Are you ready to cut the clutter to give yourself a fresh start?
Having a clutter-free home is the #1 most important thing you can do to start creating good Feng Shui in your home.
Here are some of my all-time favorite tips to get you going and keep you motivated.
Step 1. Choose one of Feng Shui’s three most important areas to start clearing clutter. Think about starting with the bedroom which Feng Shui considers the “first among equals.”
Step 2. Identify the Primary Purpose of the room you are working on, so you can start with a clear goal ahead of you. As you clear the clutter away and organize what remains, keeping the ultimate purpose of the room in mind will help you know what stays and what goes.
Step 3. Remove everything from the closet, shelves or other area you’re focusing on before you begin to sort.
Step 4. Designate boxes or bags so you can sort productively:
• To keep (and place in its appropriate home).
• To throw away/recycle.
• To give away, sell, or donate.
Step 5. Ask yourself three key questions about every item before moving it to its appropriate spot:
• Do I love it?
• Do I use it?
• Do I need it?
If the answer is no to these questions, it’s time to let it go.
Step 6. Get rid of what you’re letting go of immediately. Throw it out, take it to Goodwill, recycle it — today.
Step 7. Create a home for everything, keeping like with like. Use containers you already own and love to personalize the process and the outcome.
Step 8. Open windows and doors to let air and Chi energy circulate. Chi energy tip: open windows at both the bottom and the top to get air flowing, and use a fan to keep the Chi moving.
Step 9. Employ transcendental Feng Shui tools. One of my favorite ways to get Chi energy moving? Move 27 things.
And finally — laugh! Laugh in a big way at least once a day to release the tension that might be embedded in your clutter.
What are some of your favorite clutter-clearing tips?
(illustration from iStock)
Sounds good. Feng Shui has a lot of good ideas in keeping your home beautiful and fresh. Even without it, nonetheless, it has a basis for home design, as it’s sensible to make your home organized and clutter-free. For example, having well-ventilated windows keep the air flowing and the room nice and cool.
I particularly like #6, and it made me laugh. Was clearing out the bathroom closet yesterday, made a bag of old towels to throw away, a pile of towels to be placed in the “for vacation home” box. This morning, I tripped over the bag as I walked into the bathroom and couldn’t find my hair dryer because it was underneath the pile of towels. I will clear this up as soon as I get home!
:-)) I hope the towels are gone now!!
:-)) I hope the towels are gone now!!
As new things enter your spaces, unpack them and find “homes” for them right away. Don’t allow them to start piling up in corners, on counters and in closets. This helps to keep potential “new clutter” at bay while you’re working on decluttering the “riper clutter.”
Thanks for this great clutter-clearing advice, Linda!