Feng Shui Saturday – Kitchens & Bathrooms

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start with feng shui in your home. If there’s one area of your life that is really out of balance –then you’d start in that area, using the bagua.



However, if one area doesn’t stick out, or everything seems to need an energy adjustment, I always look to where drains are – Kitchens, Bathrooms & Laundry Rooms.

I’m laughing as I write this because in my classes I always ask students to bring a house footprint/floorplan. After my talk, I’d go around to each student and look at their individual floorplan. I’d look at where the bathrooms were located and ask if they had any issues in this area.

Wealth – does money seem to go as quickly as it comes in?
Creativity – do you never seem to have enough time to create?
Health – are there body issues going on?

Students would look at me in amazement. Are you psychic? No, I just know where there are drains, where the energy flows out too fast.

Other than clearing spaces of clutter, enhancing kitchens & bathrooms is at the top of the list for where to start. Even if you have a top-of-the-line kitchen and a spa-like bath, those areas still need some feng shui attention.

First, let’s find where your kitchen and bathrooms are. Here’s the house floorplan with the bagua I’ve been using as an example.



The Master Bath falls in the Family area, as does the Laundry room. Your washing machine has a drain, too. The Kitchen appears to be in 4 areas, but I’m looking at the sink & dishwasher, which appear to be in Fame, maybe Health. The Guest Bath is in Creativity, possibly Love & Marriage.

You don’t necessarily have to have a floorplan drawn to enhance these areas. It just helps to know where the energy draws are.

Bathrooms


Bathrooms tend to get a bad rap in Feng Shui. It’s mainly because there are at least 3 drains there – the sink(s), shower/bath, & the toilet.  That’s a lot of downward energy flow in one space. However, bathrooms are obviously very necessary!

Just think about the function of bathrooms. It’s where we go to cleanse our bodies, to refresh, to relax, to rejuvenate. Ahhh, nothing better than a warm shower, relaxing bath, even the toilet when you really, really, really have to go!

The Water element (in any area) is Release & Renewal. And so it goes (pardon the pun) in our bathrooms. But water is literally pulled downward into the drains. While this is a good thing – it takes the gunk off our bodies, into the drains, out of the house – it also has a huge energy pull.

If you just close your eyes, can you imagine the energy that is pulled out of those spaces? Even just having holes (drains) in the floor is an energy drain, but add to it the flow of water & can’t you just feel the energy pull?

Kitchens



There they are – two more drains. Add to those the dishwasher drain and you have another huge energy pull.
Without going into a whole thing about kitchens right now, I’ll just say that Kitchens are a source of prosperity for the family. It’s where we gather. Where we cook our food. Drains pull this energy out too quickly.

Laundry Rooms
Whether you have a laundry room inside the house or a washer in the garage, the dirty water still has to go somewhere.



I don’t know anything about plumbing, but it seems like the washing machine is usually adjacent to a sink or toilet – which is kind of like a double whammy, feng shui speaking.

Cures
Here’s where it gets a little weird. Hang on. I don’t want to lose you. Keep in mind, feng shui is asian-based and there are tons of symbolisms. I usually avoid the term “cure” and say “adjustment,” but when it comes to drains – well, it’s just a feng shui cure that I cannot fully explain. I just know it works.

The first ‘cure’ to apply is relatively simple – just cover the drains when not in use. Keep the toilet seat down and close the sink drains. Get one of those rubber thingies & put it over the bath/shower.

Now – I know if you don’t live by yourself this can get a little dicey. When I first started with feng shui, all 3 boys were home. Do you think I could get them to put the toilet seat down and leave the rubber thingie in place? Are you kidding me? No way!

You do the best you can. The home is for everyone who lives there – so everyone’s comfort is held in high regard. If they don’t cooperate, so be it. You do what you can do.

The traditional feng shui cure for drains is . . . wait for it . . . Corn. Yep, I said Corn. Unpopped corn kernels. You place corn in a vessel above the drains.



Why? I’ve asked that question to every feng shui expert I’ve met and have never received a satisfactory answer. Corn is actually a Wood element (grows from the ground) and Wood enhances Water. So it never made sense to me.

There is something about corn that modulates the downward flow of water energy. It keeps it stable, so to speak.

Again, I don’t know why or how it works. I just know it does. It’s the first thing I do when I move into a new home, the first thing I recommend.

Okay, the cat’s outta the bag. I think that’s the weirdest thing I’ll ever recommend. Hmmm. Maybe not. But we’ll get to that later.

So what do you do with the corn exactly? I’ve learned to be rather creative over the years, if I do say so myself. I disguise it, especially to avoid questions from houseguests. My family members already know I’m a little weird, so they just basically accepted it. But after a few guests said, “Why is there a bottle of corn in the bathroom?” I got a little more cagey.

I’d normally share pictures of my home but I just walked into my kitchen to a sink full of dishes so, no. Sorry.

In the kitchen I have a cute rooster bottle – like the kind you put olive oil in – and it sets above the sink on a ledge. Looks like it goes there.

In one bathroom I have a little box with a lid that houses the corn. It’s on top of the toilet tank. One sink has a ceramic toothbrush holder with corn in the bottom. Another toilet has a green plant with corn down in the pot.

Most everything I got at the Dollar Store. Just be creative & find something you like.

The most challenging areas are the showers. I just got a little fabric baggie from Michael’s – the kind you put wedding favors in – and tied it on the shower nozzle. It keeps the energy up, above the drain. No escaping questions with overnight guests, but, oh well. They get a little lesson in feng shui, if they ask.

Intention
The vital part to placing and ‘cure’ or making any adjustment is your Intention. There are traditional feng shui rituals you can follow or a prayer of thanksgiving works wonderfully, as well. Even just a pause after you’ve placed your cure and an affirmation for the space.

“Energy now flows easily and steadily in my home.”
“I appreciate the balanced energy in this room.”
“I give thanks for this space and the wonderful energy in it.”

Something like that. Make it yours so it’s your intention.

One last thing – before you place your corn, make sure the area is clean. Nothing worse than adding more energy to an unclean area – it magnifies chaos, believe me.

Okay. Whew! Are you still with me? That’s probably the strangest, weirdest thing I’ll ever tell you about feng shui, I promise. All I ask is that you give it a try and see what happens. That’s all I ever ask of anyone. Just try it for 2 weeks and see if you notice a difference. If not, forget about it. If you do notice a shift, please share with us.

So tell me – where does your bathroom fall in your house bagua? How about your kitchen? Do you have other drains I haven’t talked about? Let me know!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Colleen