Now that the weather’s finally taking a turn for the better, it’s the perfect time to give your home a thorough Spring cleaning! Let’s face it: for many of us, winter can be a dark and dreary time.
Refreshing your home from top to bottom is a wonderful way to clean out all that old, stuffy energy. This way, you can replace it with fresh, invigorating energy to lift your spirits!
Especially with everything currently going on in the world, it’s now more important than ever for your home to be a calm, optimistic sanctuary for you!
Coincidentally, this is also the goal of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is both a type of design, and an overall lifestyle. Its focus is to expel harmful vibes from your surroundings. Incorporating Feng Shui into your home will help to cultivate a healthy and harmonious environment, by creating a flow of your most positive energy (or “chi”).
Since it shares the same objective as Spring cleaning, why not combine the two! Let’s take a look at 3 ways you can use Feng Shui in your Spring cleaning, and why it works…
The more clutter around your home, the more stagnant, depressed energy there is surrounding you on a daily basis. Plus, it’s hard to have a clear, peaceful mind when your rooms are in complete disarray!
One of the biggest principles Feng Shui teaches is the importance of clutter-free space. Less mess means more room for positive energy to flow effortlessly throughout your home!
If we’re getting technical, you can apply this tip to every cluttered area of your home. But there are particular rooms and places where this is extra critical.
The Kitchen
Kitchens can sometimes be prioritized less during Spring cleaning compared to other major areas (such as the bedroom or living room), but they are no less important! After all, we spend a lot of time in this area on a regular basis.
In fact, Feng Shui directly links the state of your well-being to the state of your kitchen space! Many even consider it to be a part of the “Feng Shui Trinity” – that is, the three most important rooms in your home:
- The bedroom
- The bathroom
- And the kitchen
This could be a great place to start your Spring cleaning! Go through your cupboards, and reorganize all those messy pots, pans, and containers. If there’s any food in your fridge that’s gone bad, make sure to throw it out.
Note: One awesome tip to help breathe life into your kitchen is to add some greenery! Even just throwing one potted plant into the space can change the overall energy drastically!
Your Closets
While it’s useful to go through all of the closets throughout your home, the biggest one you need to focus on is in your bedroom. By nature, a closet is most often designed as a dark, closed off space. It’s commonly filled with an overabundance of clothes, lacks order, and can easily hide bad energy in all its nooks and crannies.
So, make some room in there! Sort through each article of clothing, and really ask yourself: Do I need this? Have you worn it in the past 6 months? Do you have any sentimental ties to this item?
If something’s been sitting in your closet untouched for more than a few months, and holds little to no emotional value for you, you can survive without it. By getting rid of unnecessary items, you’re opening up new, positive space – which will allow for new, positive energy!
Marie Kondo’s infamous KonMarie Method is an excellent way to go about decluttering and organizing your home, as it uses a minimalistic approach. To learn more about what this is and how to utilize it to your advantage, keep reading here.
2. Clean with all-natural products!
Feng Shui is all about developing natural, authentic energies and spaces. So, a big aspect to incorporating Feng Shui into your Spring cleaning is to likewise use natural cleaning products! Man-made chemicals can not only be harmful to your health; it stifles the organic, positive chi needed for a good Feng Shui flow.
Luckily, there are tons of options at your disposal. The best part is, these all-natural products are not overly expensive. For instance, one of the Holy Grail organic cleaning products that always gets recommend is orange-infused vinegar. This DIY miracle worker smells good, is non-toxic, and is known for its immaculate cleaning abilities!
Other suggestions you can look into include:
- Other citrus fruits (such as lemon), mixed with vinegar
- Baking soda and water
- Lemon juice and table salt
- Sudsy ammonia
- Coconut oil
- And so much more!
3. Bring the outside, inside!
As we mentioned previously, adding plants into your home is a guaranteed way to improve its overall energy. Because plants are living things, it will add a lively, vibrant energy. Not to mention, they produce fresh oxygen, which is good for both your physical and mental health!
That being said, we know not everyone has a green thumb. (I, for one, have always been a pretty lousy plant mom.) There are easy alternatives, though. For example, you can always purchase one or two real plants, and then get rubber ones for the rest.
Alternately, you can also purchase some bamboo plants or succulents. Neither plant needs to be watered nearly as much, so there’s a lot less maintenance required.
Pro Tip: If you really want to maximize positive Feng Shui flow, feel free to place that bamboo plant near your front door. It’s said to attract good, welcoming energy!
If you’re interested in adding Feng Shui to your Spring cleaning – or even just your home design in general – it’s important that you know one thing above all else: it’s okay to take your time.
None of the above steps need to be done in one go. It’s completely fine to approach it in baby steps, and work at it bit by bit. True Feng Shui takes practice, time, and patience. No one will expect you to master it and achieve the optimal energy flow on the first try, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself!
After all, doing this will only create unrealistic expectations, frustrations, and negative energy. This is exact opposite of the goal you’re trying to achieve!
For even more tips for using Feng Shui in your Spring cleaning, keep an eye out for Part 2 of this segment, to be released later this week. Happy cleaning, designers!