Feng Shui - An Unanticipated Side Effect...

As you know, I have been completing my tasks for de-cluttering around my home. A bookshelf here, a closet hidey-hole there. A couple of junk bins - ones that had managed to accumulate the mass of a couple of junk drawers, I imagine.

I have three small trash bags to drop in the rubbish tip tonight when I take Jasmine for her walk.

And I feel lighter.

I still have things to wade through - the closet and bookshelf in my office, the cupboards in my kitchen and then last, but certainly not least, the storage locker attached to my flat - but on the whole, as I continue the de-clutter process, I am feeling better.

Who knew? All it took was giving myself permission to throw some stuff away!

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Feng Shui Update Number 1

There may have to be a couple of updates on this project - it's not a "quick fix" process and, if you are like me, you can't just breeze out & buy new crap to replace the old crap you are supposed to be getting rid of. A LARGE part of the process involves clearing out old clutter and energetic “stuff” that may be being carried around completely unconsciously.

Take these for example:

These, seemingly harmless, fridge magnets aren’t actually all that harmless… every time I look at them, I am reminded of an individual who was NOT harmless in my world – and reminded, feel bad all over again. So… according to Feng Shui principle, I need to remove them from my space. So…

Ok, truly, I know I should give them away – donate them to someone to whom they have NO meaning other than great quotes from Shakespeare… but I have to admit that putting them into the trash felt good. So there they stay.

I’m inserting a quick, completely unrelated comment here – A friend came over for a Reiki treatment last night and brought me some of the BEST blueberry pie I have ever tasted in my life – I am eating it while I type and making yummy noises. Thanks Linden!!

Back to the progress…

Terri (that’s the name of the consultant) came by and we started by sitting down to discuss what my intentions were, how her process works, how Feng Shui works on the whole and what I need to do next AND on an ongoing basis.

No, this does not require getting rid of ALL of my stuff and getting new and / or better stuff. This requires me to be very clear and sure about my intentions and to take small steps around my home and then in my life.

After the discussion piece was done, we started outside my front door and made the rounds of my entire home. Initially speaking, I DO have some de-cluttering to do – there is stuff here that I am hanging onto that I really have no need or reason to. There are things, like the fridge magnets, that make me feel sad when I look at them. There are things that I am hanging onto because of a feeling of obligation. The great news is that I don’t HAVE to keep these things!

YAY!


So – step one, some minor rearranging of bedroom (mine) furniture was needed – and can I just say WOW – it looks SO much better!!!! Who’da thunk it??

Then, some re-arrangement of pictures and ornaments here and there.

Now, I am in the process of reviewing things with a critical eye and determine my need / want / desire to keep them. The stuff I don’t need / want / desire, I can donate, sell, give away or just trash. The good thing is that I’m well practiced at this particular thing, having made two international moves in as many years. Last night I went through the books on my bookshelf in my office, put together THREE bags of ones I don’t want to keep any longer and happily passed them forward.

This is the "bookshelf before" shot...

This is the VERY messy before picture from the other end of the room...

One website (all about de-cluttering) that I was looking at last night suggested that, instead of going whole hog at it, spending three or four hours tearing things apart & getting rid of it all, it would be better to spend a quick 15 minutes per night doing one focused task at a time. Tonight, after I get back from the Canadian Blood Services Drive (I am giving blood tonight) I will spend my 15 minutes continuing my progress in my office with a little more of the big bookshelf and then with a small project of re-hanging my Grannie’s Masks a little lower and closer together – as per the Feng Shui consultation’s suggestion.



And when almost all was said & done someone reminded me that SHE doesn't necessarily appreciate my moving stuff around...

XO

Erin

Sunny Day and Nowhere to Go

OK, this is not strictly true – it is sunny, yes, but I do have somewhere to go... I had an invitation to go strawberry picking, the challenge to that is that I have an appointment here, at my home, at 11 am today to have my home Feng Shui’d – so I am staying in this morning.

I’m pretty certain there’s a better way to state that, but I haven’t yet had enough coffee to think it through.

Anyhow…

Essentially what will happen is that the consultant (Her name is Terri) will come by around 11 and we will start by having a conversation about what it is that I hope to achieve in the next while. That in mind, we’ll walk through my home and she will make suggestions for things to be moved, added or removed from the place in order to positively impact the energy flow in order to bring about the things I am, well, the things I want to bring about.

I do know a little about Feng Shui (pronounced FUNg SHWay) and have practiced some of the aspects of it on a VERY amateur level for a few years now. Much of what it entails is opening up the space in question to allow for better air and energy flow – and that, usually, means some de-cluttering is involved.

My best GF reminded me last night, when I was telling her about my plans for today, that I actually don’t HAVE a lot of clutter because of my big moves of 2008 (to Jersey, Channel Islands) and 2009 (to Vancouver Island, BC) – both moves required me to find new homes for some of my stuff and so, while I have “stuff,” at this point in time, I probably don’t have “too much stuff.”

I have to agree with this statement – in fact, some of the stuff in my place is actually stuff borrowed from my brother in order to augment some things I actually don’t have.

So what do I hope to attract, remove or improve in my life…? (Yay – I get to use a list!! Hee hee hee) in no particular order, I’d like:

• Career improvement. I’m currently working part time and want to have a permanent full-time position. Ideally, I want a job where I do not have sales targets. My ideal job in the world of where I work now is an operations officer role – investigations, research, day-to-day operational stuff, and some teaching. These are all things that excite me and I have my “eye” on the role – the universe just needs to make some shuffles in my workplace in order for this role to open up for me.
• Money – tied to the career improvement will be improved cash-flow and the possibility opened up for me to….
• Home – I want to own my own home again.
• Love – yes, it’s true – I’d like to have a love relationship in my world. As I’ve aged & (ahem) matured, I’ve released a lot of my ancient baggage and unrealistic expectations (both of myself and of that mystery person) and I believe I am now ready to have him in my world… so I’d like to open up energy flows to attract that person.
  

Remember what I said a few posts ago about the definition of insanity being trying the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result? I recognize that moving a couple of pieces of furniture around isn’t the be-all-end-all solution to life’s problems, but I do (very strongly) believe that setting intentions and then working toward the goals with an open heart DOES work. So my first step THIS time, for attracting “NEW” into my world will include trying something new.

Happy Sunday!