The effects of clutter feng shui style....

Your home is not just a thing...it either lives or dies depending on the chi that flows through your home. You can accept that or deny that that's OK by me but, we have all seen homes that cluttered, unclean and we just can't move through it without tripping over something somebody left behind.

Chi is the energy force that breathes life into your home or doesn't. It's up to you to decide whether that is important to you or not. I know that I have been in a home that has been overwhelmed by yard sale finds, pet cages and pet dishes strewn about the kitchen floor, not to mention the odor. I have seen piles of paper, magazines and unopened mail stacked on chairs and in corners to be dealt with someday. This is a hoard mentality, an emotional need to have and maintain "things" to comfort us or to perhaps make us feel that we truly have the material things that we want so badly. It is a sign of insecurity and a way to self protect ourselves.

It is homes like these that lack "chi". The homeowners are sad or sickly or both. They are tired and overweight and have little motivation to go about their daily tasks. The window treatments, (I use that term loosely here), keep the natural light outside from coming in. The t.v. is on non-stop. Furniture is in disrepair. Things are stored under the beds, in closets, in totes in the basement and the garage, anywhere so that the homeowners feel safe, protected and barricaded from the rest of the world.

Tackling spaces like this is a home stagers greatest challenge. I have found that it is important to not only inform my potential client ahead of time what I might do once I am hired to stage but, also to give the home owner the opportunity to attempt to cope emotionally with their home when it is in this condition. It is extremely challenging for both the client and the stager. Tact is crucial at this point and throughout the entire process until the home is sold and still sometimes after that time as well.

Eliminating this clutter will help cleanse the home and the spirits of the people who live in them. If you have ever done this yourself then perhaps you understand what my point is here. It can sometimes be a very difficult point to get across and keeping that point buried in the head of a non-believer can be extremely trying.

I suggest helping them to make choices. I have set four boxes in front of my client and asked them to start in one room, of their choosing. They will have to o0n ly do that one room and only that room for today. their "job" is too sort through each thing in that room and to decide which box that item will go in. i usually set up a box for donating items, a box for things to keep, a box for throw aways and the last one is for "I just can't decide right now". It might sound a little silly initially but, this process can take time. This process allows the homeowner the opportunity to ease into this transition period rather than someone else coming in and just scooping everything up and tossing all of it...as tempting as that might be! This process will get better as each room is tackled. The process will become easier and the emotional uplifting will gradually become more obvious and appreciated.

Remove clutter from under the beds. Clutter here will make your sleep time difficult.

Organize only the items that you really want to keep.

Items that are stored overhead are a sign that you are apprehensive about other issues that seem to hover over you and weigh you down.

If you have clutter near your doorways then remove items from them. Items here are preventing you from moving on and from going out into the world. These items wall up fear in side your home.

There are eight points that are crucial when relating feng shui and clutter.

• Clutter at the marriage point, in the bedroom, means that you are worried about your love life.
• Clutter where your children are indicates that you are worrying about your children and/or creative projects.
• Clutter near your friends point means that you are having trouble creating friendships.
• Clutter at your career point indicates worry about your job.
• Clutter at your knowledge point means you are stifled intellectually.
• Clutter in the family point indicates that you have ambivalent family relations.
• Clutter in your financial area means you are worried about money.
• Clutter at your reputation point means that you are worried about how you are perceived by others.

money - reputation - marriage

family - - children Use this rectangle to map your home and eliminate clutter

specific to these area.

know - career - friends

ledge