Feng Shui Tips For Your Fresh Start
When you are facing a new chapter, whether or not it’s wanted, your environment can greatly impact your overall mood and mental health. Any Start Again moment deserves some intention and choosing on purpose. One of the easiest ways to boost your confidence to face the uncertainty of a new beginning is to start with your home. The energy of your home can be so easily shifted and can be the simplest way to impact positive change for the future.
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice of arranging your environment and the items in it in a way that promotes harmony and balance. It has been credited for attracting wealth, love, and improved health. It is a crazy concept to think that the color of your walls can make the difference between meeting your soul mate or not, but knowing that a running toilet could be causing your recurring unexpected expenses can be a compelling reason to get curious at the very least. While diving into the depths of all that is Feng Shui can be overwhelming and the rules can be quite complex, I’ve simplified the concepts to give you some practical suggestions for a few easy ways to get started. When considering a new path, starting a new venture or merely creating your life with intention, the energy we allow into our homes is crucial. With the following tips, I will help you to do this on purpose.
Out with the old
Before you learn about the bagua map and what each room represents, let’s start by simply clearing out the old stagnant energy. There’s no need to overcomplicate things when a quick declutter session can be so powerful. When it comes to energy, you want to provide it room to enter, move around, and then leave. It’s just like money - it needs to circulate in order to be of use. So the first step with Feng Shui is to clear space and make room for what you are calling in. Before you decide what the picture of your ideal life looks like, you need a blank canvas to paint on.
Walk around your house with a notepad and make note of anything that is broken or needs to be replaced. Tend to repairs first and remove any dead or dying plants and flowers. Spend time in each room sifting and sorting through what items you choose to keep. Those things you use, have, and decorate with matter, but feng shui doesn’t require making new purchases to make it work. Only keep what you love and what represents the future version of you. As Marie Kondo says, your items should Spark Joy when you see them. Does your home provide you with a zing of happiness when you walk in? When clearing out unwanted items, don’t forget to consider what can be gifted, repurposed, and donated to others.
One practical tip I use is to stay in one room at a time. First, it will prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. Second, it allows you to be more efficient with your time. If your ADD tendencies keep you chasing your tail, like me, you’ll appreciate the structure of one room at a time. I make four piles of items as I’m sorting through items in a room: Trash, Donate, Belongs in another room, Sell. Once I am done with a room, I address each pile individually. This method prevents me from wasting time running back and forth from room to room. It also keeps me from getting distracted when I walk into a new room.
Key Items to avoid: Broken items, Dead plants, or flowers. Decaying items can be extremely detrimental to your home’s energy.
In with the new
Before we call in what you want or need moving forward, take a moment to walk through your home or your freshly cleared-out space. How does it feel? Take a moment to appreciate what that space feels like. Do you feel lighter and a little more hopeful? Each time I clear out clutter, I can feel the difference in my body. It feels so nice to let go of unwanted items. I think more clearly. I see more possibilities. It’s a simple process that is extremely powerful.
With this newfound clarity, take your time to think about what you are calling in. This is a great opportunity to spend some time with your journal. I’ve created some helpful journal prompts to cultivate more joy and happiness in your life, but here are some questions to get you started:
What is missing from your life that would make you feel whole and complete?
What isn’t going well? Are these recurring themes?
What do you want to change moving forward?
What do you want more of?
Whether it’s a new relationship, an improved relationship, more travel, or more money, be intentional about choosing what gets to come in. Design your space with your future in mind. Chances are, if you are unhappy with an aspect of your life, your home will tell you why. A friend of mine was eager to meet a new partner and she was frustrated by the lack of dating prospects she was finding. We looked at the floorplan of her home and quickly realized she was missing the relationship qua completely. There was no room there, only a back porch. We applied a few cures to that space and she met her new boyfriend within a few months.
There are three main areas I recommend addressing before any others. These spaces represent every aspect of your life regardless of the exact location they are in the bagua. You can absolutely Feng Shui your entire house. You can paint walls, redecorate, and be as extra as you want about it. However, if you do nothing but declutter and choose what you want moving forward, three areas of your home will be most impacted by any changes you make.
Front Door Chi
The way I was taught Feng Shui was to think of a sweet, little old lady walking down the street named Mrs Chi. We want our house to be so appealing and inviting, that Mrs Chi wants to come in and stay awhile. When you think about your Front Door, consider how welcoming it is. Consider the overall street appeal. There are recommendations based on what type of Feng Shui you follow as to the color of the door and whether or not you have windows or glass, but before you consider replacing your front door, here are some simple shifts you can make that will instantly shift the energy that’s attracted to your home.
We’ve already decluttered and cleaned up the space inside the home, so let’s shift our focus to the entrance of your home. Sweep, clean the windows, and toss any stained or faded items. Repaint or stain the door if it needs repair or updating. Remove any dead plants and bring in fresh ones. Does your wreath need replacing or can you freshen it up a bit? I like to change out my front door wreath based on the season or holiday to keep things fresh, but I also like to use what I have around the house. I will often swap out what’s on the wreath with the decor I already have, but it can be fun to add new items as well. Think fresh, inviting, and welcoming.
