If you are anything like me, you’ll have the usual post-Christmas Day house dis-harmony that resembles a cross between an explosion of wrapping paper and cardboard and tell-tale signs of over indulgence (ranging from sweet papers to new toys & games & an Alexa Echo Dot that took forever to actually start working on Christmas Day!)
Unfortunately, clever as Alexa is, I can’t ask her to help get rid of that overwhelming feeling to just clear Christmas out the way in favour of restoring some kind of calm and serenity to our home.
Calm, clean, uncluttered spaces make me feel calm & happy.
There is some kind of magic to it.
It’s very calming and joyful.
So in a world where Marie Kondo’s book The Magic of Tidying and her latest book Spark Joy (An illustrated book of Japanese tidying techniques) are taking the world by storm, why not use the post-Christmas tidy-up as the perfect stepping stone to a home that literally sparks joy, creates a better living environment the whole family can enjoy and taps into some of the best Feng Shui Home Tips for a more prosperous, happy & healthy New Year 2019 and beyond?
Tip #1. Start With Your Front Door It Attracts Energy, Luck & Fortune
Wouldn’t it be amazing if by simply clearing away your clutter, rearranging and organising your home in a certain way could bring you & your family more luck, better health, more wealth and opportunity?
According to the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui (pronounced “fung-shway”) it is. The essence of Feng Shui is that all objects posses energy called chi and when you apply some of the principles to your home in a certain way it may just bring harmony to your home & happiness to your life.
Starting with the front door to your home, it is very important that it looks good. It represents wealth. To draw good energy to your door place a beautiful plant and light to either side of your front door.
Create an open and inviting pathway to your home and for added luck place a red flower or accent colour outside to attract energy, fortune and luck.
Tip #2. Your Front & Back Gardens Represent Health & Wealth So Keep Them Neat & Tidy
Many of us lead such busy lives today that tending to our gardens in the way we used to a decade or so ago is no longer a top priority.
We find a lot of our customers love new modern low maintenance gardens. But as your front garden is said to represent your future keeping it neat and tidy provides good energy to your home and your back garden is said to represent the health & wealth of the home occupants so it should also be kept in tip top condition.
The modern low maintenance gardens are perfect for this, offering an investment that will be easy to maintain and keep looking good all year round. Evergreen plants and shrubs have always offered a great low maintenance solution that will look good all year round.
Tip #3. Your Hallway Represents Opportunities
Keeping your hallway clutter-free allows the energy to circulate. Store coats and shoes inside a hall cupboard or designated storage units that you can close the doors on, or tidy things away in drawers.
Add a large mirror (gold frames are a wealth colour) for added light and fresh flowers to bring live energy to this important area of your home.
In Feng Shui a cluttered house equals a cluttered mind and if you think stuffing everything in a drawer is hiding it from view, you’d be wrong. Inside drawers and cupboards has as much of an effect on energy flow as anything else.
When Proctor & Gamble were in the process of making Febreeze it was their original plan to market Febreeze as a way to eliminate unpleasant smells. But when they watched people clean rooms as a market survey they noticed a rather odd thing that we all tend to do after cleaning a room that eventually rocketed sales of Febreeze.
Once we have tidied the room, cleaned the surfaces and it all looks pretty, organised, clean & tidy, we take a moment to reflect on the space and smile in appreciation of how lovely it looks.
When Proctor & Gamble switched the emphasis of using Febreeze as “the finishing touch” by adding a pleasant fragrance to the room sales went up.
Take each of these steps in your stride and aim to go down by half, then half again until you feel your spaces, inside and out are full of good energy.
Tip #4. Learn & Apply Marie Kondo’s Rule Of Discard First
Not only has Marie Kondo got 2 best selling books under her belt, she is also about to begin a new Netflix TV Series all about her Magic Of Tidying Book ( A Life-Changing Way To Banish Clutter Forever.)
Available from Amazon.
If you are anything like me you will have tried to de-clutter room by room and step-by-step only to quickly run out of steam and energy.
Or perhaps you have spent days and days re-organising your rooms without discarding anything!
Maybe you’ve invested in some new storage boxes and have everything boxed away with labels on?
Well Marie Kondo suggests a whole new approach to a life that will have you clutter free for good and filled with joy by surrounding yourself with possessions that literally “Spark Joy” (just like her latest book) which is an illustrated one showing some of her best techniques for you to follow.
Spark Joy by Marie Kondo is also available from Amazon.
