---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be creative, first I need to be really…"
description: "\"To be creative, first I need to be really organized. If my apartment's messy I need to clean it. It's like before you start doing your homework or stud..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg"
---

#  To be creative, first I need to be really organized. If my…

![“To be creative, first I need to be really organized. If my apartment's messy I need to clean it. It's like before you start doing your homework or studying for a test, you have to have a clean room.” quote by Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg)

> “To be creative, first I need to be really organized. If my apartment's messy I need to clean it. It's like before you start doing your homework or studying for a test, you have to have a clean room.”

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Creativity requires an organized environment; clutter hinders focus and productivity.

**In simple terms:** Being organized boosts creativity.

Key Takeaway

Keep your space tidy before creative work.

Themes

creativity organization productivity

Mood

lighthearted pragmatic

Type

advice humorous

When to use this quote

- studying
- writing
- art projects
- home office

Key Concepts

environmental psychology habit formation

Questions to Reflect On

- Does a clean space always improve output?
- How to balance organization with spontaneity?

A Different Perspective

Some people thrive in messy environments; personal preference varies.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Clean Room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean-room/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/)

## Related quotes

> [Hours fly by while I'll just be in my apartment, and somehow it will be messy later. I'll clean it up and eat cereal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-leigh-cook/hours-fly-by-while-i-ll-just-be-in-my-apartment-and-somehow-it-will/)

[Rachael Leigh Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-leigh-cook/)

> [The world is noisy and messy. You need to deal with the noise and uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-koller/the-world-is-noisy-and-messy-you-need-to-deal-with-the-noise-and/)

[Daphne Koller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-koller/)

> [Thomas Gordon, founder of P.E.T. (Parent Effectiveness Training), observed that when children are behaving in a way that interferes with your ability to meet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-yagoda/thomas-gordon-founder-of-p-e-t-parent-effectiveness-training-observed/)

[Ben Yagoda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-yagoda/)

> [You got to always take advantage of getting your room cleaned. You may think it's nice not to have anybody in your room, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/you-got-to-always-take-advantage-of-getting-your-room-cleaned-you-may/)

[Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/)

> [Hes sitting in my way while I'm trying to clean my room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hes-sitting-in-my-way-while-i-m-trying-to-clean-my-room/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I have to clean my room and unload the dishwasher, wash the pans, and feed the dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-have-to-clean-my-room-and-unload-the-dishwasher-wash-the-pans-and/)

[Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/)

> [I would so clean this room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-so-clean-this-room/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You never know what you have until... you clean your room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha/you-never-know-what-you-have-until-you-clean-your-room/)

Natasha

> [Things at home didn't change much. I still have to clean my own room!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-grint/things-at-home-didn-t-change-much-i-still-have-to-clean-my-own-room/)

[Rupert Grint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-grint/)

> [Clean your room, family is coming over…OH IM SORRY I DIDN'T REALISE THAT GATHERING WOULD BE HELD IN MY BEDROOM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-chevier/clean-your-room-family-is-coming-over-oh-im-sorry-i-didn-t-realise/)

Corey Chevier

> [Time to clean my room: 50% listening to music and dancing around, 49% being lazy, 1% cleaning up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-to-clean-my-room-50-listening-to-music-and-dancing-around-49/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“An Englishman’s duty is to secure for himself for ever reasonable clothing, a clean shirt a day, a couple of mutton-chops grilled without condiments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-madox-ford/an-englishman-s-duty-is-to-secure-for-himself-for-ever-reasonable/)

[Ford Madox Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-madox-ford/)

> [My untidy habits drive me to follow the slash-and-burn principle. Work on a virgin table until the mess becomes unbearable, then move on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/my-untidy-habits-drive-me-to-follow-the-slash-and-burn-principle-work/)

[Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/)

> [My father was a general manager with Hyatt, so we lived in the hotel so he would be close by if there were any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/my-father-was-a-general-manager-with-hyatt-so-we-lived-in-the-hotel/)

[Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/)

> [Once a year I will clean my room, just because I feel I should.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usain-bolt/once-a-year-i-will-clean-my-room-just-because-i-feel-i-should/)

[Usain Bolt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usain-bolt/)

