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Named "Best How-To Book 2010"

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Feng Shui To The Rescue

Dealing with Sentimental Clutter

Clearing clutter is an important part of Feng Shui, but no one ever said it was easy when it comes to deciding about all your "stuff" that has emotional attachment. Keeping in mind that in Feng Shui clutter represents the "inability to move forward," here are seven steps to help you let go.

• Box It Up. If you are grieving because of a death, downsizing, or in an empty-nest, put things you can't decide about in boxes labeled "Questions," stash them somewhere, then wait six months before sorting through.
• Get Help. It's OK to admit you need help from a professional organizer to decide what to keep, where to keep it, as well as how to get rid of the rest.
• Work in Short Intervals. Limit your clutter clearing to 20-30 minutes at a time because you will make better decisions if you are not overwhelmed after handling all that stuff. 
• Take Photos. Take digital images of sentimental things both to save space and to minimize risk of fading or loss. You can make keepsake books to preserve memories, which is especially important for children's artwork.
• Save the Best-Toss the Rest. When you have a bulk collection, like every greeting card your mother sent or every one of your child's art projects, try "keeping one to represent many." Pick a favorite and toss the rest.
• Give Things a New Home. It's easier to part with beloved objects if you can later envision them being used by others. Ask first if relatives and friends want your items because often one person's junk is, well, another person's junk. 
• Know Your ABC's. Your relationship to sentimental items will probably change over time. It's important to Always Be Clearing and accept that it's OK to let go of things you once cherished. 

Read the details in the article "7 Steps for Dealing with Sentimental Clutter" by Marjorie Ingall in Real Simple magazine. Photo by Christopher Baker. 

Share you favorite clutter-clearing tips on www.Facebook.com/FengShuiForRealLife.    

Success Story

Ask the Feng Shui Maven

Q: Do I need a foot board? My husband and I have gone back and forth on this because we like the look, but we're dealing with an older home's master bedroom and space is limited. Is it essential?  

A: There are two things to consider about a foot board. First, you need a foot board to give you protection if your feet face directly out the bedroom door when you are in bed. If that's not an issue, a foot board isn't essential. Second, if a foot board makes your room seems too crowded, the chi won't flow around you. And remember, it's easier to make the bed without one.

Q: I'm staying in a hotel apartment and when I'm in the bed I can see myself in the mirrored closet doors. I recently broke up with my boyfriend and wonder if it could be because of the mirrors.  Is there anything that I could do to repel the negative effect of the mirrors?

A: The Feng Shui recommendation is to avoid having mirrors in your bedroom, especially across from the foot of your bed. Mirrors expand and enlarge a space, which is why they can be disruptive to a good night's sleep. This, in turn, can affect health and relationships. When you can't move the bed, some options include placing a floor screen in front of the mirrors at night or hanging curtains in front of the mirrors that you can keep closed at night and tie back open during the day. If that isn't possible because you are in a hotel, drape the mirrors with a scarf or light weight fabric at night as a symbolic gesture that you are separating yourself from the mirrors.

Q: I live in the UK in a semi-detached house where the prosperity area is missing. I have heard of cures such as putting a plant outside to fill out a missing area, but the outside area is not ours, so I am unable to do this. Short of moving, I don't know what to do.

A: No need to move. The correction for a missing bagua area when you don't have control over the outside space is to hang an object on the wall adjacent to the missing area to symbolically move the wall and bring the missing bagua area back into your own space. Either hang a mirror on the wall or hang art or photos of things you would see in nature, like trees, flowers, meadows, rivers, or mountains.

Do you have Feng Shui questions?  

Click here to submit them. 

Feng Shui Workshops 

Networking, refreshments, Feng Shui presentation with tips for the New Year.

Join the celebration and bring your Feng Shui questions to my booth at this festival, where I will also be selling books. Enjoy the art show, calligraphy demo, ikebana, tea sampling, dragon dancers, and art raffle.

For information, contact organizer Ming Franz, noted Asian painter and Art League instructor.

