Linda Varone | Nurturing Spaces Feng Shui

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Decluttering and Feng Shui: Collection or Accumulation?

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Has Your Collection Become an Accumulation?

Order supports serenity in Feng Shui. An important part of Feng Shui in the West is decluttering, because clutter sucks-up Chi-energy, and creates a heavy and/or scattered energy in a space. As I tell my Feng Shui clients and students: decluttering does not mean Zen-like minimalism, unless that is your style.

beer steins on a shelf Good Feng Shui?
Is this part of a collection or an accumulation? The difference has a big impact on your Chi and the Feng Shui of a space.

It is important to decorate your home with objects, photos and mementos of the people, places and event that you love most. Why? When I ask a client to tell me about a picture or object on display in their home and I see their face light-up I am seeing their personal Chi literally rising. For my client, every time she sees that memento (consciously or unconsciously) her Chi rises. This is one of the most important aspects of Feng Shui.

If you are a collector, be careful your collection does not become an accumulation. It is a slippery slope from one to the other.

Intention

Pilgrim - Roy Collection quilt in red and marigold
A collection is intentional. It has a focus. The Quilts and Color exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is so memorable because the collectors had a focus for their collection: vibrant color combinations in antique American Quilts.

Time

Do you:

  • Enjoy spending time with your collection?
  • Enjoy spending time with other collectors?
  • Take time to be sure your collection is in good condition and is safely stored or displayed?
  • Keep the time you spend on your collection in balance with the rest of your life?

Space

  • Has storage of your collection taken valuable living space in your home?
  • Is display of your collection so crowded there is no “breathing room” between items? I have seen collections crammed and stacked into étagères and cabinets. If they are it makes it hard to see and enjoy your collection. This makes your collection an accumulation of low-energy “stuff”.

Having a collection can be one of the joys of life and nourishment for the soul.
Having an accumulation is an exercise in frustration and waste of:

  • Time
  • Space
  • Money

When you collect with focus you:

  • Know what to look for
  • Spend money wisely
  • Get what you really want.

Paul Pilgrim and Gerald Roy, the collectors of the Quilts and Color exhibition, stayed true to their focus. This meant that they passed over many beautiful quilts on the way to the creation of their collection. The result is a gathering of antique American quilts that sing with bold color combinations that are worked into inspiring designs. Not a tasteful mishmash of all things “Quilt”. A true collection, not an accumulation.

Image by Nicole Acosta

Shadow Box: A New Place for Your “Rescued From a Fire” Treasures

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Un-used, un-loved possessions becomes ”stuff”, which becomes clutter. That clutter blocks and sucks-up Chi energy. NOT good Feng Shui.

When you de-clutter you will discover forgotten personal treasures. What do you do with them? Stuff them back into a drawer or closet? The shadow box is a solution that works for mementos that are difficult to display.

Inspired by an article by David Caolo in Unclutterer he writes about his daughter’s beloved soft toy “Cow” and how it would be number one on his personal “rescued from a fire” list. He then talked about discovering his late grandfather’s personal treasures. He selected a few that represented his grandfather’s life passion and framed them in a shadow box.

framed shadow box with christmas mementos.
“Christmas Tree” shadow box saves special memories.

Sometimes the only display space in your home is your walls. Shadow boxes are an overlooked solution for displaying three-dimensional treasures. They are small enough to require you to distill the essence of that memory. Please avoid the temptation to overload the shadow box. Remember this is for display, not storage. 😉 If you feel overwhelmed about how to arrange and mount everything attractively, then check out your local framing shops. Some can do artful and archive-quality work.

One of the pleasures of displaying precious mementos on your wall – you see and enjoy them daily as you walks by. Much better than stashing them away again.

For more help on heirlooms check out When Gifts and Heirlooms Become Clutter.

Contact Linda to learn how to create a home that refections your passions and treasured memories.

Christmas Shadow Box by bab7268

Feng Shui Chinese New Year: 5 Steps for a Second Chance at New Beginnings

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Are your New Year’s Resolutions fading fast? Give yourself another chance by creating space that makes those resolutions part of your life.  Chinese New Year is traditionally a time to clean out the old and set the stage for Good Luck in the New Year. How about borrowing the date and the tradition?

three spherical candles, Chinese new years cleansing

A great way to succeed with new beginnings is to create spaces that support new habits, routines and activities. When you have a beautiful, balanced and organized space, acting on your goals is easier and more enjoyable.

Tips from Linda for creating space for your life goals:

Clear out the old

This is more than just cleaning, you are creating space for positive changes: healthy eating, exercise, meditation, projects, better record keeping, simple self-indulgences, etc. Just as decluttering gets rid of “stuff”, it gets rid of old energy in your space, energy that makes you feel stuck in your life.

Ask yourself:

“Have I used it in the last year?” (This allows for seasons and holidays.) If “no”, then your chances of using it this coming year are low to none. Let it go.

“How do I feel when I am wearing this?” “Fantastic”, “OK” or “uncomfortable” (it doesn’t fit or I don’t feel my best). Give it away to a charity or friend who will really love it and use it.

“If I were moving instead of just cleaning, would I take this with me?”  Release the old, what does not represent and support who you are now and who you want to become.

Set up space to support your resolutions:

If your goal is healthy eating, throw out or give to a food pantry all no-no foods. Get rid of temptation. Make space for the healthy foods that you want to enjoy. Put your vegetable steamer, new herbs and spices, and countertop electric grill in easy to use places. Keep those new recipes handy.

