How to Feng Shui Clean Your Home and Your Life
Spring is a good excuse to reset your house into cleaning mode and at the same time incorporate the process of renewing and recycling whatever you want in your life.
It might sound exciting and scary to think of cleaning up your life as well, but I guarantee that you will feel great if you decide to embark in this Feng Shui Clean Your Home and Your Life journey.
There are only a few steps to make you consider this challenge of adding some good energy where you need the most and doing a Feng Shui house cleansing.
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Having lived most of my life in Brazil, where all seasons look alike, I was never aware of the pleasant impact that the arrival of spring could have in people’s lives. In Brazil, summer and spring are very similar, there is no such thing as a designated spring cleaning. We just don’t do that. People clean all the time, which is really exhausting.
That perception changed very quickly when I moved to Canada and I felt trapped in the house for the winter months.
Winter activities were out of my reach by the time I got here, too old to get started. It took me a few years just to become skilled enough to walk on icy streets and piles of snow.
Now spring is my favourite time of the year. Feeling good in the spring in Canada goes deeper than enjoying the warmer temperatures. The sense of renewal and celebration is contagious when Spring arrives. Everybody is happy. It means we’re out of the hibernating season and will become active human beings again.
As soon as we start opening windows, letting the fresh air in and start the home nest cleaning, we are welcoming renewed energy into our homes. And so the Feng Shui cleansing house begins.
A good spring cleaning – Feng Shui way, will do wonders for the energy that flows all through your house and will nourish and strengthen you and your family.
Spring Clean Tips- Feng Shui Way
If you’re ready to start your spring cleaning why not add the amazing benefits of Feng Shui principles and clean both, your home and your life?
It doesn’t take much and you’re already committed to do the cleaning anyway. It is just a matter of incorporating ways to let the good energy flow all through your house.
1- Start by Embracing Spring
Embrace Spring and the feel good energy that comes with that. It will make you wake up earlier, feel motivated to move your body and get ready to do a good spring clean up, top to bottom and organize your home.
It is also a good time to plan your spring activities and start new projects for the house.
You will feel renewed and ready to tackle new projects and activities.
Let this good energy be with you all day, reminding yourself of the rebirth of nature and using it as an inspiration to make your life better. That’s the ideal start for Feng Shui clearing negative energy.
2- Spring Decluttering Feng Shui Organization Way
Decluttering is opening space for the new and fresh and getting rid of stagnant energy. After a long winter, your body and mind are craving contact with sun shine and nature’s vibrant energy. Start decluttering and letting new energy to flow in your house.
It is easier to say start decluttering than actually doing. For me, the more I write and search about Feng Shui and its fascinating principles, the more I want to declutter my house. It keeps you motivated and out of the procrastinating zone.
One of the most important decluttering tips: declutter your mind!
It turns out it is not easy at all, as this article points out, there are several emotional constrains interfering with the will to declutter.
I decided to make it as simple as possible and for 6 months (yes, 6 months) I have been using my simple guide on how to start decluttering your house. Take the time and start. Starting is the challenging part.
Get some help with this printable “21 Things to declutter from your House right now”.
3- Start with the Kitchen Cleaning
According to Feng Shui, the state of your kitchen is the state of your health. It can’t be more important than that.
Clean your kitchen, organize your pantry, clean the stove, appliances and cabinets. At the same time, keep decluttering your kitchen.
Do the Feng Shui windows cleaning and what I mean by that is that cleaning your kitchen windows and letting the light and fresh air in, is the first step for a Feng Shui cleaning of negative energy. Unpleasant energy that you’re not even aware of gets stagnant amongst clutter and dirt.
Get rid of anything you don’t need, from old food in the fridge to the items hidden in the top shelves of your cabinets, where you keep things you never use. That ugly mug you got from your co-workers when you left that job, many years ago, can go now.
You will be creating a fresh and strong pathway for vibrant Chi to flow. It might even be the time to add the energy of the water element, one of the five feng shui elements, with a Relaxation Fountain, Illuminated Waterfall.
Throw away spoiled food and condiments, and donate food that you have not used in the last 3 months.
The purpose of decluttering is to create new space.
Try to bring live plants, and potted herbs into the kitchen. The more “alive” the kitchen is, the healthier and alive you will feel.
4- Get Some Help to Declutter Your Kitchen
It is really overwhelming to do a deep cleaning and decluttering in the kitchen. There are so many items and spaces to look at.
The only way I managed to do so was with some help. When my sister was over, last spring, she helped me a lot. It is amazing how a set of fresh eyes can look at your clutter without the emotional attachment.
The best way of doing it is to get lots of baskets and plastic boxes to start sorting things out. Once you start it, you won’t want to stop it. It’s addicting to get rid of things.
Get some help! It can be a weekend project when your kids and husband can be involved or an afternoon with a friend .
You just have to find ways to do the cleaning when you don’t feel like, which is a bummer!
5- Clean your Bedroom and Bathroom
Clean your bedroom and your bathroom, get rid of anything that you haven’t used in the past 6 months, from clothes, furniture, objects and books. You might enjoy to do so Marie Kondo way, the famous organizing consultant. She also has a show and currently is one of the most popular declutter shows on Netflix.
Don’t forget to clear the space under the bed and clean the windows.
