Karen Rauch Carter

Want to make the most of your time while selling a house? Try these common sense, helpful feng shui tips:

1. Make sure your intentions are clear. A lot of people say one thing and do another. Make sure everyone is on board with this sale in a timely manner. Try imagining how you would feel to be in the new “perfect home for you.” The more your thoughts project like this, the more energy to make it happen comes your way. I would even write about the qualities that your new home has (especially if you haven’t found it yet) so you get clear on your future. Then the present will take care of itself.

2. Employ the “helpful people box.” Place a silver container (preferably with a lid) in the front right-hand corner of your home. Place an affirming statement that hits certain points such as “We are now moving into the perfect new home for us as a result of selling our existing home for the right price.” Or choose words that make more sense in your situation. Be creative here. Use emotionally charged words to make the above statement really work for you. Choose words that you can feel. I might say “I am truly safe and feel wholeheartedly supported by my new home.”

3. Do a walk through with “visitor eyes” if you can or else get a friend to do the same. Start at the street and head towards the home. Write down anything that you notice that you would place on the negative side of a list – things like dead flowers, rusty wrought iron railings, cracks in the sidewalk, dirty screen door, squeaky door, broken doorbell, crack in front window glass and so on. Basic maintenance issues can make a big difference on how a person feels about a home. Proceed throughout the entire home this way. If you don’t even notice the front door at first in your walk through from the street, possibly add a chime outside (somewhere to the side of the door that is non-hinged) to alert potential visitors and ch’i as to where to go.

4. Do a smell check – this is where the friend comes in handy. A lot of people with pets can’t even smell the odors of their pets and pet accessories. I personally feel that there is a direct “smell to perceived value” ratio in a home. Your friend HAS TO BE honest here. Do whatever it takes to remove this smell. Mold falls in this category as well along with cooking smells.

5. Remove clutter. Oh, I could go on about this one as you all probably know, but let’s keep it to simply removing anything on the floor that should have another “home” somewhere else (and don’t give me that “But that’s where the pile of newspapers goes!” load of bahooie). Also, try to employ the 50% real estate rule here – making sure at least half of ALL flat surfaces consists of EMPTY SPACE! That means half the top of the refrigerator, half the top of the TV, night stands, tables, shelves, walls (I see so many people who have loaded up their walls with tons of pictures and it just becomes a “big blob” of stuff, rather than a focal point for the room.), closet floors, refrigerator doors, and desks….are you getting the picture?

6. Do not take all the furniture out of a room “to make it look bigger.” Keep enough furniture to show how the room can be arranged.

7. Place only logical furniture in a room. In other words, if you are living with a bed in the living room, or you have turned the master bedroom into the pool table, workout and media room, then try to turn it back into its originally designed use. This one really confuses potential buyers.

8.Try to look at each room with your 5-element eyes. If you have a balanced room with the five elements fairly represented, you have subconsciously created a room that feels good to a buyer. Some materials for each element are:
WATER – glass, mirror, black furniture (like lacquer, or Formica) or artwork depicting water.
WOOD – obviously anything wooden. You can also use rattan, the color green, or things that are columnar in shape – like a grandfather clock or a tall shaped plant. Pictures of trees can work here too.
METAL – ironwork, metal accessories like trays and candlesticks, or the color white. Art in metal frames helps as well.
EARTH – clay tiles, ceramic accessories, real dirt in plants, mountains or yellow-colored art on walls. Beige to yellows in upholstery with squarish shapes is considered earth too.
FIRE – the easy answer is a fireplace, but candles, the color red, pointy-shaped leaves on plants and triangular shaped objects is considered fire as well.
Be sure to pay attention to the “destructive cycle.” If your house isn’t selling, you may be out of whack with this cycle.
If you haven’t got a clue as to how to proceed with this, you may need to call a professional feng shui consultant, but you’ll have a great start if you follow my book.

9. Try doing a space clearing ritual – either the orange peel one from my book or any other you feel might “clear out negativity.” Try clapping your hands all around each room and you’ll begin to see the difference in ch’i by the way a space sounds – and the clapping will help to mitigate that.

10. On open house days – add fresh flowers to delight the eye, and perhaps fresh baked cookies to appease the nose and taste buds. A nice pot of annuals by the door that has a fresh “Welcome” mat can make a nice first impression too. Soft music can add energy to a space, and if unsure on style, then possibly just use a small fountain in a “sleepy room.”