She tackles de-cluttering at levels most of us rarely seek to go and therein lies the magic of feeling lighter after discarding ALL things that we have accumulated in life that no longer serve us or Spark Joy as Marie puts it.
Here’s a super little info-graphic reminder of the KonMari Method from MakeSpace.com
via MakeSpace
As our lives have become more and more cluttered over the last few years more and more of us have become more stressed and have more “stuff” in our homes than ever before.
The KonMari method is designed to discard everything you do not love in your house.
Getting rid of everything you no longer love in your house is like a therapy for the soul. It is an essential step for creating a harmonious home filled with good Feng Shui energy.
To follow Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method
Make sure to tidy in the correct order. Start with clothing, then books, papers, miscellaneous items, and then mementos, or anything nostalgic.
Tip #5. The Kitchen Represents Nourishment For You And Your Family
Now that more of our new homes (and favourite extensions) include the lovely Open Plan kitchen / dining / family room areas, it’s important to pay attention to the colours and storage needs of this important area in terms of good Feng Shui.
Avoid using too much black and red in your colour schemes as it creates element clashes.
And if your kitchen is also your dining room it should be a space where you practise mindful eating.
A great book about mindful eating is Lean for Life by Louise Parker
(she also highly recommends de-cluttered life & home too by the way!)
Available from Amazon.
In Feng Shui the dining room relates to the Earth element which in traditional Chinese medicine is linked to digestion.
For optimizing the energy in this important room of your home, hang a mirror on the wall to reflect the dining table and use fresh flowers or a green plant to add live energy. Keep worktops clear and clutter free.
White is a good Feng Shui colour to start with, it helps everything feel clean, airy & light.
Your kitchen is part of a very important Feng Shui triangle of your bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. These 3 rooms represent good health & good harmony for your health and happiness.
Tip #6. Feng Shui Bathroom Tips
The bathrooms in your home should always be clean, clutter free and yes the toilet lid should be kept down!
Good Feng Shui practice is to introduce some plants to your bathrooms as it helps slow down any flow of wealth draining away. It is notoriously difficult to create good Feng Shui in UK bathrooms (which tend to break all “ideal” layouts by default.)
Focus on creating a “Zen-like” space in your bathroom to make it a lovely place to be. Love & care for it and you will start creating excellent energy in there!
The fewer items you have in your bathroom, the easier it is to keep it orderly and clean. If it’s a busy bathroom in your home allocate a one toiletries-basket per person only rule and store them out of sight when not in use.
A couple of things to avoid in term of Feng Shui for your bathroom?
1. Water Feng Shui element colours of blue and black.
2. Pictures or prints with water scenes such as waterfalls, lakes etc.
For creating good energy in your bathroom whatever it’s position of size in terms of Feng Shui focus on creating a bathroom that is a calm, serene place to be with candles, essential oils and calm colours (grey and white are good choices) to create good energy.
Tip #7. Make Your Bedroom Restful
A bedroom, according to best Feng Shui practices is where we restore balance and seek relaxation and peace. It’s also the place of dreams so electrical goods like TV’s, exercise equipment and electronic devices are frowned upon.
(Uh-oh! Gulp! No Smart Phone or Alexa? ?)
An ugly cluttered space will simply add to your stress whereas a beautiful harmonious place will uplift you and help you feel good. As with all good Feng Shui practises your bedroom should be clutter free (yes even inside your wardrobes) and only be filled with items that Spark Joy as Marie Kondo puts it.
It is recommended to use Earthy colours in your bedroom (ranging from light sandy colours to taupes and deep chocolate browns.)
Add art that makes you feel happy whenever you look at it and add Fire element colours (red, pink, lavender, coral oranges) to your room with your art pieces.
Lighting should be soft to keep the energy in the room nourishing.
Summary
- It doesn’t matter how big or small your house is, or whether you own it or not, your home should be your palace inside and out and be kept as neat and tidy as possible to create good energy, increase good luck and fortune and promote good health.
- Can Feng Shui actually affect all that? Yes, it would seem it does. A clean uncluttered home is good for your health and enhances your well being.
- Most of us lead busier lives than ever before and we seem to have accumulated more possessions and “stuff” than ever before. Instead of discarding “stuff” we try and organize it with storage solutions and boxes.
- Take a more radical approach to getting your home de-cluttered the Marie Kondo way after Christmas this year and start feeling and seeing the benefits of deep cleansing your home inside and out, ditching clutter for good and creating a home that benefits from good Feng Shui energy that could bring you better health, wealth & prosperity than any New Year’s resolution you make.
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