Feng Shui & Paperwork

Here it is, the beginning of April, and like everyone else, I've been working on taxes, which leads me into old paperwork. Actually, I've been working on my mom's - still procrastinating on my own.

After a grueling day of digging thru old files to get her tax info in order, as well as her multiple bank accounts, the question arose before me . . . how does the condition of paperwork and files affect the feng shui of our homes?

One of the basic tenets of feng shui is that everything in our living space elicits an emotional or vibrational response from us. Colors, shapes, patterns, etc., all move each of us in different, personal ways. By using the language of feng shui and the bagua map, we can position our furnishings to create a harmonious flow. The first step in applying feng shui is usually to declutter stuff that no longer serves us, or, at least, to organize and store it efficiently.

I have an old cedar chest (we used to call them 'hope' chests), which was my mother's and when I look at it, I feel the loving vibration of my mother. I keep my children's school art projects, diplomas, and photos in it, albeit not well organized. A few years back I was digging thru it and found an old birthday card from a long forgotten (or so I thought) boyfriend. I picked up the card, looked at it, and was emotionally transported back to the time of the relationship, and the pain. Just a simple birthday card. But to me, it brought pain. So out it went, into the garbage.

Working with my mother's papers, from which I am emotionally detached but she isn't, I saw how the entire process of weeding thru stacks of files stressed her out. Things were not in order, papers were misfiled, and so on. But here's the kicker. She found a check for over $1000 in one of the files that should have been paid on her property taxes last fall. While that is a good thing - to find an extra thousand bucks, it was also disheartening to feel so disorganized.

We began the process of discarding unneeded papers, creating new files for 2009, and archiving 2008 papers. The living room was quite a mess for a few hours but when we were done it was like a huge weight was lifted from both my mother and me. And, like I said, I was not emotionally attached to her financial stuff. But there it was. Once the papers were filed, it felt wonderful.

So how much paperwork junk do we hold on to that is really unnecessary or, more importantly, creating hidden vibrational emotional turmoil that we aren't even aware of? Whether it be old bills that are paid and no longer needed, or a birthday card from an old relationship, letting go of these things feels wonderful. It's like being able to take a full, deep breath of fresh air.

If you, like me, have been procrastinating doing your taxes 'til the last minute possible, take a little extra time and really purge the junk that no longer serves you. Or, at the very least, neatly file the papers you still need to hold on to.

You don't need to know feng shui or understand why it works to feel an emotional relief from this. I did, with my mother's. Now I've got to get busy on my own papers.

Colleen