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Time to Sift and Regift! Get Rid of the Holiday Clutter – “Stupid-to-you” Gifts!!

by Karen on January 10, 2012 in De-Cluttering, Holidays, Just for Fun

If you are prone to guilt – hold onto your hats…this next statement may blow it right off your head! This week, is deadline week. The deadline is regarding everything you received as a gift over the holidays, AS WELL AS everything you purchased for yourself during the holiday season.

If you have not:

used it yet
figured out how to use it
installed it
decided that you even like it

then, you may have just picked up a “cling-on!” That’s right – we’ve got trouble my friend, right here in your city! That starts with T and that rhymes with C and that stands for CLUTTER!

And if it is still taking up space (also known as opportunities in the feng shui world) in your house, feng shui rules would say that you’ve just picked up some guilt! Boo! Who needs that?

Shed that off-colored sweater, that cheap all-in-one tool that has broken already, that icky-looking bottle of apricot wine, and that holiday chip and dip tray only useful once a year NOW to avoid an opportunity “pinch” later on.

Every thing that is added to your house that was not countered by removing something of equal size MUST aid you in life – or else it is going to stop something else that can be helpful from showing up in that space.

If you’ve been reading my work for some time now, you know that I hold a yearly, “guilt-free zone” re-gifting party, where my friends bring whatever they need to dump for some merry ol’ swapping. It is the funniest party of the year that I throw!

I invite you to:

not let guilt run your home and life
not allow others to slow down your energy
not keep stuff and make it hard to “shed the weight” in life
have a good time with friends releasing/swapping stuff that is not useful to you.

I’d love to hear from you if you throw a re-gifter so be sure to comment!

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You Can Start Small When DeCluttering

by Karen on January 5, 2012 in De-Cluttering, Prosperity, Weight Loss

First of all, I wanted to say that this entire blog post took me less than 5 minutes to do…most of the time was dedicated to technology issues. I wanted to see how fast I could make a difference in my house from a decluttering standpoint…so one quick trip to the kitchen was all I needed. I have been decluttering the cabinets over the weekend and I knew that had not gotten around to the storage cabinet so I knew it would not disappoint! Here is the before picture:

And, in around 15 seconds, I turned it into this:

I am ALWAYS astonished as how much LESS room these miscellaneous bowels and lids take when you put the lids on each bowl and stack them on top of each other – It is kind of like magic to me every time!

Anyway, this is my teeny way to show that doing even the littlest decluttering jobs are not only worth doing, but can add up to making you feel calm, organized, and less frantic in life — now that’s something worth having!

The key is to :

1. Eliminate: get rid of anything that you don’t use or don’t like or is broken, etc. immediately.

2. Categorize: put like items together

3. Organize: place the groups of items together somewhere where it makes sense…like on a shelf together…

That’s it! You could literally make a game out of it — like doing one or two cabinets during each commercial break while watching TV, or bringing a drawer to the couch with you to sift through while watching TV, I swear, once you get started, you’ll love it! I just did my jewelry box last night and my makeup drawer the night before…all while sitting in front of the TV (with a trash can nearby) and wowie! I can’t believe how much more pleasant the whole morning ritual of getting ready is for me.

So now there is no excuse – you can chip away bit by bit until you WANT TO carve out time to get it all done. The key is just to start.

Happy decluttering!

(And I’ll make a note to myself about writing an upcoming blog post on how I switched all this plastic out for a healthier choice of storage material – as I just noticed that this is not the glass storage cabinet, but the plastic one — not the best storage material for hot items especially due to plastics breaking down and off gassing. )

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Using Dried Flowers in Feng Shui – Q and A

by Karen on November 15, 2011 in De-Cluttering, The Bagua

"lifeless" flowers

Question: I am confused regarding dried flowers/cut branches. I have several wreaths and branches. Should I remove all of them from my home? Is there any place in the home these are OK?

Answer: First of all, now that the holidays are here, I’d like to say that if you have some dried arrangement temporarily (let’s say a month or less) adorning your table or front porch, I don’t think the chi boogie man is going to come out and get you over it. If you like the look of a temporary arrangement like that and your energies (AKA your life circumstances) are holding strong – go for it. The idea is to always be mindful of what you do have in your house though, so you can make adjustments as soon as you have a desire for something different in your life.

Now, let’s talk about the permanent stuff. First of all, step back and take a quick review of you and your family’s life. If it is going perfectly, with everyone healthy, happy, and harmoniously living in the world, and your home happens to be filled with dried flower arrangements (and has been for years), then by all means – carry on. Remember, “If it ain’t broke, I don’t fix it.” You must have some MoJo going on over there that must be counterbalancing all the dried stuff, so I don’t even want to mess with it.

