Ask the Author: Eve O. Schaub
Answered Questions (8)
Eve O. Schaub
Hi Teri! So the non-Marie Kondo-friendly honest answer is that I've backslid a bit and I'm not very happy about it- the room now is still usable, but wildly cluttered, so really precisely right in between where I started in the memoir and where I finished.
I find that the issue of stuff is a battle I will always be fighting on one level or another, although whenever I am really struggling I revisit some of the lessons I uncovered during that year — its okay to make mistakes, being circumspect about what comes in the house in the first place, keeping everything is keeping nothing (because it is ultimately counter productive and destructive)— and it helps a lot. Thanks for this great question- the struggle is REAL!
I find that the issue of stuff is a battle I will always be fighting on one level or another, although whenever I am really struggling I revisit some of the lessons I uncovered during that year — its okay to make mistakes, being circumspect about what comes in the house in the first place, keeping everything is keeping nothing (because it is ultimately counter productive and destructive)— and it helps a lot. Thanks for this great question- the struggle is REAL!
Eve O. Schaub
Two ways: one is that I sit down in front of my computer screen and start typing. I do this pretty much every day- I try to keep my writing time sacrosanct, whether I'm "feeling it" or not. Most of the time I get excited about what I'm writing, although there are certainly days when I say "Oh, THAT didn't work."
The other way is when I'm out in the world and suddenly I get an idea, and of course, I can't write right now! I'm driving a car! Or eating lunch at a restaurant! Or hang gliding! Which is why I always carry a little notebook around in my purse so I can take notes of whatever occurs to me. I've also been known to make writing notes on supermarket lists, receipts and bookmarks. Also Kleenex- but only clean ones.
The other way is when I'm out in the world and suddenly I get an idea, and of course, I can't write right now! I'm driving a car! Or eating lunch at a restaurant! Or hang gliding! Which is why I always carry a little notebook around in my purse so I can take notes of whatever occurs to me. I've also been known to make writing notes on supermarket lists, receipts and bookmarks. Also Kleenex- but only clean ones.
Eve O. Schaub
I'm delighted to announce that I'm currently working on a follow-up to Year of No Sugar! Whereas that first book was a memoir, this one will be more of a how-to, based on the questions I regularly get from readers. Included will be great new no-and-low sugar recipes, tips, updates, and of course, STORIES. YES! It's very exciting. Probably, I am a little too excited about this. Stay tuned!
Eve O. Schaub
My most recent book is Year of No Clutter, a memoir detailing how I spent a year cleaning out one enormous room in my house that was packed to the gills with so much stuff that I couldn't even shut the door any more. Although "the author cleans out a room!" might not sound like a scintillating plot at first, I had the idea to write the book because I've always been obsessed with the idea of stuff, objects, belongings, collections- and the reasons why we keep them. Why is one person's priceless treasure another person's worthless garbage? Who's right? What's the difference between a "collection" and a "hoard"? After decades of being a "keeper", was there a way to shed my cluttering tendencies, or was I stuck for good, keeping everything and yet being able to find and access practically nothing?
I figured that if I was this intrigued by what I considered to be the bottomless topic of "stuff," then hopefully what I wrote about it would be interesting and entertaining. Also I figured there must be people out there like me who also struggle greatly with the question of stuff- what to keep, what to discard, how much is too much? Hopefully they could relate to my thought process and maybe I'd come to some helpful revelations in the process for all of us. And lastly, for the readers out there who are the opposite of me- the minimalists!- the book could provide a window into a world that they might not otherwise be able to comprehend, perhaps helping them to understand better a friends or family member who is a Person of Stuff.
Every year for as long as I can remember my New Year's resolution has been to clean out that room out once and for all and make it functional and livable again. As I thought about the idea for the book, I figured, if I can't get my room back after a whole year of trying, maybe I am hopeless after all, but at least then I'll KNOW. The good news is that I discovered that with thought and perseverance, changing one's keeping habits IS possible. I'll never impress Marie Kondo or Martha Stewart, but I was able to change more than I had ever expected possible.
I figured that if I was this intrigued by what I considered to be the bottomless topic of "stuff," then hopefully what I wrote about it would be interesting and entertaining. Also I figured there must be people out there like me who also struggle greatly with the question of stuff- what to keep, what to discard, how much is too much? Hopefully they could relate to my thought process and maybe I'd come to some helpful revelations in the process for all of us. And lastly, for the readers out there who are the opposite of me- the minimalists!- the book could provide a window into a world that they might not otherwise be able to comprehend, perhaps helping them to understand better a friends or family member who is a Person of Stuff.
Every year for as long as I can remember my New Year's resolution has been to clean out that room out once and for all and make it functional and livable again. As I thought about the idea for the book, I figured, if I can't get my room back after a whole year of trying, maybe I am hopeless after all, but at least then I'll KNOW. The good news is that I discovered that with thought and perseverance, changing one's keeping habits IS possible. I'll never impress Marie Kondo or Martha Stewart, but I was able to change more than I had ever expected possible.
Eve O. Schaub
As far as I can tell, the only real answer to this question is to keep writing anyway. It may suck, but you'll work through that and come out the other side. Sometimes when I've felt uninspired, but I sit down to write anyway, I am amazed at how quickly that mood can disappear... some of my favorite writing has come out of moments of complete despair.
Eve O. Schaub
Absolutely. I find writing to be a therapeutic process for me- a way of working through things. I've heard it said of memoir that it is a way of finding out something you didn't know you knew... and I think this is very true.
I also find that writing something down is a way of holding yourself accountable-if I write down that I want to clean my Hell Room out, I can't rationalize that thought away the next day, the way I might be tempted to otherwise- there that thought is, staring me in the face.
I also find that writing something down is a way of holding yourself accountable-if I write down that I want to clean my Hell Room out, I can't rationalize that thought away the next day, the way I might be tempted to otherwise- there that thought is, staring me in the face.
Eve O. Schaub
Write for yourself- you are your own perfect audience.
Eve O. Schaub
That feeling I get when I go back and read something I wrote a while ago, and I think "Wow- who wrote THAT?!"
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