Beyond the front door itself, you will also want to consider the path to the door and the entryway once inside. Your front door is the main portal of energy to your home. You want to frequently use this door - even if you regularly enter through another door like the garage. Be sure you open the front door often to allow energy to flow. Clear the walkway and be sure it’s well-lit. Replace any lightbulbs that have burned out. These relatively small changes can make a lasting impact on the overall energy of your home.
Key Items to avoid: Your name on the welcome mat. You don’t want people walking all over you.
Main Bedroom
Some argue this room is the most important in the house. Others claim it’s the kitchen, so let’s address both. Everything you choose for the master bedroom should promote good sleep so you are well-rested and relaxed. First, the bed placement is the most critical element to consider. You want to place your bed in the power position and ideally sleep facing one of your personal power positions. You should be able to see the door when sitting up in bed, but avoid having your feet facing out (the coffin position). Place your bed up against a solid wall, but ideally not under a window or against the wall to the bathroom. Keep the area under your bed clutter-free to promote good energy movement. Ideally, this space is not used for storage, but if it is, choose what is stored here carefully. Avoid old letters from your ex or anything that creates negative energy, movement, or excess action.
Use neutral colors and use the power of twos. You want balance and harmony, but especially if you are calling in a new relationship, be sure to have two nightstands. Choose artwork carefully in this room. You want to avoid photos of moving water, aggressive prey animals, or photos of family if you want to attract romance into your life. Consider how you want to feel in a new relationship or any improvements you want for your existing relationship and be sure the photos and colors you choose for this space promote those feelings.
Your bedroom is intended for sleep and rejuvenation, so when possible, avoid having electronics, work-related items, or exercise equipment in this room. These items represent action and movement, which can prevent the energy in the room from being rest-filled. If your bedroom has to perform double duty, consider creating a separation between your bed and desk or covering your treadmill while you sleep. if you are having trouble turning off work at night or have difficulty focusing on work during the day, having your office in your bedroom may be why. Think about how well you sleep at night and make any changes based on the improvements you’d like to see.
Key Items to avoid: Items that promote movement, action, or life as a single person
Heart of the Home
Most feng shui recommendations for the kitchen are about where it’s placed in the home, the direction the door faces, and other features that are not easily changed or addressed unless you’re building from scratch. Regardless of where your kitchen is located, it is considered the heart of your home and therefore has a huge impact on the overall energy and health of the entire family.
From a practical standpoint, keep the kitchen tidy and clean. Use colors that promote health and prosperity. You want to keep a balanced approach to the kitchen. Incorporating fresh flowers, live plants, or an herb garden can encourage a vibrant and healthy energy to flow through your home. You will also want to have a balance of yin and yang energies. Keep the kitchen well-lit and replace any broken or damaged light fixtures or appliances.
One way to promote a balanced energy in the kitchen is to use all five elements: Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth. Water from the sink is balanced with the fire from the stove. Cabinets, butcher block counters, or a table made of wood can be balanced with metal appliances or metal bar stools. The earth element is represented by marble or granite counters, tile backsplash, or floors.
Key Items to avoid: sharp knives visible from the entry into the kitchen, dirty stove or bills left on the counter
What now?
When considering a fresh start, the easiest place to impact positive outcomes is to begin with your home. Clean up the energy in the space you live and it will promote good fortune and positive possibilities in every aspect of your life. Feng Shui is all about attracting good energy and clearing out the negative so it can be a powerful tool to create the life you want simply by placing items carefully and taking care of what you already own. It doesn’t require you to remodel any rooms or make massive changes. Small tweaks can mean the difference between continuing to be broke or watching your new business take off.
There are many more in-depth concepts to consider with Feng Shui, but starting with these practical suggestions should get you seeing some positive momentum in no time. Intention is everything, so as you move furniture and bring in new items, claim what you are calling in. Make changes and choose the life you have on purpose.
If you are facing an overwhelming new chapter, download my free Start Again Guide to point you in the right direction.
Outdoor Patio Update
In my attempt to Feng Shui all aspects of my home, my back patio needed some serious love. I have been updating my color palette throughout my home slowly, but the patio has been receiving some love in all shades of white. I painted my old rusted iron chairs, bought some new cushions for those seats. Loving this new look, so now we just need to start using it! (Also, still searching for the perfect outdoor rug.)
Next, I wanted some new outdoor cushions for my patio furniture because the red isn’t working any longer and they are quite faded from the hot Texas sun. Those suckers are expensive! The best I’ve found are at Target, but I was convinced I could do it better and for less. Here’s what I was working with …
Old outdated & Faded
Desperate need of a facelift …
Enter IKEA. I found these amazing covers in a color that was close enough to what I was envisioning. At $10 a piece, I was sold. I knew they were not going to fit exactly and I would need to stitch them up a bit. Once they arrived, though, I realized just how big they were. Oops!
