Clear Sailing 
 
One of the most important rules of Feng Shui is the elimination of unwanted items in your surroundings.  We call it clutter clearing, but it involves more than tidying up.  Clutter includes messy closets, overflowing to-do baskets, fragmented hard drives, over grown gardens, collectibles, and all the accumulated baggage in life.  Clutter causes ch'i (energy) stagnation in your environment with implications beyond its eyesore status. We've all experienced panic when a deadline approaches and we can't find the car keys, a file, phone number, contract, homework or shoes necessary to move on. Misplaced items take twice as long to find on a desk piled with papers or a disorganized closet (think hunting around for spare change while driving versus using the E-Z pass at the toll booth).  We vow to get organized as soon as we have some time, then dash off to our next appointment.  

In addition to feeling uneasy in a home, business or room that appears visually messy or confusing, there is also a link to emotional inertia, underperformance and weight gain in people who spend time in these spaces.  Clutter slows us down, both physically and mentally, and takes on a life of its own, often attracting more clutter.  An enemy of time management, clutter occupies our thoughts and controls our actions - we're forced to compensate by allowing extra time to complete a task.  Clutter has associated financial costs that go beyond the item's original purchase price - we also pay to maintain and store our purchases, or move because we've outgrown our cluttered space!   
 
Often, while scheduling a Feng Shui consultation, clients tell me they want to clean up or organize their surroundings before I get there.  But where people store their baggage is important to the process.  The Feng Shui bagua is one of the tools we use to identify problems in the nine sections or "life areas" of a building, so when clutter accumulates there, it impacts both personal and professional success.  A Feng Shui expert is trained to help you cure problems in these areas, but here are some tools to get you started: 

• Starting at the front door, visit each room of your home or business and take an inventory of the contents. Classify the real value of items you own by whether you need them, want them or love how you are using them.  (Along the way, determine ease of accessibility to your files, clothes, tools, linens, etc.)  
• The rule of thumb is that if you haven't used, read, referred to, enjoyed or worn an item in over one year, it no longer serves you, and the time has come to pass it along to someone who might use it! 
• Start small by organizing drawers, desks, the refrigerator, email folders and photo albums, and work up to attics, basements, supply closets and garages, making a point to eliminate 25 to 30 percent of the contents. 
• Schedule a garage sale while the weather is nice, or sell your unwanted items on the internet.  Libraries, schools, shelters and daycare centers are grateful for your donations, and will often come to pick them up.  Fledgling businesses could use your extra desks, lamps and filing cabinets. 
• Encourage your employees and family members (even children) to do their own inventory in individual offices, work spaces, dormitories or bedrooms.  

Once you have cleared your clutter, sit back and enjoy the extra time and space you've created, and keep an eye open for new opportunities headed your way.

Wishing you good ch'i,
 
Diane Gallin                           

For more information on clutter clearing check out this book:

Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui

by Karen Kingston by Broadway

Paperback ~ Release Date: 1999-05-04

List Price: $11.95

Our Price: $5.29

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