For a good Feng Shui in your bedroom is a good idea to refresh and redecorate, even if it is only changing furniture around. You will feel amazing!
To keep up with the Feng Shui principle of cleaning the rooms naturally, use natural cleaning products, like this DIY Orange-Infused Vinegar. You will be avoiding chemicals and maximizing the Feng Shui flow.
6- Make space in your closets, especially if you’re looking for a new relationship in your life
It is time to declutter your closet and this is very important, especially if you are thinking of welcoming a new love relationship into your life. By organizing the physical space, you will be also opening emotional space for this new person to be in your home.
You have to create a positive flow of energy in your home to attract and make a statement of what you are looking for. Spring cleaning, Feng Shui way, will motivate you to be more opened for life changes and new beginnings, like for example a career change or new resolutions towards making your life easier and happier.
The rebirth of nature happens in the spring and this can lead you to reinventing your life for the next cycle. There is nothing more exciting than that!
7- Organize your Home Office if you work from Home
If your home office desk has piles of papers and notes that you avoid looking at it, this is your time to clear it up. Go through it quickly. Resist the temptation of doing a perfect job sorting the papers out.
Declutter your documents at another time. It just takes too long to do at the same time you’re decluttering your office.
Keep your focus, now is not the time to start working on that scrapbook album for your kids.
Making the space where you need to be productive, clean, nice and pretty will help your creative mind to fly high and your motivation to work will increase a lot.
Feng Shui your Home Office at the same time you’re setting your work plans and goals. You will be opening space for new projects and achievements and because the environment around you is clean and tidy all your stagnant projects have a better chance to be completed.
8- The Challenge of Keeping Things Organized
After all the Spring cleaning and organizing that you have been doing, the challenge now is to keep all the spaces you worked so hard to clean and tidy, free of clutter and organized.
It is easy to get motivated to clean and tidy for a weekend (singing along as you clean) as it is to let things get messy again in no time. Keeping your motivation to maintain it is another whole chapter we can explore.
Here a few tips from very organized people:
1- Designate a Place for Everything
There is a big difference between people who can’t find anything and people who always manage to find what they need. Organized people make sure that everything has a home and if you take the item, you put it back where it belongs.
I grew up seeing my mom being very organized with her personal things. She used to brag that she could go to her dresser and find anything with her eyes closed. It took me years to learn this lesson and I am still trying to teach it to my husband. Not much success so far.
2- Become a Minimalist
While definitions of minimalism vary, the fact is that the fewer things you own, the easier it is to keep them organized. It is not for everybody but the concept of owning only the essential makes so much sense and truly makes life easier. Normally very organized people tend to become minimalists. You can learn more about it here.
3- It is ok to look messy if things are grouped together by category
This is not a rule I would follow since I like to look at pretty things and enjoy an organized place. However if this is your style, it is ok to group all your shoes in a large container, for example, all together. All your keys in another small container, and so on. You will always know where things are and no matter what style of organizing you follow, find the one that works for you.
4- Keep Decluttering a little bit every day
Organized people don’t wait until their life requires a massive organizing overhaul. They almost unconsciously look for any opportunity to get a tiny bit more organized. If you have a few minutes to spare, look around to see if you could put something away or find a new way to store the item.
I am addicted to it and I always get a boost of excitement when I find a new way to make life easier. Because we have 3 dogs, (adorable 3 Huskies) I am constantly thinking of ways to keep the house nice and clean with the dogs, which it is a challenge, to say the least.
5- Don’t Let Sentimental Clutter Hold You Back
It’s easy to fall into the trap of assigning sentimental value to everything we own, making it impossible to get rid of unnecessary clutter. Learn to let go.
An object is just an object, after all. Even if this object was a key element in your life in the past (like your grade 1 notebook) you don’t have to be looking at it to keep the good memories in your heart.
According to Marie Kondo in her book The life-changing magic of tidying up, letting it go is easier if you take a few seconds to “thank” the item for have played a role in your life.
6- Store Things Where You’ll Remember to Look for Them
Although it seems obvious, we all have different ways to categorize items. For example, for me keeping the wine glasses close to the wine bottles make more sense but some people prefer to keep them close to the other glasses.
However if your organization criteria sounds unusual for the people living with you, let them know where they can find the items. Communication is key when sharing a space with other people. Everybody will be able to find everything.
Also be aware that evey time you make changes on where things are, it takes some time for everybody to get used to the new location.
7- Cycle Kids’ and Pets’ Toys
If you have kids or pets, cycle their toys so that they’re not all scattered around the house at once. A good rule is to keep 50% to 75% of your toddler’s toys and your dog’s squeaky toys packed away, rotating them every so often. Feng Shui purging should always include kids and pets stuff.
8- One item in, One item out
Bringing a new item into your home, whether it’s new clothes or new toys or new books, means you should take a hard look at the items you already own. Is there a shirt in your closet you haven’t worn in over a year that your new shirt could replace? If so, donate it. Make it a rule and avoid accumulating unnecessary things.
Hope these Feng Shui decluttering tips will make you feel good this spring. Actually even before that, starting to sort your possessions and recycling your home will have an amazing emotional effect in your life.
Your Spring Cleaning Feng Shui will make you feel refreshed and renewed to enjoy Spring and your nice and tidy home!
