Where Energy Flows

There are times when things (objects, projects) in our lives seem to fit the bill of clutter, but are hard to let go of. This is a time to be especially kind to yourself because there is usually a reason for holding on.

Sometimes, holding on to the past is a way of keeping the door open on a part of your life that is almost over. It is similar to being immersed in a book you really enjoy or strongly identify with. When the book ends, your experience of being a part of the story will end as well, and often there is a bit of reluctance to finish the story.

So, in your life, holding on to something may be needed in order to:

• give yourself permission to let go of a part of your identity that you’ve outgrown
• allow time to absorb changes in your life
• get closure on a part of your life that is over

So when is it clutter? It is individual. No one else can really tell you what clutter is. For me clutter is an awareness of the ‘mind chatter’ attached to the item in question. Examples of mind chatter are self-criticizing, admonishing, and energy-draining, unpleasant thoughts that do not feel good. If there is no mind chatter, it isn’t clutter.

If something you’ve been holding on to you begins to ‘talk back’, you will know that you are getting close to being ready to release it. When the time is right, you will be ready to come to completion – whether it is finishing the project or finally letting something go. Until then, trust your feelings!

Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2007. All rights reserved.

We all love giving and receiving presents, and can acquire  a lot of extra stuff at Christmas time. I encourage my family to clear out some belongings that they’ve outgrown, to make room for the lovely presents they’ll be getting.

Sometimes we receive gifts which don’t make our hearts sing. Every time we look at them they slightly drain our energy. I donate unwanted presents to charity shops as soon as possible, and find that they are very appreciative of having new items to sell. I don’t even think about feeling guilty for giving these presents away. The people who gave them to me would not want me to feel bad about their gift. It goes against the spirit of giving.

If you are doing some last minute shopping for gifts, think about whether the recipient would love and use the present. If you are not sure don’t buy it. If in doubt choose consumable items, such as food treats, or vouchers. Ask the cashier for exchange cards. You wouldn’t want the other person to feel bad about the present they are giving them. Nor would you want them to hide the item at the back of their cupboard and bring it out every time you came to visit.

Christmas clutter also has an environmental impact, so it is important to be eco-minded when shopping. Buy quality items which will last, and are repairable. Avoid products with excessive or non recyclable packaging, and those which require a lot of batteries. Use recyclable wrapping paper, not foil or plastics, and remember to put used wrapping paper in the recycling collection.

Have a clutter free Christmas so your mind will be clear to think about those New Year’s intentions.

Copyright Helen Harvey, 2007. All rights reserved.

When I downsized my belongings five years ago, I gave away or disposed of nearly all of my Christmas decorations, keeping only those I truly loved.

I didn’t have a lot to start out with, but I did have a collection that spanned a few decades…what is it about holiday decorations that brings out the sentiment?

As we grow and change, our decorating tastes change to match. Often our homes reflect that growth, but holiday decorations tend to stay the same.

Each year there are beautiful new items in the stores we ‘must’ have — as well as any you might receive as gifts — and before you know it, the holiday ornament and decorating box is a large, complicated collection which takes a lot of space to store, a lot of time to put up, and confusion as you sort it all out each year.

This holiday season is a perfect time to de-clutter your holiday decorations and make life simpler.

How To:

1. As you open each box of decorations or take out each item, ask yourself if you really love it and it if reflects who you are now. 
2. Consider photographing any decorations that are no longer ‘you’ but are difficult to let go of because of the memories they evoke. Let them go and treasure the photographs instead.
3. Re-evaluate your recycling plans. Wrapping paper, ribbons and Christmas cards to be re-used? Re-using and recycling is a great idea, however I recommend you decide how much you keep each year, and give yourself a time limit for using them.
4. How about those broken decorations or strings of lights with burnt out light bulbs you’ve been meaning to repair? For things that need repair or cleaning, give yourself a time limit to complete that task — resist the urge to put it back in the box to deal with next year!
5. Package up the decorations that are still in good shape (please resist the urge to pass along the de-cluttering to someone else, especially a family member!) and make arrangements for its removal from the house.

Celebrate your success!

Wishing you love and joy during the holiday season and in the year ahead.

© Copyright Deborah Redfern, 2007. All rights reserved.

When clients come to me wanting immediate results, I almost always tell them to clear their clutter.  Clutter-clearing is modern-day alchemy.  It is one of the fastest ways to completely transform your life. 

Denise Linn, Feng Shui for the Soul

All clutter has an energetic hold on us, even when it is not in our living or working spaces. Many of us have things stored in our parents’ or friend’s garages, or in paid storage space. This can be costly, draining, and a nuisance for the people storing it.

Sometimes we store things elsewhere because they don’t fit with what we are doing at the moment. This can be a temporary arrangement, for example, we are moving overseas for a while, or permanent, because our belongings have outgrown our space. When putting things in temporary storage it is important to set a time limit. Temporary storage can easily turn into permanent storage which we aren’t dealing with.

Businesses store archived records out of necessity. Archived records should be looked through occasionally to see if they are still needed for taxation purposes or other obligations.

Sometimes people borrow things and still have them years later. Try to get closure by gifting them the item or asking if they want to buy it. By dealing with off-site clutter you’ll also clear you subconscious mind of clutter and feel energetically free.

Copyright Helen Harvey 2007. All rights reserved. 

I love reading books on style and fashion found one with all sorts of interesting ‘feng shui’ tidbits at the library this weekend.  For example:

Closets are where we hide things: skeletons, forbidden loves, terrible birthday gifts we couldn’t return. It is for this reason that deciding what to wear while staring into those murky depths can be not just daunting, but emotionally exhausting as well.

- Tim Gunn, A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style

I find it both interesting and validating to find the feng shui princicples I have learned in Interior Alignment™ show up in ‘mainstream’ books. It is interesting to see these views widely accepted and adopted.

© copyright 2007 Deborah Redfern. All rights reserved.

In feng shui both the visible and non visible affect our happiness and wellbeing. Many people focus on keeping their homes well presented for guests, but their cupboards are full of half read magazines and uncompleted projects. Some even dedicate a whole room to this purpose.

My first experience of feng shui was having a consultation for my own home. The consultant said it was good that I didn’t have clutter. I remember thinking that it was lucky she wasn’t looking in the cupboards, but I knew in my heart that the clutter was impacting on my life, even though people couldn’t see it.

Hidden feng shui also relates to cures an enhancements. They work in our favour even though we can’t see them. An example of a hidden cure would be burying crystals in the garden to compensate for missing areas in a floorplan. An example of a hidden enhancement is placing red fabric over the mattress of a couple’s bed. You can’t see it under the sheet, but it helps to spice up the marriage. Hidden cures and enhancements are great if you want to maintain a particular decor or don’t want to display things that others might think are wierd.

Copyright 2007 Helen Harvey. All rights reserved.