Declutter Your Home With Feng Shui
By Maria Palma
Most of us look at cleaning our
homes as a chore, but revitalizing and organizing your life should
be a joyous activity. When there is harmony in the home, all feelings
and emotions within the space are harmonious. The Chinese view
their lives as having chi energy, which is a "cosmic breath."
There is yang energy, or good energy, as well as yin energy, which
is negative energy.
Tired energy is clutter, whether
it be physical, emotional or spiritual. Dealing with the physical
clutter first can make way for a better emotional and spiritual
life. By decluttering your home, you push away bad energy and
make space for new energy to enter. Bad energy can be created
simply by dead insects, old newspapers and magazines and junk
accumulated over time.
Go with the flow
Keep energy flowing smoothly throughout the home. Watch and observe
which rooms in the house everybody tends to gravitate to. Work
on those rooms that seem to be lonely. Colors, music, children,
lights, water and sound contain strong energy which every room
should have. Try painting a room and see how it affects your physical
energy. Plants symbolize life and also bring color to a room.
You can tune into the energy of
a room by walking clockwise around and close to the walls. One
room to pay close attention to is the bedroom. When chi energy
in the bedroom is unwelcoming, this may cause problems between
couples. Keep all dirty clothes in a laundry basket. Don't place
junk under, over or beside a bed. Keep windows clear of clutter.
Open the windows and let light and fresh air in. Morning sunlight
is the best yang energy.
Take extra care with corners where
negative energy, cobwebs and dirt tend to gravitate. The corner
diagonal to the door of a room should be full of good chi. Do
not use it for storage, and keep it clutter-free.
Prevent blockages
Blocked energy vibrations have a negative effect on our mental
well-being. The foyer, hall and staircase are the most susceptible
places of being blocked. When your foyer is clear, it helps good
chi enter the home freely. Corridors and hallways move energy
from room to room. Staircases should always be clutter-free, not
only for safety but so that the flow of chi is smooth up and down
to the living spaces.
When you feel like you need more
space to breathe, it is most likely due to the images in your
home disturbing your subconscious mind. Art can be beautiful and
a joy to look at, but over time it can become distracting and
stagnant. Changing the surroundings from time to time is the best
way to make you feel better.
It is important to clear table
tops on a regular basis. When we come home we tend to throw our
keys, mail, purse, etc., onto the closest table top. Things accumulate
quickly! Choose decorative objects to place on tabletops and display
full bowls of pots, as they attract abundant chi.
A well-kept and clean kitchen keeps
yin energy away. Clean the refrigerator at least once a month.
Check out all the cookware and throw away broken plates, cups
and bowls. Make sure the garbage is cleaned out regularly. Out
of all the rooms in the home, this one is the most vulnerable
to yin energy.
Declutter regularly
It takes some time to get into the habit of decluttering on a
regular basis. Realize that if you do not do it, it could be detrimental
to your mental, physical and emotional well being. It's easy to
declutter if you're single and living alone. If you have a family,
be sensitive to other family members’ belongings. Have a
discussion on the importance of having positive energy in the
home and let them know where things should be.
Once you take the step to create
positive energy in your home, you'll see your life change for
the better.
© Maria Palma
Maria Palma is a decorator, real
estate consultant and artist based in San Diego, California. She
owns and manages two web sites, www.salondemaria.info
and www.homesolutionssandiego.com.
Subscribe to her newsletter to receive home decorating resources
and updates on the real estate market in San Diego by visiting
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/home_solutions.
