20 Quick Clutter Busters

Feng Shui is a fun way to to make your home mirror your life. Yet, when it comes to getting rid of everything that we don't love, don't use , or is broken, the excitement wanes.

Tackling clutter is a never ending chore.  Clutter can multiply quicker than rabbits and too much can lead to stress.

Like all worthwhile pursuits, you only need to take it a step at a time.

Here are some of my favorite clutter busters:


1. Grab a trash bag and go through your house and toss out 27 items.

2.Determine which pieces of mail go in the recycling bin when you bring the mail in.

3.Tidy up at the end of each day.

4. Clean the kitchen after every meal.

5. Make sure everyday items like keys, backpacks, briefcases have a home.

6. Don't put it down. Put it away.

7. Pretend there is a river of energy running through your home. Where does the river get stuck? Tackle that area first

8.Eachday spend 15 to 25 minutes(much more and you will get overwhelmed) in the area from #7 and get rid of stuff.

9. Only keep what you absolutely love.

10. Keep a maybe box. Items that neither scream love or trash go here.

11. Set a date on your calendar a month from now to go through the maybe box again.

12. Clean off your desk at the end of everyday.

13. If it is broken, when will you fix it? Mark it on your calendar.

14. Same with unfinished craft projects. Set a date to finish them.

15.All of your clothes are supposed to make you feel absoutely gorgeous and be totally comfortable.        Everything else goes out.

16. Buy less.

17. Buy only what you absolutely need.

18. Clutter invites more clutter. Keep counters clear.

19. Limit thrift shops and garage sales.

20. Recognize that what you have already is enough. You are enough.

Sign up on the top right to receive a free Feng Shui Ebook.

Blessings,
Virginia

Feng Shui Friday:Finally Tackling The One Thing!

Yesterday as I was reaching for something in my office closet a box filled with pictures toppled to the floor.

I quickly grabbed them all up. Shoved them back into the box. Put the box back on the shelf and walked away.

But there was a nudge. A nudge that said," Go through them Gin Gin"

Any nudge that calls me by Dad's pet name for me makes me act.

I wrote a while back about my hoarding of pictures. You can read it here.

Yes! Some clutter is good but I really wanted to get a hold on all of these pictures.

Soo.. I decided to make them into Christmas presents. I know. I probably should have decided that back in October. I only have a few short weeks.

Regardless I began.

Beginning is all we can do.

I went through the box. I made piles.

 I marvelled at the life my children and I created. I felt happy

I only threw this much away.

I became glad that my dad too made Christmas a time to share his hoarding of pictures. Me as a newborn.

I still have to go through these to make my Christmas presents.

Clearing out is fun!

Blessings!
Virginia

Let's clear out together. Sign up for my newsletter on the top right. One lovely subscriber just got a free month of life coaching. A gift a day! xo

Friday's Feng Shui: 12 Ways to Boost Your Abundance

One of the most asked Feng Shui questions applies to receiving more financial abundance.  The principls of Feng Shui offer some wonderful tools to open yourself up to more abundance in your life.

1. Go to the Abundance are of your home (far left) and deep clean it. Make that area sparkle.

       2. You can read my post on enhancing the abundance gua here.

       3. Clean out your wallet and purse.

        4. Clean the far left corner of every room in your home.

      5. Make sure something that symbolizes abundance is in the abundance corner of every room.

     6. There are two super power rooms, the entryway and your bedroom. Enhance those two areas. You can read the post here.

     7. Set time aside each day to reduce your clutter. Even just 15 minutes a day will make a huge difference.                                           Only keep what you absolutely love.

     8. Be more generous. Nothing boosts a spirit more than generosity. Giving and receiving are the same energy.

     9. Watch your thoughts and your words. Try to change scarcity thinking to receiving thinking.

     10. Be grateful for what you already have.

     11. Make noticing abundance a habit. This time of year all you have to do is go outside and see everything in bloom.

     12. Most importantly,  remember : YOU ARE ABUNDANCE!

     

        

Feng Shui Friday:Sometimes You Have to Embrace The Chaos

My eldest came home from college for the summer. With him came mounds and mounds of stuff. Stuff that was dumped in the kitchen, dining room and laundry room. Dirty laundry practically filled the entire laundry room and walking through the dining room required obstacle course finesse.

I felt like a tsunami had hit my organized, neat home and I wanted it picked up. NOW.

Because I wanted it to be picked up NOW, I decided it was my job to do it.

Until said eldest said, "Sorry about all the laundry mom."

