Now, let’s get back to business…it is time for all of us to clear out some junk from our lives. Even if you pick a drawer, your car, a shelf, or one single closet, the act of clearing out stagnant, useless stuff frees up literal and figurative space in our lives.

Feng Shui is a 5,000-year-old practice that looks at the flow of chi, or energy, in an environment. The belief is that our emotional and spiritual life is not separate from the physical space we live and work in. There are many applications of Feng Shui, but for our purposes, what you see in your house will likely show up in our lives. For example, a cluttered, disorganized home will likely reflect that the owner is feeling out of control, mentally cluttered, and disorganized! It doesn’t take years of studying an ancient practice for most people to be able to relate to this.

So, what exactly constitutes clutter? Karen Kingston, in her book Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, defines it as:

1. Things you do not use or love
2. Things that are untidy or disorganized
3. Too many things in a small space
4. Anything unfinished

I think we all can understand these categories, but it is easy to trick ourselves into thinking OUR clutter does not meet these requirements.

For example, I have a friend that purchased expensive software that helped her categorize, file, label, and search for the THOUSAND or more books she had. I know she thinks that since they are now organized, they don’t count as clutter. But what about #1? Does she really use all 1000 books? One major pitfall is keeping things “just in case.” Don’t fall into that trap!

Another pitfall is the belief that “more is better.” For example, I know someone who keeps Costco size flats of canned goods in her pantry. She doesn’t want to be caught without something at sometime in the future. They often get thrown out after their expiration (#1) or they are packed so tightly in the pantry (#3) I wonder sometimes if she can find what she needs! Trust that if you need something, you will be able to get it.

So, if you are on board to start a real clutter cleanse, you can make it fun and interesting using a fascinating Feng Shui tool: the Bagua Map. The Bagua is a chart that identifies where each of our “blessings” is located in the home:

This can be used to chart your whole house or even one single room. Start by sketching your house. I used graph paper to attempt a basic level of accuracy. After you are finished, superimpose the Bagua map over your house drawing, placing the bottom of the Bagua map where your front door is. Notice that the Bagua may be square or rectangle, depending on your home dimensions. Also note that in order to cover the longest sides of your home, some of the Bagua map may encompass the outside (front yard or backyard).

Here is my house charted. As you can see, almost all of my “prosperity/wealth” and “fame/reputation” is on my patio! If I noticed problems in these areas, I would look to keep my patio swept and clean and maybe even add some beautiful flowers.

After you complete your Bugua map, look to see where most of your clutter is and see if this area of your life is being affected. Clutter in drawers counts! Also, multiple floors count! You can apply the map to each floor of your home, and even do it for a single room by placing the bottom of the map on the wall where the room’s entrance is. Check out your bedroom: where does your cluttered bedside table land? Mine is in “knowledge/wisdom.”

It is a fun and interesting way to look at clutter. And anything that can make the cleaning process more fun is worth every penny! I would love to hear any interesting revelations…Good luck!