But if life isn’t perfect and you have chi weaknesses in your bagua somewhere, you may want to consider doing something about the dried stuff.

The chi that you want to attract and encourage to stay around within your home is vibrant, lively and in it’s thriving state. The chi that you do not want in your home is chi that is weakened, “sleepy,” disintegrating, wilting, dying, or seemingly dead. Dried flowers, pampas grass reeds, pussy willow stems, eucalyptus branches, wood shavings, wilted fresh flowers in stinky, stagnant water, moldy and damp fireplace wood, plants with a lot of dead or wilting leaves on them (snip those leaves off!), and (dare I go here?) pet ashes and people ashes all are things in their “diminishing state” in the “circle of life.”

“Preserved plants,” like those palm trees you see in some public places where they look real but they have been injected with something to stop their growth or death, seem to test OK. (Seeds usually have an essence within them that is vibrant and therefore also makes the cut.)

Yes, I have actually done experiments on this (as it is such a touchy subject) and I have observed that when dried stuff is removed, there is a definite chi improvement. (I get a lot of people resisting feng shui because they desperately want to keep their potpourri and crispy, crunchy arrangements.)

I invite you to experiment on your own. Remove all dead or dying items from your household and lot and track the way life goes for the next few months. If things don’t improve, you either have something that was counterbalancing the dried stuff or you have something else keeping you down (because you should see improvement.)

Stuff that counterbalances dried up, dead stuff: living things (animals, kids, plants, and heck, I’ll even throw fresh vegetables and fruits in here!,) moving items, fresh air circulation, natural light, and bright, lively colors.) Since I’m not lucky enough to see all of your homes, you’ll have to be the judge of this. Remember, feng shui is a guide, based upon years of observations of actions and results.

One last thought, think about what you are willing to allow in your home. I usually lump dried flowers in the same category as kitty litter boxes, toilets, trash cans, dust, dirt and clutter. These are all potentially negative or chi-weakening items. I usually say, if you have to have them, and you have any control over their placement, put these items in a gua that is working very well for you (and might be able to “take the hit,”) and not a gua that is already suffering from weakened chi. (a gua being the part of the home that is associated with a part of your life in the feng shui map, the bagua.)

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Move Your Stuff by Playing “Bigger or Better”

by Karen on October 18, 2011 in De-Cluttering, Just for Fun

Oh my gosh, the funniest thing happened. For a few weeks now, I’ve been collecting a pile of oddball items from the house that were either going to go towards a yard sale or head to the Assistance League…but of course, I haven’t made time to do either yet.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It was a bunch of neighborhood kids playing a type of scavenger hunt called “bigger or better.” Their job was to knock on doors in the neighborhood asking for something bigger or better then what they had. They offered me a colorful, little child’s “lounge chair” in exchange for something bigger or better.

“How about a fax machine?” I quickly said. You should have seen their eyes light up! I told them that the only caveat was that they kept the chair. After they screamed to the other team down the street that they had a big copier/fax machine, the other team came running to us with a pumpkin as their offering.

I said, now THERE’S something I can use! “How about a microwave oven?”I quickly responded. You should have heard the whoops and screaming – as if I just said, “How about a bar of pure gold?”

It was a win/win for all involved. Oh sure, they had to figure out which was actually bigger or better of the two (I heard them debating this across the street) as both teams thought they hit the top scoring position with their pay-dirt item. And I, on the other hand, had a bigger and better empty space in my garage! Now THAT’S something to whoop and cheer about!

What’s funny is that I’d bet anything that if you asked a bunch of thirteen-year-olds to help you declutter your garage, or help you haul away some clunky items, there would be no whooping and cheering – even if you offered to pay them. I’d dare to say that even money would not be enough of a lure to get them to help at all!

Anyway, a couple minutes later, my husband came home and asked, “Why were there boys running down the street with our microwave and fax machine?”

“Just helping out some kids in the neighborhood,” I said.

I just hope they can’t remember what my house looks like when they get home to show their parents the e-clutter that they happily scored!

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How to Deal with Negative Thoughts and Be Positive

by Karen on September 11, 2011 in Blog, Health, Spiritual

With the 10-year anniversary of 9-11 here, let’s talk about keeping fear and other lower energies away. These lower emotions cause nothing but stress – which leads to disease…and who wants that? Since I have decided my life path was to create a better world (one house at a time!) I thought it would be a good idea to address the best possibilities for creating a great world in these “at war” and fearful times. It is no surprise that my advice is to try to create the best vibrational field as possible in your mind, body, and your home. Try these out and see if you find yourself more at ease:

#1 Minimize negative thoughts in your mind and in your home. Negative thinking is destructive to the body. There’s a difference between being informed and being consumed by the news. Learn what you need to know from as little medias as possible, take appropriate action, and then move on to the next thought – hopefully it is a more giving or loving one. (Once one realizes the chi connection between all things, one can appreciate the “force field” that is created when another is consumed with “bad news.”) Remove/Recycle newspapers and magazines filled with “bad news” from your home.

