Ways of Feng Shui: Tips to Clear Clutter

Your environment is a reflection of you.

If you want to change your environment and how you feel in it, Feng Shui may offer you some opportunities. Although there are different schools and techniques of Feng Shui, a basic remedy you can do yourself is clearing physical clutter. By clearing clutter, you create pathways for energy to flow unencumbered, which is an essential part of good Feng Shui. In starting with this step, you can move toward more refined areas of improvement with Feng Shui strategies.

---

Clutter has a way of creeping into our lives. We store it in our wallets, drawers, cabinets and closets and even our computers. When this energy accumulates, it causes blockages and stagnation. We feel these blocks consciously and subconsciously. We may understand how clutter is affecting us or have difficulty pinpointing the cause of our stagnation.

There are different ways to tune into the energy of your environment to determine if you have

blockages caused by clutter. One way is to mentally go through each room of your house clockwise. As you travel to each area, stop and mentally check in with how you feel. As you continue, think about how the energy feels inside of the closets or other storage spaces. If you do not feel good, ask yourself, "Is it because of clutter?" You may find that you feel pretty good in most of your environment with only a few areas to clean up, or you may find you need a larger transformation. Either way, if you take manageable steps to clear your clutter, areas of your life will open up.

Clutter comes in several forms, such as old papers, expired or unused products, worn-out or ill fitting clothing, broken items and unorganized supplies. Storage systems can help with organization. Organization is essentially grouping like items.

Tips to Clear Clutter:

1. One Space at a Time: Clutter can already make us feel overwhelmed, particularly when we know we have several areas to work on. If you choose to work on one small area at a time, it can relieve some of the anxiety. For example, you can make a resolution to clean one drawer in your kitchen. That's it. Keep it simple. By narrowing and focusing your task, you are more likely to be successful.

2. Keep a Time Limit: If you don't want to declutter because you think it will take too much time, try this. After you select your first task, see how long it takes to complete. You may find that it only takes 10 mins to clean a drawer, for example. From there, you can feel more security knowing you can manage your time in future projects. A good rule to adopt is if it only takes 10 minutes, do it now. If you dedicate 10 minutes a day to a project, you will succeed.

3. Make Longer Projects Fun: If you've decided that you need to work on a project that is much longer than 10 minutes, set the intention to make it fun. Instead of dreading the process of organizing and decluttering, find ways to enjoy it. Perhaps you want listen to a full album of a new artist, play an audio book in the background or have a give-away party with friends. Whatever you consider fun, use it as a tool. If you find it beneficial in other ways, even better!

4. Know you will do this Again: Clearing clutter can sometimes take too long because there is so much time spent deciding if we want to keep something. Often people need to go through a few rounds of decluttering to get their spaces where they want them to be. The first go around, understand that you are just skimming for easy giveaways, throwaways and recyclables. The 2nd time around, go through with a finer tooth comb. By creating these layers, you actually end up saving time and energy.

5. Take Small Trips: If your first attempt of going through your stuff only left you with one bag of giveaways, still take it to the donation center. Do not let it sit in your environment as you wait to get a bigger bag. Taking this one trip will show you how easy and quick it can be, so that you can incorporate this process into your life regularly. Needing to clear clutter never goes away as long as you are a consumer. It does get easier the more you do it. Get used to the process. (Living minimally reduces the amount of clutter.)

6. Clean Later: A part of clearing clutter is of course, cleaning. Cleaning, however, can be done later. Often when people start to organize, they see how much needs cleaning. What started off as a small project, ends up being a task someone is doing for hours. While some people like working in longer stints, others hesitate to do it again. To alleviate this, designate a different time for cleaning, thus creating more bite sized projects. Plus, you won't have to clean as much after you cleared out some stuff.

7. Solicit Help: Friends and family can offer a great perspective if you're unsure if you've outgrown something. Find someone whose opinion you trust! Additionally, if you live with other people, let them know when you're going to the donation center and ask them to contribute. If you get in the habit of going to a drop-off center regularly, those you live with may come to expect the trip and actually have things prepared. The goal is to establish healthy habits and more routine. Over time, you will see how much you've accomplished.

8. Sell it, Fix it or Not: If you have been keeping something to sell or fix, but have not made any attempt, ask yourself how long are you willing to hold on to it? Do a quick assessment and see if you've had this intention for 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years. Make a decision on what you are going to do with it and have a due date. It is important that your decision is time sensitive.

---

Quick Questions to Ask Yourself for Clearing Clutter:

Do I need it?: Understand your needs and be very clear. If something doesn't fall in your criteria, let it go. If you're still unsure if you need it, say what you need and why to someone you trust. "I need _____, because _____." Hearing yourself out loud can help you understand how you really feel about it.

Does it feel Good?: When deciding to give something away, ask yourself, "How does it feel?" If it makes you feel good, keep it and appropriately store it. If it doesn't feel good, let it go. Easy. Emotional blocks for holding onto something can be released through this one simple question, thereby making room for healthy emotions to take their place.

It is important to feel good.

What makes you feel good in your environment?