http://www.care2.com/greenliving/feng-shui-your-clutter-win-the-book.html
Feng Shui Your Clutter - Win the Book!
By Veronica Peterson, Editor, Healthy & Green Living
I recently heard the quote “The way you do anything is the way you do everything.” This rings true for the most part but is a little tough to admit when it comes to my closet. My personal relationships can be going strong, my health and happiness can seem on track–but if Mt. Laundry has taken over my closet floor, I know there’s something in my life that needs sorting. In an attempt to straighten out my home and therefore my mind, these tips have been pretty valuable.
Start by taking a photograph
We may be so used to walking into a room and stepping over a pile of clothes or boxes that it becomes ingrained in our mental memory and we no longer notice the mess. By taking a photograph, it’s a little easier to see how those Christmas decorations or piles of bills don’t belong on your kitchen table.
Take a moment to connect with your home
Carefully look around to determine which parts of your home are not working well. If your hallway is full of boxes, it isn’t able to function as a hallway. Just as pain in one body part restricts the energy in the whole body, a similar thing happens in your home. Because all parts of the home are connected directly with your life, blocked energy in one area will manifest itself in others.
Sort & organize
Sort:
• Start with one room and work your way through the entire house a little at a time.
• Make three piles: donation, repairing and trash. Recycle whenever possible.
• Your mantra: “Everything must have a place.”
• Bins and containers help to gather items neatly.
• Loose papers belong in a folder and then in a file cabinet or drawer.
• Plants. Yup, you can have too many plants just like you can have too many old TV Guides. Work on redistributing plants throughout the house.
Organize:
• Remove all objects blocking main pathways.
• Store all of your boxes out of sight unless they are coordinated and create clean lines.
• Are you a collector? Too many of one thing scattered around your house can start to look messy but can look stylish if they’re all kept together. Gather on a shelf or china cabinet but be sure to dust!
• It’s awfully tempting to come home and kick your shoes off! Sadly, this is not so conducive to the flow of chi. Try and remember to remove yours shoes at the front door and store neatly.
• Your everyday items; keys, mail, loose change, and umbrellas should all have a designated space. Keep them out of sight.
Newspapers aren’t your friends
• Don’t let media accumulate. Piles of paper prevent the flow of energy throughout your home.
• Donate used newspapers either to your local recycling center or to an elementary school for craft projects.
• Designate a time and day to take newspapers your recycling bin. This will keep the stacks from growing into unmanageable clutter.
• Cut out articles that you want to keep and file them away. No need to keep the whole paper!
• Donate your old magazines to a hospital, elementary school or nursing home.
You got time to lean, you got time to clean
• A clean space is the most important aspect of feng shui. Try and commit to a weekly deep-cleaning.
• Keep a pretty bucket fill of natural cleaning supplies. The easier they are to access the more likely you are to use them.
• Make cleaning fun! Turn on a song you like and commit to dusting for the length of it.
Have you checked out Care 2’s new Feng Shui Daily Tip?
WIN THE BOOK!
Renowned Feng Shui master Karen Kingston has donated 10 copies of her new e-book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui. With her help you should be on the road to success in no time! To enter just leave a comment in the field below. The winners will be randomly drawn and announced on April 1. Good Luck!
CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Cindy Bertagnolli
Kaylynn Willden
Louise Hone
Janine Nimmo
Christine Thomas
Karen Johnson
Shauna Bassingthwaite
Sandy Hammond
Laura Elfering
Toni Mccauley
Please send me your e-mail addresses at veronicap@earth.care2.com to claim your new book. Thanks to everyone who entered!
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751 comments
add your comment »This struck home for me! Declutter, declutter, declutter and move your life in a new and positive direction. I'm all for that!
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Excellent Article, I really need your help to fix my house, Please help!! lol
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My dad is quite the clutter bug. If he could break down the cleaning process in his mind the way it is represented in this article, he would see how simple and not daunting organizing can be. Not that it won't take him forever b/c he has so much stuff, but I think the systematic break down of sorting and organizing will bring him closer to tackling his mess. And tying the state of the house to energy will hit home with him b/c he believes in energy flow and its importance. I just don't think he ever made the link between his clutter and his energy before, he has always thought they can be separate. I really want to get this book for him =) THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thank you so much for this article and introducing me to this book. I wish I won the book but I found an older copy at the Library. It really has been so helpful!
I hope one of the book stores by me will cary it soon so I can check out all the new info.
Thank you again.
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My clutter is a clear reflection of how disfunctional my emotional life has been. My recent separation from my fiance has allowed me to see everything for what it really is and I'm ready to start a new life, hopefully clutter free.
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Thanks for the great tips!! I am going to tackle my office where paper and "stuff" has outgrown the space. Thank you.
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This was a great article as I need to reorganize my office, two years of paper and items that outgrew their space. Thanks for the great tips!!
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I just got home from the hospital and since I have limited mobility, I am spending my time discarding the mounds of outdated papers that are cluttering up my computer room. Hopefully, some good chi will find its way to the clean space!
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I needed these tips so much. They are so true.
Renee H.
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I have been interested in feng shui for soeme time now and have multiple people suggeset it for my home. I think your tips are truly helpful and positive.
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