Q&A Sunday: Tackling Clutter

Photo by Onur Bahçıvancılar on Unsplash

Photo by Onur Bahçıvancılar on Unsplash

I feel like I need to declutter my home, but it feels overwhelming and I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks for your question! Clutter is a really popular topic right now. Pretty much everyone in the western world, including myself, has clutter. I’ve been going through some of my books and jewelry recently and letting go of some things I no longer need. 

First, from a feng shui perspective, clutter is not inherently good or bad. However, if it’s a source of stress, is making you feel stuck, or is getting in the way of you accomplishing your goals, it’s probably something that needs to be looked at.

When I was in my 20s and had just started studying feng shui, I was living with roommates and was really depressed. I remember sitting on my bed instead of looking around the room because I had so much clutter around me. There were piles of magazines all over the floor that I was hoping to go through some day; all that clutter really said a lot about how much stress I was under and how unhappy I was. The clutter that accumulated in my spaces was a representation of how I felt. 

If there’s an area of your home where things are piling up that you plan to get to one day, it can start to weigh you down. Although you can consciously ignore a pile of magazines, subconsciously it takes a lot of energy for your psyche to push that pile away and it becomes exhausting over time. 

If you do have clutter in your home that you feel is negatively impacting you, my first piece of advice is to be kind to yourself. This is one of the most important teachings I’ve received from my teachers. Next, take it step by step. Start with the things that you know you don’t want that are easier to say goodbye to; don’t jump right to the sentimental items that are much harder to let go of. 

I would also suggest you start with nine minutes a day of decluttering. It doesn’t have to be nine minutes, but nine is an auspicious number in feng shui. Set your phone timer, and then feel good that you made some progress and get on with the rest of your day.

Another way to minimize clutter is to have enough storage to keep the things you need organized. I love the calmness of concealed storage like closet or cabinet doors; some people really like open shelves but I find that they can create a lot of visual distraction.

I hope these tips help you begin to declutter and simplify your life!

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui questions!

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: My Number One Feng Shui Tip

Photo by Jacques Bopp on Unsplash

Photo by Jacques Bopp on Unsplash

Hi Anjie, I love your blog and podcast! I would love to know: if you could only give one feng shui tip to someone, what would it be?

Thank you so much for your question! The most important piece of feng shui advice I can give to anyone (it’s also the last tip in my book) is to love your home. If you’ve been incorporating a lot of feng shui tips, remember that it’s your home so your energy and intentions are key. It’s not about taking something you read from a book or something that someone told you as truth. It’s important to test things out and see how they feel for you personally. My goal is to suggest things based on what I’ve personally learned and experienced as powerful, but that doesn’t mean what works for me or my clients will necessarily be the right thing for you. Not every adjustment is necessary for every person. 

Each time you try a feng shui adjustment, take some time to reflect and see how it feels to you. Does it feel good? If not, try shifting something until it does. It’s also possible that something worked well in the past and now needs to be updated. 

You want to love the way your home looks and feels. The most rewarding thing about what I do, whether I am teaching my students to become feng shui consultants, working with individuals in their homes, or working with architecture clients, is helping people transform their homes and spaces into places they really love. 

I encourage you to take a look around your home and take note of what you love and also what doesn’t feel right any more. The more love and attention you give to your home, the more your home will serve and support you. BTB feng shui is also a shamanic tradition and everything is considered alive, so you can even say thank you to your home for supporting and nurturing you. 

What I have always loved about architecture is not just designing buildings for how they look, but creating spaces that can support people. This is why I love working with interior spaces as well as teaching, so that my students can create spaces they love, and help their clients to do the same. 

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui questions!

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com

Q&A Sunday: Is There a Wrong Way to Do Feng Shui?

Photo by Brina Bloom on Unsplash

Photo by Brina Bloom on Unsplash

Could doing feng shui the wrong way bring the opposite effect?

Thank you for your question! First, there really is no wrong way to practice feng shui. A lot of times people like to lump things into “good feng shui” or “bad feng shui,” but it’s a lot more complex than that. The right feng shui for you depends on your situation and your space. People also tend to worry about doing things wrong, but I don’t take a fear-based approach to feng shui. The most important thing is your intention.

One thing that I wouldn’t suggest is doing a feng shui cure just because you heard it recommended for someone else. It will probably not be very effective because the advice was based on the other person’s situation, and not really what you needed. Likewise, don't tell someone else what to do for their feng shui if you haven't studied it. You can be your own test subject.

In general, I suggest that you don’t try to do something that you don’t understand. It’s similar to when people buy supplements without being guided by an expert on how to use them effectively. While they might not be harmful, they might not do anything useful either. 

The things I share on my blog, podcast, book, and social media accounts is more general feng shui advice. When Laura and I work with our feng shui students, or when I work with clients one-on-one, I share a lot of secret cures and much more personalized advice. If there’s something specific you’d like to work on, I’d recommend working with a practitioner so that they can share cures that are more specific to your situation. It's always best to work with someone that knows what they're doing! They’ll be able to share a lot of things you won’t be able to find on a blog or social media post. Our Practical Feng Shui classes are also a great way to get personalized advice. 

by Anjie Cho

Thanks for reading our "Q&A Sunday".  We will be answering questions submitted by our readers. Click here to submit any Feng Shui questions!

If you’d like to learn more about feng shui, check out Mindful Design Feng Shui School at: www.mindfuldesignschool.com