#2 Surround yourself with positive thoughts and affirmations. Let’s try to simply infuse the atmosphere and our subconscious with positive thoughts and positive and life-affirming words. Check out Dr. Emoto’s work if you need inspiration. I’d like to add the word forgive in the mix of words to choose to place around you if you find yourself hopelessly grinding on hateful or revengeful thoughts.

#3 Enhance the Wisdom (Skills and Knowledge) Gua (front left-hand part of room or home.) A simple picture of a mountain, or a stone or other earth element can be helpful in this spot in the home. If you want to write down some affirmations and place them in this area, you’d be doing yourself some good. Higher thoughts go hand-in-hand with good decisions, which can help dig you out of a fearful funk.

#4 A ritual can also go a long way here. Walk around your lot, home, or throughout the inside of your apartment with very clear intentions of creating a place of protection. First, clear your mind and heart from anything unforgiving and un-loving. (For example, saying the prayer of St. Francis can be helpful if you know it.) Then, visualize your home (or development, or county or the entire world) enveloped in a field of light (choose pink for love, green for the heart chakra, or even golden or white light.) Send love along with the color throughout these places in your mind with a blessing or giving mindset. The, proceed knowing you are protected. Go about your every day business.

Now, you no longer need to dwell on the negativity. …just a thought.

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Frustrating Living Quarters and What to do About it – Feng Shui Q and A

by Karen on March 4, 2011 in De-Cluttering, Furniture Position in Room, Just for Fun, Outdoor Feng Shui

QUESTION: What do you do with a house “love/hate situation?” We love our home based upon location and look, but we’re always frustrated that it doesn’t feel like it supports us in all we do. Even though it is a nice sized house, it seems the whole family is always on top of each other in a couple of rooms. We’re pretty much clutter-free but still feel squeezed in. Am I missing something?

ANSWER:First of all, remember that many feng shui principles are based upon observation. If you notice an unwanted life situation consistently coupled with particular living pattern or arrangement, you can start to deduce its relevance and figure our how that arrangement could be modified to achieve a more harmonious condition.

This is what I have noticed with similar life situations before: they have entire ROOMS as clutter. This is my definition of a room that is clutter: A room that is set up as a formal presentation that is never used, extremely rarely used, or designed only to be used during holidays. I think of these rooms as GIANT, full-scale curio cabinets with life-size furniture inside, but the only life it sees is the person who dusts and cleans it. If you’ve got space like this in your house, you are essentially allowing a “dead space” in your home and in your life. I would rather see a person re-arranging for the holidays to accommodate a crowd than see them live in half of their home because the other half is for those rare “special occasions.” I say, let’s make your everyday life special! Re-claim a room! I give you permission to toss that formal dining room furniture and replace it with furniture or other equipment that suits your everyday life! And I invite you to sell off your formal living room furniture and create a space that nurtures your soul NOW! I ask you to consider taking that empty-nest bedroom and turning it into a room that meets your needs today!

So many people are ‘hovering” around in their houses – without one single spot designed to nurture and support what they do in their everyday lives. They need quiet/meditation space, studio space, reading space, and family gathering space, party space and what they have is dead and sleepy space filled with a lot of pretty but uncomfortable and uninviting furniture.

It is OK not to have formal spaces if you never or rarely use them. Remember the de-cluttering phrases “Use it or lose it?” And using it once a year is hardly passing the test.

It is OK not to have formal spaces even though everyone else does. Architects and builders guess at what kind of living spaces you need when they design and build. If it is not what you need, then by all means change it. I give you permission! Forget what others think. This is YOUR home. And I would like to see you love it and use it fully and totally. A “looking good,” false facade in your home only keeps you inauthentic with yourself.

If you do have these spots in your house and can’t give them up quite yet, then rely on the traditional cures to help enliven them: light, sound, living things, moving objects…..at least get ch’i-attracting things in there until you make up your mind.. Heck, maybe that will be enough to start getting people interested in using it!

And don’t forget to do the same with outdoor living spaces. If you are all hovering under a teeny porch roof when you need a big outdoor party space, blow it out and get a landscape architect to help you design an outdoor room that works FOR YOU!

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Is Weight Loss on Your New Year’s Resolution List?

by Karen on January 11, 2011 in De-Cluttering, Health

If you’re one of the millions looking for weight loss tips, here are a few of my time-tested favorites. Of course, since I’m a feng shui consultant, they are going to have a feng shui slant. Are you ready for my de-cluttering and feng shui boot camp for weight loss?