## More by Demetri Martin

> [I think hair gel was invented to make it easier to identify assholes from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-hair-gel-was-invented-to-make-it-easier-to-identify-assholes/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [Tic Tacs are the maracas of breath mints.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/tic-tacs-are-the-maracas-of-breath-mints/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [When someone describes themself as a taxpayer, they're about to be an asshole.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/when-someone-describes-themself-as-a-taxpayer-they-re-about-to-be-an/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [I think they named the orange before the carrot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-they-named-the-orange-before-the-carrot/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [I like to go to concerts because I love to see my favorite band through the phone of the asshole who's standing in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-like-to-go-to-concerts-because-i-love-to-see-my-favorite-band/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [How fast does a zebra have to run before it looks gray.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/how-fast-does-a-zebra-have-to-run-before-it-looks-gray/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [Skiing is my favorite sport, because, that's the only sport that is actually better to watch the worst the person is at it. "That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/skiing-is-my-favorite-sport-because-that-s-the-only-sport-that-is/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [I know about Woodstock probably as much as your average person who is over 30, where I'd know Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-know-about-woodstock-probably-as-much-as-your-average-person-who-is/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [Never be less interesting than your refrigerator magnets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/never-be-less-interesting-than-your-refrigerator-magnets/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [I bought a cactus. A week later it died. And I got depressed, because I thought, Damn. I am less nurturing than a desert.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-bought-a-cactus-a-week-later-it-died-and-i-got-depressed-because-i/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [A Wednesday with no rain is a dry hump day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/a-wednesday-with-no-rain-is-a-dry-hump-day/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [THING TO TRY: If you are asked to describe a suspect to a police sketch artist, describe in precise detail, the features of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/thing-to-try-if-you-are-asked-to-describe-a-suspect-to-a-police/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [If you happen to catch on fire during the show, do not panic or wave your arms around or scream or we wil give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/if-you-happen-to-catch-on-fire-during-the-show-do-not-panic-or-wave/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [They say that structure is freedom, and in a sense it is. When you're dealing with multiple constraints, you have to figure out what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/they-say-that-structure-is-freedom-and-in-a-sense-it-is-when-you-re/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

> [I think my favorite sound is the sound of someone not playing the bongos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-my-favorite-sound-is-the-sound-of-someone-not-playing-the/)

[Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

[Explore all 508 Demetri Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/)

## More Apartment quotes

> [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/)

[Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/)

> [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/)

[Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/)

> [As most New Yorkers have done, I have given serious and generous thought to the state of my apartment should I get killed during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/as-most-new-yorkers-have-done-i-have-given-serious-and-generous/)

[Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/)

> [I feel when you walk into somebody's apartment on Fifth Avenue or house in Malibu and you see a Basquiat, a Warhol, a Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pigozzi/i-feel-when-you-walk-into-somebody-s-apartment-on-fifth-avenue-or/)

[Jean Pigozzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pigozzi/)

> [Every New Yorker spends a certain amount of nervous energy thinking, "How can I afford to stay here? What do I have to sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-zukin/every-new-yorker-spends-a-certain-amount-of-nervous-energy-thinking/)

[Sharon Zukin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-zukin/)

> [Most of my work is, I get an idea, and, with the help of Wikipedia, I can write. I don't have to leave my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/most-of-my-work-is-i-get-an-idea-and-with-the-help-of-wikipedia-i-can/)

[Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/)

> [Science and art may invent splendid modes of illuminating the apartments of the opulent; but these are all poor and worthless compared with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ellery-channing/science-and-art-may-invent-splendid-modes-of-illuminating-the/)

[William Ellery Channing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ellery-channing/)

> [About 25 years ago, I was in an apartment, and next door, they put on the radio, so I struck the wall with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaus-kinski/about-25-years-ago-i-was-in-an-apartment-and-next-door-they-put-on/)

[Klaus Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaus-kinski/)

> [I don't think taste is about money. As your career develops, you're able to decide what to spend your money on. I live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-finch/i-don-t-think-taste-is-about-money-as-your-career-develops-you-re/)

[Charles Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-finch/)

> [ My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's \[Braun\] choice in a man and the fact \[Adolf\] Hitler had set her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit-he-detested-eva-s-braun/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

> [He had one uniform practice, and a very bad one it was, during the time of family worship, and just three or four seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hogg/he-had-one-uniform-practice-and-a-very-bad-one-it-was-during-the-time/)

[James Hogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hogg/)

> [No birth certificate is issued when friendship is born. There is nothing tangible. There is just a feeling that your life is different and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-tesich/no-birth-certificate-is-issued-when-friendship-is-born-there-is/)

Steve Tesich

> [Music will always be there. I own a piano. I have it in my apartment. I play it every day, and I have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lambert/music-will-always-be-there-i-own-a-piano-i-have-it-in-my-apartment-i/)

[David Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lambert/)

> [ For instance, \[Adolf Hitler\] would never have spent the night at the Widenmayerstraße apartment. He visited it before we moved the furniture in, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/for-instance-adolf-hitler-would-never-have-spent-the-night-at-the/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

Browse all 884 Apartment quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To be creative, first I need to be really organized. If my apartment's messy I need to clean it. It's like before you start doing your homework or studying for a test, you have to have a clean room.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Demetri Martin"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really-organized-if-my-apartment-s/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Apartment"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really-organized-if-my-apartment-s/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/532/demetri-martin-511_apartment_to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really_836519.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To be creative, first I need to be really organized. If my apartment's messy I need to clean it. It's like…” — Demetri Martin",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Demetri Martin",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To be creative, first I need...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really-organized-if-my-apartment-s/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/to-be-creative-first-i-need-to-be-really-organized-if-my-apartment-s/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
