need for an empty space for me is a reflection of my inner state. If the outside is messy, then it does something to the state of being. Like if boxes are just bunched around me, then my stress level goes up, or sub-consciously, I am uncomfortable. I think I actually ignore it, pretend it does not exist, which of course takes up energy.

In this age of AI, I asked Gemini why some people dislike clutter, and AI gave me the following overview: Some people dislike clutter because the human brain is naturally wired to seek order, and excessive physical items overload our sensory and cognitive systems. When an environment is filled with disorganized objects, the brain must constantly expend energy to process and filter out those irrelevant visual stimuli.

I guess this is why they call people like that a minimalist. If it were up to me, I would have a completely empty room, with a mattress that can roll up and another rug or cushion which serves for another purpose. Sometimes, I think living in a smaller space or studio will actually be better because you can control it, and you have no choice but to minimize the things you have in that space. My mind or brain also works that way, constantly. I am clearing up space in my mind - when we are discussing a topic or something, then I get to the root of the issue, cut all the noise and get to the point.

But, to most people, it is shocking - even the concept of an empty room. My dad was like, “Why do you want an empty room? It is symbolic - at least there is some space in the house that we haven’t filled up. And most importantly, it creates space for new things - that is why when I do cleaning, I create space. Throw away the old to create space for new. Maybe because I travelled a lot growing up, I prefer this style? Or is that how I am wired? Who knows - but what I know is I prefer order over chaos, but I thrive in controlled chaos - if that is even a thing.

What is your preference?”