Feng Shui Saturday – Spring Cleaning

Unless you’re like your mother, or Martha, or you’re one of ‘those’ people, spring cleaning might be one of those things you just dream about doing. Or you  might be like me . . . “If I only had more time!”

Well, being short on time and writing about feng shui has prompted me to ‘practice what I preach,’ so to speak. I’ve been decluttering & cleaning using the feng shui bagua.



While I’d love to take a week and fully clean every nook & cranny, let’s be realistic. It’s just not going to happen. So I’m choosing a few areas to work on.

Right now, I’m trying to get my paint kits going. So the areas that need more energy are:

• Helpful People – front right corner of house & every room
• Fame – center back of house & rooms
• Wealth - back left corner of house & room

Notice how I said house and room? That’s because the bagua can be applied to your entire home and/or every room. Just position it according to the room opening. If there are 2 openings to a room, I use the doorway we use most frequently.

My kitchen has 2 entrances – one from the hallway and one from the dining room. First thing in the morning, I enter the kitchen from the hallway, so I apply the bagua using that door.

My living room has 3 entrances – one from the dining room, one from the garage, and one from the lanai room. We enter from the dining room most often, so I use that for the bagua.

Here’s the interesting thing – when I put on my “feng shui eyes” and look in those 3 areas in each room, there is clutter. Lots & lots of clutter. Not that the rest of my house is neat & tidy, but those 3 areas seem to be the dumping grounds.

So before I even get to spring cleaning, I started decluttering. And, yes, I’m using this method to declutter. So far, so good. I’ve started with those 3 areas and had very interesting results.

Before I get to the energy shifts I’ve had, I want to talk a little about general cleaning. Of course, you can’t just clean those corners of each room and leave the rest. Well, you could, but you won’t. So let’s talk about general cleaning and feng shui.

Cleaning Windows



Windows are a Water element. They are the ‘mouths of chi’, which means energy flows in & out of windows, as well as doors. Dirty windows = diminished energy flow. The keywords for Water are Release & Renewal, which means, to me, a fresh start.

I use my Supercloths to clean windows on the inside. Then I always wonder why it takes me so long to do it, because the cloths make it so easy. On the outside, we spray JetDry (dishwasher water softener) then hose them off. Super simple.

Window Coverings



Yep, I have these babies. Yuk. Hate ‘em. They are just a breeding ground for grimy dirt. What good does it do to have a sparkling clean window if they’re covered with filthy mini blinds? Uh, not much.

I have to admit, I haven’t tackled these yet. I just pull them up during the day so I can look out my clean windows.

If you have drapes and don’t want/need to take them to the dry cleaner – just steam them. Do you have one of those nifty hand steamers? They’re wonderful and are perfect for this.

At the very least, take the drapes down, give them a good shake outside and rehang them. Just getting the outside air into them and removing a layer of dust will allow energy to flow.

Floors



It may seem like floors are something you clean regularly, and they are, but what about deep cleaning? Steam cleaning carpets, getting all the corners in the kitchen & baths? Ugh, I know, I know.

Floors are associated with the Earth element. Earth provides stability and grounding. It’s the center point that provides our foundation.

Ever notice how a freshly mopped floor or newly vacuumed rug makes the whole room feel clean? To me, it’s like I can breath again. My foundation feels strong & good.

Walls



Think I’m crazy? I am, I know, but you’ll be amazed how good it feels to have clean walls. Walls are the Wood element. Walls connect floors to ceiling, or earth to heaven. Wood represents Personal Growth and Spring is the natural time for this. Everything is being reborn.

Lighting



When was the last time you cleaned your light fixtures – kitchen, bathroom, lamps, etc? Yet another breeding ground for grimy dirt.

Lights and lamps are the Fire element. The keyword is Transformation. Most homes don’t have an abundance of Fire, unless your decor is red.

Taking the time to clean your lighting will increase the Fire element, which will ‘shine the light’ brighter, if you will. And make sure any burnt-out bulbs are replaced.

The Power Spots
In feng shui, there are 3 areas in the home that are known as the Power Spots. It’s really a whole ‘nother post that I haven’t written yet, but I’ll try and be brief here.

The Cooktop – Stove & Oven



Where you cook your food is symbolic of the household prosperity. No money, no food. Actually, one of the little daily rituals in feng shui is to turn on all stove burners each morning to activate the energy.

Another “cure” is to place a mirror or something reflective behind the stove. This is to visually increase the amount of burners, thus increasing the abundance.  However, just make sure your cooktop is spotless before placing a mirror, otherwise you’d be increasing more ‘gunk’.

There’s another reason to position a mirror behind the stove. If your back is to the rest of the kitchen while you’re standing at the stove, a mirror will reflect anyone coming into the room. Why is this important? Because you don’t want to be startled if someone enters. It disrupts your energy, and the food you’re cooking. Simple, but important.

The Bed



Again, the bed is an entire topic in feng shui, so let’s just address cleaning. Under the bed. Behind the bed. Flip the mattress over. Clean the bed area with the intention of gaining deeper sleep and rejuvenation.

Home Office
The last of the 3 power spots is your home office, if you have one. Usually a dumping ground, I know. Keep in mind there’s a difference between active chaos – projects & papers you’re currently working on, and passive chaos – those papers that have just piled up for months.

If you don’t feel like doing a complete overhaul, use the decluttering method and at least get down to the surface and wipe it clean. The next time you sit down at your desk you’ll feel like you can breathe.

Okay, so just a few ideas to maybe inspire you. Oh, I said I’d share some of my energy shifts with you.
I decluttered my laundry room (Fame) a few weekends back. It has these wonderful shelves which just collect all kinds of junk. It just took me a couple of hours & feels so good! Especially because my kitchen window looks out onto the laundry room.

The next day – the very next day! – my blog was showcased by one of the ‘big gals’, Infarrantly Creative. I had no idea she was going to do it and was so excited. My blog hits went thru the roof that day – Fame.

I decluttered & cleaned the Wealth area in my bedroom. It’s where a little vanity/dresser sits, full of old stuff, papers, whatever. Plus, a big jewelry box was brimming with broken watches. Broken watches! A big feng shui no-no. I moved them into a storage box in my Hubby’s ‘to-be-fixed’ area in the garage. (I’ve learned thru the years not to throw any of his stuff away, believe me.)

Within 2 days I had evidence of an energy shift. I was just having a casual conversation with a gal after aerobics who sews. I mentioned my sewing machine I’m selling & she said she wanted to buy it. Better than Craig’s List & dealing with people I don’t know!

How does feng shui work? I don’t know. Why does it work? I don’t know that either. I just have seen results & have heard too many stories of energy shifts.

So what areas in your life need an added boost? Where are those areas in your home? Is there clutter there? Please share. It’s so much more fun to do this together.

Coming Soon -
After some gentle prodding by dear friends, I've decided to offer online feng shui room consultations. You send me pictures of the room & I'll do a feng shui assessment and make recommendations - both feng shui & decorating.
Besides pictures, I'll also need to know where the room is positioned in the house.

Interested? Email me & I'll give you more details. I'm working on a link & Paypal button this weekend but we can get started now. It's a great way to jumpstart your spring cleaning!

Colleen