The first thing to know is this feng shui basic: What’s going on in your body is also going on in your environment. That means, if your house is over-stuffed, chances are, you are too. So, add the following bootcamp strategies to watch your home’s waistline, so it looks out for yours:

First, your new weightloss habit for 2011 will be that every time you come home to your house with a bag in your hand, you will remove the new item that you’re bringing in and immediately place something (or things) of similar volume into that very bag to take out. Go ahead. Read it twice if you have to soldier…whatever comes in, the same amount goes out. This will keep your house from “gaining weight.” Remember — what’s going on in your house is going on in your life, so now, you’ve got an excellent way to stop the numbers on your scale from creeping up. (By the way, although the stuff in the grocery bags might need a makeover, grocery bags are exempt from this rule as those items get removed by “other means.”) If you follow through on this one rule alone, chances are, you be much more likely to not gain weight this year. Do I see a six-pack forming on those abs already?

That handles the future stuff, but what about the existing weight in the house. Try this technique to exercise your de-cluttering muscles: Take everything that you received over the holidays and put it in a pile. Now go through your house and create a matching pile of stuff — to remove. It sounds harsh I know, but think about how much weight literally just got added to your house in the past 30 days and you’ll understand how the “holiday weight” packs on. Now, drop and give me twenty! Twenty to-go piles that is! Remove twenty piles that same size over the next twenty days. Donate, give away, trash, hold a garage sale – whatever – do this to get yourself into the habit of mindfulness about what you bring into your house’s body. No more junk(food) for your house!

Next stop on the obstacle course – paper weight. If you have trouble tossing out magazines, (you currently have at least 3 magazines over 3 months old in your house,) or you have similar stacks of newspapers, you just lost the right to have them. All this paper is considered “Dead wood” in feng shui — a truth you can’t handle soldier! Cancel your subscriptions, or consider an online substitution. This also goes for music CDs. You might also want to lump junk mail that “needs going through” in this pile too. No pain, no gain soldier!

Now, for the fun stuff: long term storage. Climb into the attic and go down to the basement or head to wherever you have long term storage and start honkering down with your “box and pile loss = weight loss” strategy (you might want to do deep lunges the whole way there for extra fun.) Pick up all boxes (a nice calorie burn in and of itself!) that you have no idea what’s in them, or boxes that you know what is in them but you have not opened them in more than one year and chuck ‘em. I said chuck ‘em soldier! Yea, those charities should know your name by now. What soldier? Are you whining? I thought you said you wanted to drop weight fast? Trust me, this one will shed it fast! It’s like you’re shaving inches off that tummy and thighs with each box load! Actually, if you are sniveling or whining – good! That means you are actually having an energy shift…kinda like a good workout sweat!

Once you’ve done the above bootcamp workout, you should have enough room to house anything and everything currently sitting on the floor that has been sitting there without a place to go — that is, if you REALLY NEED to keep it. Stuff sitting on the floor like that is like slathering fat right onto the legs and butt! Boo! Who wants that? Not you – you’re on a roll now!

OK, that’s enough for today, soldier. It’s lights out for now. Keep up the good work and you’ll be graduating from bootcamp a healthier and happier and definitely slimmer soldier very soon.

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Need an Excuse to De-Clutter?

by Karen on October 14, 2010 in De-Cluttering, Events

It doesn’t take much for me to declutter. Practically every 3-day weekend I spend at home, at least one day is spent decluttering. If you just groaned as you read that, I’m guessing you have not experienced the feelings of joy, clarity, and freedom that’s available “on the other side” of a decluttering session.

Here’s a tip for those of you who can’t find the time to declutter:

1. Think about something that disturbs you; you know, something that you’d just love the entire situation to be handled — like world hunger, or something with underprivileged kids. Pick something that, if I could wave a magic wand and say “With one swoop of my wand, I’ve got that situation handled” you’d be totally excited.

2. Find a local group tied to that topic “that can keep you up at night” that takes household donations. If you’re prone to stalling out during the decluttering process, choose a group that has a dated event so you have a deadline for your items to get there. (I usually donate most of my household items to the local Assistance League, and I have chosen Habitat for Humanity as my go-to money donations. There’s a local church that I’m speaking at in January that’s having a yard sale on October 23rd that’s getting my stuff this month, however.)

3. Start decluttering! Now that you’ve got a group in mind that you know is going to benefit from your efforts, you have more motivation to get ‘er done. Each time you find yourself stalling out, take a moment to think of the benefit your work is going to do for your chosen charity!

4. Take a quick moment to jot down the items for tax purposes (yes – a bonus!) Here’s the Salvation Army’s valuation sheet if you need it.

5. Celebrate! Take a moment to acknowledge the new feelings of being helpful to both yourself and the charity of your choice!

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