Little Too Big
Right color .. Getting Close!
After a quick sewing job one evening after the kids went to bed, these cushions are now updated and I love how they turned out! Now I’m on a mission to find the perfect side table. And perhaps paint the chair frames. Always a project away from being done!
Feng Shui - Hallway
Some of you may know that I’ve started studying Feng Shui. Really, I’ve attempted to read all that I can on this idea of encouraging all the good energy to come and stay in my home and minimize anything that is detracting me from my goals. Sounds good right? Y’all this shit is complicated. I’ve read so much, listen to podcasts, bought audio books. When I want to learn something new, I dive in head first and don’t come up for air until the very last second. This has been no different. Quickly I got VERY overwhelmed, though, and decided I needed to just tackle one “issue” at a time. Honestly, Feng Shui can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ll attempt to share what I’ve learned so far, but trust that I’m in infancy stages and I still have lots to learn.
With that said, however, let me just tell you that my kids have had challenges getting along for as long as I can remember. Sibling rivalry. They are both young. They spend so much time together. I had all the excuses to explain it away, but it was causing such angst in our home. Deciding this would be at the top of my list to “fix” with Feng Shui, I jumped in to find out what I could do to help.
While listening to the audio book, Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life, by Karen Rauch Carter, I discovered that a long hallway with lots of doors could cause fighting among family members. Well, mystery solved!
So upon discovering that mirrors could help the stagnant energy, I set up to buy some mirrors. Stat! Well, I set out to find CHEAP mirrors because I really, really want to be a frugal human being, but I stepped one foot into Home Goods and found THE MOST AMAZING mirrors covered with an intricate distressed wood design, I instantly thought it warranted the $25 price point each. Ha! Frugality flies out the window when I find something I love. But also I can justify any purchase that brings me joy. These are beautiful! They bring me joy - Marie Condo would approve because I felt a Zing of happiness when I found them.
Not only did I buy those amazing wooden mirrors, but also a mirrored tray and a mirrored frame with the best vision of what this amazing hallway was going to look like. Most of the Feng Shui cures that are suggested are not esthetically pleasing, but I won’t let a little obstacle like Feng Shui deter me from having a pretty home. I mean. Who decorates a hallway, but then with mirrors? What would that even look like?
Naturally, like most of my projects, my vision makes me happy, the things I have to do before I can implement my vision give me anxiety and my to do list keeps me from implementing. In this case, my old wall of photos would come down and those brown frames had to be painted white. I needed to actually build the shelves I found on Pinterest and I needed to paint the hallway. Notice all the steps here? I could have hung those damn mirrors the day I got them, but no. I set them in the hallway, on the floor, leaning up against the wall and there they sat for WEEKS.
Slowly, I did manage to paint the picture frames. And then they sat in my living room, on the floor, up against the ottoman and the wall. My kid even knocked into one and broke the glass because they were ON THE FLOOR. Stop it already. I couldn’t even be upset with him because it was totally my own fault.
Next, I did manage to build the shelves. They are amazing! They were simple and easy, but it admittedly took me way too long to first stain, let them dry, then glue, then screw in place. BUT - they turned out great and I made them all by myself.
Want to make your own? All you need:
9 ft wood from Home Depot (Two 1x4s, One 1x2)
Stain - type and color
Gorilla Wood Glue & wood screws
Once the shelf was built, I only needed to paint the hallway. I had previously decided after soo much consideration on the most perfect neutral interior paint for my walls. Seriously, I gathered input of anyone who visited my house over the course of a few months to choose their favorite of all those paint swatches were on my living room walls. I settled on XOXO and it’s perfect. It works with brown. It works with grey. Every room and each wall I paint with this color makes my heart sing. After I painted the hallway, I just stood there and stared. I love it!
Just the second the paint dried, I finally hung the mirrors
Next, I hung then the shelf with some help from my little man. He had to hold it in place while I screwed this into the studs in the wall. This shelf is small but mighty - it’s heavy! Finally, after deciding which of the dozens of photos I had hung previously would get to stay, I settled on these …
This finished hallway makes me so happy. I find myself just standing here and staring at it. The part I forgot to mention though, was after a few days of the mirrors lying up against the wall, my kids had stopped fighting all the time. I didn’t even notice at first, but now, they come home from school and they play games together instead of begging for screen time. They create imaginary worlds and talk and play and laugh. It is like MAGIC. I will notice it’s gotten quiet, which is usually cause for alarm, but I will find them playing together in one of their bedrooms. They are getting along so well now!! I don’t know how much of this was really due to my Feng Shui cure, but the I love the mirrors, my new hallway decor and my kids have stopped fighting, so I’m going with it! Thought I’d share in the event your kids also fight like cats and dogs and perhaps you have a long hallway with lots of doors. Throw some mirrors up! Feng Shui doesn’t care if it looks pretty. Mostly, though, if you try this and it is working, please let me know!! I’m super curious to know.
Final product …