If your goal is home exercise: create a space for your workouts.  Clear out a space for your yoga mat in a quiet corner.  Change your treadmill from a clothes rack to ready-to-use exercise machine.   For yoga or mediation set out aromatherapy candles or incense. Music – have a CD player or iPod handy – mellow for yoga or tai chi, upbeat for aerobics. Adjustable lighting (no one wants to spend time in a dark corner) – lower for mediation or yoga; brighter for more vigorous exercise. Hang an inspiring picture where you can see it. Set up a designated place for clean exercise clothes in your closet or bureau.  Now you can “just do it.”

If going to a gym is part of your New Beginning, then make a handy space for your gym bag near the door. Restock it with clean clothes and fresh water every time you come home from the gym.

If your goal is making more time for projects, writing, or crafts; then create an organized space for the tools that you will need to do this.  Set up a table or desk, comfortable chair, good lighting and storage for your supplies when you are not working on them. Move beyond “making do.”

Focus on your goals – While you are clearing out, cleaning and setting up, keep in mind what you want to do, how good you will feel doing them and the benefits you will get. Picture how you want the space to look. You are creating space for the new you, a new present and new future.

Clear your space – A clearing ritual can energize your new space.  Try one of the traditional rituals. Open a window. Clear with a sage or cedar smudge stick. Or use incense. Scatter salt in the corners of the room. Burn candles. Or place a small bowl of water in the center of the room. Choose whichever ritual feels right for you.  As you do it think of the old stale energy leaving the space.  Picture your old ways of doing (or not doing) things leaving too. When you are finished, close the window.

Celebrate your new beginning! Say a prayer or intention asking for support in your new endeavors.  You can place fresh flowers in the room. Take an indulgent aromatherapy bath with candles and music. Or order-in some Chinese food (from the healthy food part of the menu). Finish with a tender tangerine; a traditional Chinese New Year treat associated with good luck.

Good Luck to you and all of your New Beginnings.

photo by Kevin Hutchinson

Feng Shui New Years: Discover Your Potentials, Let Go of Your “Shoulds”

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 “We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives…not looking for flaws, but for potential.” —Ellen Goodman

New Year’s resolutions tend to be lists of new or re-newed efforts to improve the perceived flaws in ourselves and our lives. You know that intentions work best when they are positively stated. Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a year of positive intentions to make the most of who we are and what we want (not should) to do.

group exercising
Keep Fit; Be Happy

Instead of resolving to loose weight – how about a goal of having more energy to be able to dance, hike, keep up with your kids/grandkids. To do those enjoyable activities you know you need to exercise regularly for more stamina and eat healthy to maintain a healthy body. Do you have a place for exercise? Hint: your stationary bicycle is not meant to be a clothes rack. Declutter your kitchen. Get rid or those tempting fattening foods (Give them to a local food pantry.) Make room for the healthy foods that make you feel good. Isn’t that much better than the mind set of deprivation for the goal of seeing a lower number on your scale?

Instead of a goal of reading all the books you got in the last year. Declutter your bookshelves. Let go of the books you feel obligated to read because they were a gift, will improve you as a human being or are supposed to improve your work skills/knowledge. Reading is a pleasure, not a duty.  Now you can focus on the books you want to read.

Is your hobby or craft space cluttered with projects you are no longer interested in? Instead of gritting your teeth and getting it done, or not doing it and feeling guilty Donate it to a charity. Make the space support what you are interested in now.

Make room for what you want to do. Make room for your potential in your thinking and in your home.

Best wishes for your potential, for growth and fun in the new year.

picture by Kevin Dooley

Feng Shui and Wealth: Start the New Year with a Feng Shui Boost

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There are two ways you can use Feng Shui to maximize your chances for wealth: make the most of the Chi in your space and enhance the Wealth area of the Ba-gua.

The Chi that enters your home or workspace brings life energy to you. Chi flow brings luck, opportunity and prosperity. Chi flow can equal money flow. To help with this be sure that the area around your front door – where Chi enters – is clear of clutter. Clutter can literally slow down or block the flow of Chi to your home. Clutter also depletes Chi energy, which is one reason why you feel so tired in a cluttered space. Then enhance the Chi-attracting qualities of your front door with color, plantings or appropriate decoration.

drain
Is your chi flowing down the drain?

The Wealth area of your space is in the back left hand third of your home or office.  Take a look at what is there. If there is any clutter – clear it out and organize it. If there are any sinks, toilets or drains in that area – like a bathroom or kitchen – then cover the drains when not in use – this includes keeping the toilet cover down. Place a potted plant on your vanity or toilet tank or on your kitchen counter near the sink. Plants have Chi energy and like attracts like. Therefore plants will attract Chi and less of it will go down the drains.

Once the Wealth area is cleared and prepared then you can add the cure of your choice: an aquarium or re-circulating water fountain, a picture of your dream vacation or dream house; or a photo to the people you love most – your non- material treasures. You can also use plants, flowers, a lamp, crystal, a stained glass suncatcher, wind chime or music.

Start with one simple cure for Wealth – less is truly more.

Horoscope: 2009 Year of the Ox

Chinese New Year is January 26, 2009, ushering in the year of the Ox. The Ox signifies new beginnings and slow but sure action while building things that last. That which is begun now is likely to have long term consequences.

Like last year (2008), this is an Earth year, but it is likely to be less tumultuous. On a personal level, better results are more likely to be achieved by going with the flow rather than aggressively charging forward and initiating a lot of action.

The combination of Earth and Ox is primarily characteristic of durability. It suggests an environment dominated by cautious pragmatism rather than quixotic dreaming. Things will get done. You will have the greatest success if you focus on just a few, long term projects. It also suggests proceeding in a cautious yet determined manner. Avoid taking unnecessary risks and yielding to the temptation to seek short term gains.

The year 2009 will be a period of lasting accomplishments. The big challenge everyone faces is to generate the enthusiasm and desire to act. Those individuals and organizations that do will create enduring benefits for themselves and the world.

photo by David Blackwell