Talking Clutter again!

Since fall is almost here, I thought I would address clutter once again before we are stuck inside all winter. You have heard me say this before. Feng Shui is about increasing the flow of energy or chi in your space to create harmony but it’s also about surrounding yourself with things that you love. That being said, when there is too much “stuff” in the way, the energy gets stuck and things tend to stagnate in your life. Sometimes when there is an energy blockage you may not even be aware that it is the clutter that is causing the issue. Now, I am not asking you to live a totally minimalist lifestyle. You don’t have to completely clear the decks! Just take a look around your home and ask yourself the following questions. Do I like this? When is the last time I used it? Where did it come from? Does it have sentimental value to anyone in the household? I have found that we sometimes get so used to seeing something in a particular spot that we are almost immune to the fact that it’s even there. Do you catch yourself saying, why didn’t I get rid of that long ago? Or, why didn’t we fix that before now? If so, then you need to take a look at your surroundings in a whole new light. Go through each room and actually stop and look at each piece of furniture, everything that hangs on the walls or sits on a table or shelf. Is it in good repair or has it been around way too long already? Is it just there simply because it always has been? Do you save every newspaper and magazine? Are there piles that seem to take on a life of their own? In the past I have suggested that you not even bring the junk mail in the house. Toss it in the recycling bin before it ever gets inside. Keep a shredder handy and instead of setting it down so it can pile up, shred it. Look at things one time and get it done. Remember my 9 minute plan. Take 9 minutes each day and clean, sort and put things away. Once you get used to it, you will be amazed how much you can get done in a short 9 minutes. Hopefully there will come a time when you don’t even need a full 9 minutes per day anymore and can cut back to less days a week. Until next time! “Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful and believe to be beautiful.” William Morris

Clutter

This was originally posted by me in 2011. Still holds true today. Reach out with any questions. Have a great day! Are you getting rid of your clutter using my 9 minutes a day plan? Don't get overwhelmed... just give it a try. Set the timer, go and in no time you will have a clean, uncluttered space. It really is not that difficult and it gets easier the more you do it. Get started today!

2018

I have been seriously neglecting this blog. I will get better, I promise. New Year means new thoughts and actions. Right now I am working toward getting settled and have a bit of a mess on my hands. I will be back as soon as the boxes are out of my living room. In the meantime remember that clutter is your enemy. Take nine minutes a days and purge! Happy New Year

It is almost mid March

Once the calendar hits March we start to think about spring cleaning. If you are getting the itch it probably means that you have some "stuff" to get rid of. May be actual stuff but it may be stinkin' thinkin'. Please remember that your thoughts become your reality. Think only positive thoughts and keep your space and mind uncluttered. Stay up on your chores. Handle things as soon as they show up. Don't wait until tomorrow.

Are you glad the Holiday season is over?

Personally, I am glad it is now January. I have always loved the time from Thanksgiving all the way through to New Years Day but something has changed. It isn't the same anymore. Maybe we, or perhaps just I, have lost the true meaning of it all. Maybe it is too commercialized. Busy and overwhelming instead of relaxed and enjoyable. Maybe it is because I am a grown up and don't get the time off that children do. It could be a lot of things. When I am out in the stores merchandising I try to keep to myself and not make eye contact too much. I get interrupted enough as it is and lose a lot of time each day. But for the last several weeks I couldn't help but notice peoples behavior. Screaming kids is always a factor and I don't let that get to me although it does seem worse than ever lately. People asking me to help them reach something is also an everyday occurrence. Then there were the rude folks because maybe I was working in an area where they wanted to shop. They don't say excuse me, they just push the cart right in and don't care if they run me over or move my cart out of the way. The "taking up the whole aisle" type or the going through the speed lane with too many items. These things happen all the time and are just multiplied by ten during the season. Normally I just shrug it off and keep working. Sometimes I laugh or shake my head. What I really noticed this season were the parents trying to buy things for their kids that they knew they couldn't afford. You can hear the conversations and you know they don't want to put it back but they also don't know how they are going to pay for the items. I saw this several times in December and it is hard to watch but what I really wonder is why the pressure. Why do these parents feel as though they need to break the bank. The little ones don't know the difference or understand how much you spent. They just want to open something. Another strange thing I saw was a total lack of communication. People would see each other in the store, greet each other and start a conversation. You could see one party was very happy and enjoying the talk and the other just wanted to keep moving. What I surmise from my time in public over the last six weeks or so is that we have become a very ungrateful society with no manners or patience. It is all about me, I am more important than anyone else in the building, my time is more important than yours will ever be, don't make eye contact and certainly don't talk to me. Such a sad way to live. I am going to do my best to not be like that. Be grateful for each and every day because you just never know. Oh, and go out of your way to be super nice to all of the rude nasty people. It really pisses them off!

Is it over yet?

Once we get to a certain age we would like for time to slow down, not speed up but right now with all of the election "stuff" we are being bombarded with I wouldn't mind if it was already November 9th! Add to that the fact that most of it is so mean and negative. Oh, and it is everywhere. TV, radio, facebook, youtube, newspapers, magazines, in your mailbox and dialing you on the phone. I am fairly certain that I am not the only one that feels this way. Since we can't totally escape it I guess we have to figure out how to live with it. So what do we do, go live in a cave for the next two weeks? I know, not an adult solution to any problem. But what you can do is stop talking and thinking about it. Don't watch live TV. Record so you can fast forward past all the BS. Stay off social media or at least ignore anything political. Shut your phones off, especially during dinner and put your energy into positive things. Now, on the other hand if you love a good debate and enjoy the chaos then have at it! Put all your energy into your candidate and rock on.

My website

My website is live but still very rough. I will keep working on it over the next few days. Check it out when you have a few minutes. fengshuiforeveryday.com