Do You REALLY Need to De-Clutter?

Do you like what it says? Is it telling the story of who you are today — and who you want to be in the future?

A cluttered marriage corner in a couple’s bedroom, for instance, could mean they are scattering their energies and not focusing on what’s important in their marriage. Maybe they have too many commitments pulling them in different ways. Clutter tends to collect in the marriage trigram of the Feng Shui bagua, just as chores and commitments pile up until they seem impossible to handle.

Similarly, if your dining room table — or worse, your entryway foyer — is full of unpaid bills, your finances could be in disarray or suffering neglect.

As you go through each room to clean, consider the following questions. It may be helpful to keep a graphic of the Feng Shui Ba Gua at hand, so you can evaluate each trigram individually, but remember to also follow your intuition about the stories your home or apartment wants to tell you.

• What objects from my past are in this space that no longer serves me, my life purpose, or my goals?
• Does everything in this area fill a purpose and bring me joy? If not, how can I get rid of it so that it may serve or help others?
• What other objects are here and what do they say about me, my goals, my life and my home or apartment?
• Is the space disorganized or neat and clean? If it’s in disarray, am I neglecting this area of my life as represented by the Feng Shui Ba Gua? If it’s too sparse and has no chi circulating, do I need to devote more energy and creativity to this area of my life?
• If I can’t afford to replace an object I no longer like, what inexpensive steps can I take to improve it right now? Will a good cleaning or a fresh coat of paint help? What about moving the object to another space where it fits better and fills a different need or purpose?
• What overall “story” is this area of my home telling me? What may it show that I’m doing well and what needs improvement? Where does it say I am focusing my attention in life right now? Is the area I’m focused on the area I want to focus on in order to live my true life purpose and achieve my goals? If not, what changes can I make to align this space with my goals?
• Overall, how does this area of my home make me feel? Energized? At peace? Happy? Disoriented? Depressed? Can I pinpoint why?
• Is the overall chi in this space lively and active or depressed? Is there a Feng Shui remedy I can use to raise or re-direct the chi?
• What changes can I make right now to improve how the space feels?

Finish Off Your Spring Cleaning with a Space Cleansing.