Bring one of my workshops to your city. I will create a custom presentation for your business or group to help you make simple changes to attract wealth, harmony, and love. From keynote speeches, to "munch and learn" workshops, to half-day or full-day seminars, my interactive sessions are full of practical advice, tips, and fun. Feng Shui workshops make great fundraisers because they always sell out.

Here's what people are saying about Carol's Feng Shui workshops --

I have enjoyed Carol's lively and informative Feng Shui presentations, and I always leave with new insights and tips that I can immediately put to good use in both my home and office. I am excited to have Carol create a custom workshop to present to my group. 

--Lainie Grimmer, CPCC, ACC, Creating Clarity Coaching

I received great feedback about the Creating Home Sanctuary "munch and learn" Feng Shui workshop you gave at our design studio, and what an engaging person you are. You did a terrific job!

--Lisa Samuel, Samuel Design Group   

Thank you for a great presentation! Really great stuff...you are a whiz.

--Val Romero, Women Make a Difference   

I welcome your referrals.

If you know of a group that would like to have me as a speaker, e-mail or call 1.800.652.9038. 

Feng Shui Bookstore

Click here to purchase your signed paperback copy.    

Also available for Kindle and Nook.  

Nationwide On-Site Feng Shui Consulting

Nationwide, I schedule On-Site Feng Shui Consultations for homes, offices, and businesses. On a regular basis, I work with clients in the Northeast (DC Metro Area and Maryland Suburbs, Baltimore, Annapolis, Northern  Virginia, New York City, and New Jersey) and the Southwest (Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Denver). Consultations include written recommendations, a ToolKit to help you make changes and the Feng Shui Quick Guide For Home and Office.  

Here's my travel schedule for February.  

Santa Fe/Albuquerque -- February 6-16

Denver -- February 10-12

Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia -- February 23-27   

Appointments fill up fast  so please e-mail now to reserve your date and time.      

Remote Consulting by Phone and Skype

When an on-site consultation isn't possible, I offer Remote Feng Shui Consulting in the US and internationally for homes, offices, and businesses. There are two options, either Whole House Consultation or the new Room Rescue Package for one room in your home. You will receive advice for re-arranging furniture and accessories, selecting and hanging artwork, choosing the right colors, clutter clearing, re-purposing what you already have.

I welcome your referrals nationwide.

Call 1.800.652.9038 today to schedule or e-mail Carol Olmstead.  

From the Feng Shui Store 

Purse Hangers Make Great Gifts 

In Feng Shui, keeping your purse on the floor represents disregard for your wealth, plus scientific studies show that your purse can pick up bacteria when it sits on the floor. The remedy is a Purse Hanger that lets you hang your purse safely from a table or desk.      

The 2" disk fits neatly in your purse, then opens to a sturdy 3" long hanger.  

Available in elegant black and silver.   

Buy a purse hanger for every woman on your gift list.  

Great gift to clients from real estate agents, hair stylists, manicurists.     

Overstock Sale

Free shipping when you purchase 5 or more purse hangers.

Call for details 1.800.652.9038 

Click here to order from the Feng Shui Store at www.FengShuiForRealLife.com.

Beyond Feng Shui 

Leap Year Fact and Fiction
 

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November;

All the rest have thirty-one,

Save February, with twenty-eight days clear,

And twenty-nine each leap year.

The year 2012 is a leap year, when one extra day is inserted into February to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. Legend has it that the term was coined centuries ago when the leap year day had no recognition in English law and was 'leapt over' and ignored, leading to the term 'leap year'. Leap year was traditionally the time when women could propose to men. This goes back to an old Irish legend from the 5th Century when St. Bridget petitioned St. Patrick on behalf of all women, asking that they be allowed to choose their husbands. As a result, women were allowed to propose to men once every four years. In some places, leap day was also known as "Bachelors' Day," and a man was expected to pay a penalty if he refused a marriage proposal from a woman on that day. A law once existed in Scotland forbidding a man to refuse a leap year proposal, and it was considered unlucky to be born on February 29. Greek superstition claims couples could have bad luck if they marry during a leap year.

What are you doing on February 29?      

Share your thoughts about leap day on my Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/FengShuiForRealLife.

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