Feng Shui for Spring Clearing and Cleaning

By now I hope you all have taken time to do a Feng Shui Clearing. Honoring your home, office, and studio as sacred space is a vital part of increasing the flow of Universal energy/Chi.  In the North as days lengthen and in the South as relief is finally felt from summer, we move into new seasons, times of transition. Perhaps you've already done some major cleaning and clearing in preparation for the holy days of Easter and Passover, or maybe you've been waiting for just the right time to begin a seasonal cleanse. Now is the time to address some of the major areas of our homes where the healthy flow of Chi is essential for our health, abundance, and well being.

Where to begin?

This morning I decided to begin a big closet clearing project. I opened the doors to the closet, and immediately felt overwhelmed. Sound familiar?  Even though I'd been thinking about it for a while, the scope of what lay ahead struck me and stopped me in my tracks. Normally, I find it best to do a little preparation to avoid this happening.

• Envisioning.  Start by sitting quietly, closing your eyes, and thinking about what areas of your house are holding stale, overstuffed or messy energy. It may be one particular drawer or space. Or it may be the fridge or oven. Once you have something in mind, open your eyes and begin a little list of what areas need the most attention.  Once you have your list made, proceed to step 2.
• Walk About. Take your list, and walk around the house (inside and out, especially entrances). Notice what needs to be done in each area. 
• Prioritize.  To avoid the 'stopping before I start syndrome', begin prioritizing your list. Some people pick the hardest jobs first while others do what's easiest first. Do what works best for you. Once you have made your list and prioritized it, proceed on to step 4.
• Plan and Schedule.  Most of us need to schedule spring cleaning over a period of a week or two. Most of us have other priorities, so break down your tasks according to the different amounts of time you have to do your cleaning. Heres' my suggestion, but gear yours according to what works for you.

           Example schedule:

1. 5-minute tasks. Set a timer and spend 5 minutes doing one of the following:  

• go room to room picking up anything on the floor, on a surface, or anywhere it doesn't belong 
• wash the sinks in your kitchen and bathrooms 
• sweep floors  
• do the dishes; 
• make the bed or change the linens 
• go through fridge and toss out anything expired, spoiled, or unrecognizable. 
• Take out trash, recycling, compost.

2. Half-hour Tasks: 

• Sweep and wash the bathroom floor/kitchen floor
• Vacuum
• Clean out refrigeraor
• Clean stove top and exterior
• Clear, clean, and reorganize your desk top
• Clear and clean area around the front door, inside and out.
•  Go through drawers, closets, and storage to pick out items that need to be recycled. Set aside in boxes/bags, and when you're finished filling them, put them in your car (take them to recycle right away).
• Clean out the car's interior
• Go through your cupboards to find broken, unused, and duplicates of cookware, dishes, cups, glasses, and utensils. If broken, dispose of them (or get them repaired). Broken dishes can be broken up for use in crafts (mosaics), or used for drainage in bottoms of pots used for plants. 

1/2 Day projects.   Longer projects, for example my closet, requires more than a few minutes or even a half an hour or so. Again, I like to break the big projects down "into littles". My godmother taught me to "do things in littles", and I find that makes overwhelming jobs much more manageable. 

Bigger projects might include:

• Rearranging office space or cupboards in the kitchen
• Reorganizing bookshelves (which ought to include a decluttering phase as well). As you remove books/objects from book shelves, decide what can be released and put that in a recycling box or perhaps choose a book or two to give to a friend or neighbor. Books can be replaced fairly easily nowadays, so avoid hoarding. Books hold dust and consider removing books from the area where you sleep (except of course the pile you're reading). 
• Redoing artwork and decorative displays. This might include moving furniture around, taking items out of one room to put into another. Give your house movement. Keeping things in the same place all the time adds to the blockage of Chi. 
• Kitchen cleaning. The kitchen is the most important room in our houses. It represents the health, wealth, and well being of the entire family. Maintaining a clean, Feng Shui friendly kitchen i key to keeping the flow of Chi moving in the right direction. It's also one of the most used rooms and one of the hardest to keep in good order. Spending time moving things into places where they are more likely to be used, to be easier to reach, or to serve a real purpose, helps Chi flow more freely. 
• You could spend a whole day working on organizing your kitchen or cleaning it top to bottom. Perhaps you're going to paint the kitchen or put up a new shelf or two. Set aside enough time to do the job, get things put back in place, and get back to normal. 
• Everyone knows what a drain on energy/Chi remodeling is, so with your cleaning and organizing, tackling in ways that allow you to use your space and not live in clutter, is best. If you can afford to  or can do a trade with someone who's willing, hire someone who comes in for a day or two to do the big jobs for you. 
• If you are really under the gun with deadlines for work or chores or responsibilities, it is always okay to hire someone to come in and help you. A housekeeper who comes in once or twice a month ($20-30 an hour) can lift a heavy burden from you. 
• Getting Help. There are different ways we can get help. Friends who offer to help, are a blessing in our lives. We can do something in return for them as well. Hiring someone is a good way to keep Chi flowing. When I have someone come in to help me, I have them do the chores I can no longer do or am not equipped to handle (cleaning ceiling fans, repairing cupboards or plumbing, washing windows (outside), or giving my floors a good washing and waxing (I no longer wax floors, but you still may). 
• Using Resources to Keep Chi Flowing. Get help. It may not be something you do all the time, but on occasion, it's a great way to give yourself some more time and to give someone else the work they need.  Holding onto our money too tightly is not a good way to 'save'. When I spend money to have something done for me, I allow the flow of energy to move beyond myself and to help another person make their living as well. For many of us, we have become used to doing everything ourselves. At some point, if we're to be really productive and healthy, we need to get help. If I can hire someone to do some of the work I need done, I am free to do my writing or art (areas that provide me with a living). Most writers and artists who become successful, get help. I learned to hire a bookkeeper, CPA, and occasionally, a housekeeper, so that I can maintain my accounts and my sanity. 
• Taking Care of Business.  Much of the time we think of clearing clutter and cleaning as Feng Shui tools, and they are. However, maintaining flow also involves how we take care of our business. Since it's tax season, now is the time we're doing our taxes, and organizing our papers. Taking time to reorganize our files (online and paper) and keeping our records and financial and personal/professional business in order, is ongoing. It's also crucial to occasionally go through and clear things up, update accounts, and do a 'housecleaning' of our business. Take time to call around to see if you have the best deals on insurance or cable/internet/phone service. All of this takes time, so setting aside a large chunk of time, occasionally to handle this type of business, helps increase the flow of Chi and improves the quality of your life.

Whatever it is you choose to begin clearing, cleaning, and organizing, do it in a slow, relaxed manner, and view this as something you can do to honor the life you've chosen and the blessings you've been given for living a healthy, productive, and abundant life.  Next week, we'll look into closets...That will be really interesting, lol.