Tender Loving De-Cluttering

Clutter … it’s the stuff that annoys you every time you look at it or have to find something in it. It seems to ‘mate in the night’ in closets, on tables, in corners ‘ just about anywhere ‘ and can multiply until you’re no longer able to navigate through the house without feeling irritated, confused, or overwhelmed. Like it or not you can feel clutter, the environmental equivalent of congestion, as much as you can see it.

Feng Shui observes that your home is essentially alive and functions very much like your body. The walls, floors, ceilings are the bones of the house, while doors and windows act as the mouth, eyes, and lungs. Passageways are seen as the veins and arteries, and furniture and other d’cor become the clothing and accessories. Just like with your own body, every square inch counts! The goal is to maintain your abode’s health so that vital energy can easily flow through the entire structure, including all storage areas. Often it’s the cluttered spots in a household that are ignored in daily life. And the more clutter is ignored, the more congested and stagnant the house becomes until it has the equivalent of a bad cold’ or worse.

With this in mind, it makes sense to clean cluttered areas and restore them to good health. Take the time on a regular basis to focus your healing attention on your home and give it a big dose of TLD (Tender Loving De-cluttering).

As you sort through each item in a cluttered area, ask:

a. Do I love it and/or do I need it?
b. What pleasant or unpleasant memories or associations does it hold, and do I wish to continue to share my home with it?
c. Do I own duplicates that I can let go of now?
d. Am I willing to ‘give it a good home’ by storing it neatly where I can easily find it when I need it?
e. Does it need repair, and am I willing to restore it to its best condition now?
f. If I’m letting it go, will I sell, lend, or give it away, and when? (The sooner, the better!)

Letting go of items that you don’t like or need decongests your house; honoring what you choose to keep infuses it with a healthy glow. You know you’ve restored environmental well-being when irritation, overwhelm, and confusion disappear and you feel completely comfortable and at peace in your home.

Terah Kathryn Collins is the author of six books on Feng Shui and the founder of the Western School of Feng Shui™ in San Diego, CA. For additional Feng Shui articles, more information about Essential Feng Shui®, or to attend a Feng Shui Training Program or event, or please visit www.WesternSchoolofFengShui.com or call directly 760-633-3388.