Then I stopped in my tracks and with a smile responded, "No need to apologize.  I am not the one who is going to do it all."

I then tidied my office and my bedroom and decided to live with the chaos in the rest of the house while everything gets back into a groove.

It wasn't just about the stuff. The stuff everywhere meant a transition and transitions take a few days. Moving back home after seven months at school is a process. Routines have to be re established and boundaries need to be figured out. It can get messy.

We can't rush through transitions. We have to allow the mess and take control over areas that we can (i.e. my cleaning my office and bedroom). I could have put everything away myself and the result would have been a resentful exhausted mom. Instead I let my son figure out where everything was going to go and where he wanted to store the things he didn't need. I offered help as did his siblings but the process held more meaning for all of us when he took charge.

In a few weeks high school will be out and  there will be another mini tsunami as we transition from the school year to summer. I will keep my bedroom and office clean and embrace the chaos.

Friday's Feng Shui: What Are You Inviting In?

 "I just don't know where to begin."
Clients say this to me all of the time when they first begin incorporating Feng Shui  into their lives.

Clear out and clean out is the place to begin. Get rid of of clutter as your body rids itself of waste. Do it on a daily basis.

 I have been practicing and teaching Feng Shui for over 13 years and I am still cleaning out closets, drawers, cabinets and junk piles.  The energy is always flowing. There is no destination. It is a journey.


That being said, in the upcoming weeks I am going to share the  symbolism of each room in your home as well as ways to enhance the area.

The Front Door: The energy you are allowing into your home and into your life. What are you inviting in?

* In your journal answer these questions:

             What do I want to come into my life?
             What would I like to leave in my life?
              Am I open to new experiences?
             Is there something I have been longing for but it just hasn't shown up yet?
            Are opportunities opening for me?


*Make an intention: Only good enters my life.

* Keep it clutter free and snow free.
         Last year I gave upon shoveling the path to my front door. DO NOT do that.   I had to have the door replaced and opportunities were not opening for me last winter.

*If possible make the path to your door a curve instead of a straight line.

*If it is a door you rarely use. Start using it every few days.

* Make it attractive and welcoming. Use your imagination and have fun.

*Make sure the door opens all the way.

Enjoy! As always remember Feng Shui is pronounced FUN Shway. Have fun making your home a mirror to your fabulous life.

Blessings,
Virginia

Friday's Feng Shui: Start with the clutter, 10 Tricks

I am dedicating Friday's blog to all things Feng Shui. I love utilizing Feng Shui in my own life and in my coaching practice.

Feng Shui is a 3000 year old Chinese practice of how our environment effects us physically, emotionally and spiritually. The goal of good feng shui is to arrange your space so energy can flow freely. While the principles of Feng Shui are important. They are not as important as to how you feel in a particular room and how your space is being utilized. I once had a ping pong table in the middle of my living room. It was perfect feng shui because my family spent an entire winter playing together.Feng Shui is not a one time fix because life is always changing and energy is always shifting.

As I have stated in a previous blog posts, getting rid of clutter is the most important aspect of Good Feng Shui.

10 Tricks to Getting Rid of Clutter

1. Keep the kitchen counters clean.
2. Set a timer for 15 minutes. Clean something. Stop when the buzzer rings
3. Make your bed
4. Something goes out before something comes in.
5.Before you leave a room look back and see if you can pick up.
6. A place for everything
7. I keep a red basket in the kitchen for stuff I can't deal with at the moment. I go through it every week.
8. Teach your children to pick up after themselves. (But know 80% of the time they won't ha)
9. Take baby steps. Tackling your entire house in a day will overwhelm you.
10. Take time for yourself. Clearing out brain clutter and filling your soul is the most loving act you can do.

Fridays Feng Shui

Since the start of the year, I have been clearing out stuff. I can already really feel a shift in my energy and the excitement of something new coming in. When I get like this I want to go on a rampage through the house. I have tried that before and it NEVER works. I end up making more of a mess than I started with and I get bored with the project. So I am giving myself fifteen minutes a day. I even set the timer.

As I sort through the stuff I ask myself these questions:

1. Do I love it?

2. Do I absolutely need it?

3. How does it make me feel?

4. Do I have another one?

5. If it is broken, when will I  to fix it?

6. Is there someone in my life who would treasure it?

The process goes fairly quickly and when the buzzer goes off, I take my no longer loved things to the garage for next week's dump run.

             It feels so wonderful to only have my most treasured possessions on display  and to have space to display new treasures like this picture I took the other day.

.