Feng Shui Appointments

Since I am still working on my website I thought I would post a note here to say that I am once again making time available for Feng Shui appointments, real estate staging, space clearing and organizing appointments. If you have been putting off getting your life in order, now is the perfect time to contact me. I would be more than happy to do phone appointments for those not in the area.

Feng Shui for Fall

We are rapidly making the transition from summer to autumn. While it is beautiful it can be a stressful time for some. We already had the threat of a hard freeze here and I was able to cover my flowers and vegetables to prolong the season. Since they are predicting 80 plus degrees this weekend, I think it was a good decision. One thing to remember about this time of year is that as your plants brown and die that you take care to remove them. It is never good Feng Shui to have dead plants around. It may also be a good time to bring out the fall wreath for your front door or the beautiful mums that do so well in this weather. Anything that you enjoy looking at that brings some energy to your life, front door and home is a good thing.

So what about all those Christmas decorations?

With Thanksgiving just a memory it’s now time to clean the house so you can begin to decorate for Christmas. Every year at this time I have clients ask me if decorations are really clutter and can they “get in the way” of good chi? My answer is always the same. Yes and no. Way to clarify, right? Here’s how I arrived at that conclusion.

It has always been my experience that before we even take the decorations out of the closet the house gets a very thorough cleaning. In Feng Shui terms this is never a bad thing. It seems that even though cleaning isn’t my favorite thing to do, it does shift the mood in the house and that in itself will uplift the chi.

Ok, so the house is clean and the decorations are out of the closet. You start unpacking the boxes and everything just goes in the same spot it was placed in for the last 10 years. Good or bad? Well, both actually. If you like how it looks then, go ahead and keep it the same. That being said, if you are just decorating on automatic pilot then that might be a problem. If you are displaying something just because you always have and you don’t really like the item then you shouldn’t put it out. In fact if you really don’t like something you may want to get rid of it. One of the first rules of Feng Shui is to surround yourself with things you find beautiful. If you don’t like it or it doesn’t work as intended, get rid of it. Now of course there are the sentimental things and it goes without saying that everyone needs a few of those. But if you don’t like them and keep it only because it’s was your grandmothers then you may want to consider either passing it along to someone else or just leaving it in the box in the attic until one of your kids shows an interest. Don’t spend time worrying about this however because a sentimental item neatly packed in a box in the attic is not considered clutter.

Once I go through this with my clients then I am usually also asked if holiday decorating can be overdone. Absolutely! However if you take them down right after the New Year then I don’t feel as though any damage can be done that quickly. The entire Holiday season is generally very busy and with people running on high energy that usually means tons of good chi coming your way.

Talking Clutter again

Since fall is officially here, I thought I would address clutter once again before we are stuck inside all winter.

You have heard me say this before. Feng Shui is about increasing the flow of energy or chi in your space to create harmony but it’s also about surrounding yourself with things that you love. That being said, when there is too much “stuff” in the way, the energy gets stuck and things tend to stagnate in your life.

Sometimes when there is an energy blockage you may not even be aware that it is the clutter that is causing the issue. Now, I am not asking you to live a totally minimalist lifestyle. You don’t have to completely clear the decks! Just take a look around your home and ask yourself the following questions.

Do I like this?
When is the last time I used it?
Where did it come from?
Does it have sentimental value to anyone in the household?

I have found that we sometimes get so used to seeing something in a particular spot that we are almost immune to the fact that it’s even there.

Do you catch yourself saying, why didn’t I get rid of that long ago? Or, why didn’t we fix that before now? If so, then you need to take a look at your surroundings in a whole new light. Go through each room and actually stop and look at each piece of furniture, everything that hangs on the walls or sits on a table or shelf. Is it in good repair or has it been around way too long already? Is it just there simply because it always has been?

Do you save every newspaper and magazine?
Are there piles that seem to take on a life of their own?

In the past I have suggested that you not even bring the junk mail in the house. Toss it in the recycling bin before it ever gets inside. Keep a shredder handy and instead of setting it down so it can pile up, shred it. Look at things one time and get it done.

Remember my 9 minute plan. Take 9 minutes each day and clean, sort and put things away. Once you get used to it, you will be amazed how much you can get done in a short 9 minutes. Hopefully there will come a time when you don’t even need a full 9 minutes per day anymore and can cut back to less days a week.

Until next time!


“Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.”

William Morris

Would you like to make changes in your life and you don't know where to start?

Feng Shui (pronounced fung schway) literally means "Wind and Water" and is about creating balance and harmony in your space and your life by enhancing the flow of "Chi". Chi (pronounced chee) basically means energy in English. Good chi is strong and balanced where Poor chi is weak and unbalanced. What we try to accomplish with Feng Shui is finding a good balance between the two. I have studied and am certified in the Black Sect Tantric Buddhist Feng Shui which originated in China and is practiced worldwide today. The practice of Feng Shui has been interpreted in different ways In addition to Black Sect there is Western or Compass Feng Shui, which I am currently studying. There is no right or wrong here, just different ways of thinking which are all based on living the best life that you can.

Just so we are clear here, Feng Shui is not a religion or new age mysticism but more of a common sense approach to decorating, design and living. It is my belief that one can change and / or improve their life, career, relationships and finances with the use and implementation of basic Feng Shui principles.

My focus over the next few weeks will be to post articles about the fundamentals of Feng Shui and to explain the terminology that I will be using in future articles. Some of the information that I plan to cover will include, The Bagua, The Five Elements, Your Front Door, Clearing your Clutter, Selling your Home with Feng Shui, Relationships/Partner/ Romance and Space clearing for starters.

Also, I have started a Feng Shui Basics group at Gather and I would love to have you join us.

fengshuibasics.gather.com

Till next time!

Teresa
Certified Feng Shui Practitioner