Lost my groove

[CatahoulaBubble]

So last May I moved to Missouri from Washington state. I bought a house with a few acres. Thought I could make a go of it but I've completely lost my motivation to do make soap. Then this past August I got laid off from my job and have been applying for everything I can and still have no job and even less motivation. I really need to get my motivation back and I miss making soap but I just can't seem to get everything together to make soap again. I hadn't unpacked everything until I got laid off and then I found a bunch of my soap stuff when I was unpacking and I thought "great, I will get going, make soap, sell soap, maybe get my soap business going full time and not have to return to the corporate rat race. But now my living room is a disaster of half unpacked boxes, stacks of soap supplies, buckets of oil, fragrances and micas and I'm completely overwhelmed with the mess of it all. There's not really any place I can put things because this place doesn't have the storage unless I use the garage but I have so much crap in the garage to go through. Yes, it sounds so pathetic. I just need to do anything at all but I feel like I'm stuck in tar and can't figure out what to do or how to get going.
Any ideas on how to get my butt in gear?

 

[dibbles]

I'm so sorry to hear you are having a hard time, and it sounds like you are completely overwhelmed. Maybe just decide what area will help you the most by getting it cleared out first. Then break it down into manageable sections. Don't look at the entire space - just decide what would be manageable for one day spending whatever amount of time you have available. One cabinet, everything along one wall, etc. I would guess that you need to clear out an area for storage somewhere first. When things started getting to be difficult for my mom, she would say 'five pounds at a time', which was in reference to about how much she could carry. So maybe apply something like that but change it to 'five feet at a time'.

I wish you well. It is hard to see there will be an end sometimes. But there is.

Or, you could just make soap until everything is used up

 

[AliOop]

Ugh, sorry to hear that things have stalled for you. I agree with @dibbles: pick one small goal for each day, and do that one thing. We are here to cheer you on!

 

[Iveta Pelá]

Hi, I'm so sorry about your situation. And I have compassion. I went through something similar. We were renovating my grandmother's house with a large garden. House in very bad condition. Then came the divorce and I was left alone with a small child in a broken house. My work started to fall apart because I couldn't concentrate. And I also miss storage spaces, things in boxes, clutter everywhere... What helps me the most to get out of chaos is to ignore all the clutter and start cleaning one part. Just one room. This frees up space for me because I can put things together better. And the joy of the job comes and the energy comes... Someone donates an old cabinet, a shelf... I paint it and I have cheap storage space... I make soap in the kitchen, I have to move things aside so I can make the soap and then put it back together back... I'm a beginner, but it makes me happy to take the finished soap out of the mold and then cut it... Experiment, explore... Don't think big and try to make one soap... Then another... They think about how to create a piece places to make soap, everything doesn't have to be ideal, improvise... Think, look at what you have available, the solution will come... Fingers crossed and I hope you can do it...

 

[Ephemerella]

Oh my! What a huge life upheaval. First, don't beat yourself up for losing motivation — anybody in your shoes would feel overwhelmed and out of control.

I moved this year, and with family illness, moving out of state, running my own biz, and starting a soap biz. I got overwhelmed, and it became really tempting to just let the chaos pile up around me and ignore it than try to tackle dealing with it.

But here's the thing. YOU get to make the rules on how to reconstruct your life. You don't have to appease anyone, or reach any milestones or goals other than the ones YOU set for you. YOU are in complete control of these decisions. Just reminding yourself about that can feel empowering.

When I'm struggling with a task so overwhelming I don't want to even look at it, I tell myself to start with 20 minutes a day. For only 20 minutes, I'll work really hard at it, and then I can ignore it for the rest of the day.

Taking small bites makes me feel like I moved the needle and accomplished something. Giving myself permission to ignore it after makes me feel that I'm in control and I don't have to live up to anybody else's expectations other than my own, and I can change those expectations at any time.

Hang in there. The soap gods will tell you when its time. Some of the greatest ideas are born out of chaos.