<p>I know pretty much nothing about feng shui but it came to mind as I was driving home after completely cleaning out my car. I am a little embarrassed to admit how much I liked the fact that my car was completely clean. I am thinking that I really want to get serious about decluttering/organizing/arranging the house, and also my office. </p>
<p>So, is feng shui what I need?</p>
<p>I’d suggest doing exactly what you did with your car – a major clean-out. You didn’t need feng shui in your car to feel good about it. :)</p>
<p>From what little I’ve read, every house has lots of energy flowing through it. So you want to not obstruct that energy from circulating, which clutter represents. Transitions between rooms matter a lot. It should be very easy to pass from room to room without having to step around something like a chair arm projecting into that path. Plus you want living things, like plants, in certain focal-point places (not sure of the details). Don’t positioni beds so one’s feet (or is it the head?) must point at the bedroom door. </p>
<p>As for clutter, I don’t know why, but somehow all surfaces are not created equal. if someone parks work papers down on any side-hugging counter of our kitchen for a while, that’s just fine. But if they put it on “Mom’s Zen Counter” - a big peninsula that is one’s first encounter with the house interior as one enters from the garage-- to me, the whole house feels unsettled. I make a clean sweep of that one Zen Counter and suddenly all feels calm. My husband tried to debate me on the merits of it, but my daughter simply humors me on it.</p>
<p>Strangely enough, keeping the kitchen sink clean and spotless does wonders for my well being! So does having a floor that’s free from clutter.</p>
<p>I’m thinking there might be some principles, but it might also be sort of individual. If you walk through your home and something bothers you, maybe that’s your own principle.</p>
<p>For me, what bothers me terribly is dust bunnies (actually, dog bunnies) and grit on the hardwood floors. </p>
<p>We’re about to start some renovations that include widening doorways so more light and, I guess, energy flow from room to room.</p>
<p>We just moved into a new office space. Most people do not like the space. I didn’t like my office at first either. I position my desk such that I always face the door (never good to have someone sneak up behind you), put a large plant by a corner, and an orchid on a small conference desk. I bought a smaller air filter to take away any musty smell. My office isn’t the largest, but whenever someone walks in they say its got a good feeling. </p>
<p>When it comes to your home, when you open your front door, it is better not to be able to see straight through to a back door or window (money in, money out). You can put a plant or screen to block the view a bit. Beds not be placed in direct line with the door (privacy). Not to put computer, tv in a bedroom - it is a room for rest, not for work. </p>
<p>We have a table fountain in our house with long bamboo shoots.</p>
<p>As others have said, it is all about making your house less clutter with easy flow from one room to another. I have some friends who are very into feng shui. They wouldn’t even buy a house without having a feng shui master look over it first.</p>
<p>Books, magazines and newspapers that gather dust are considered clutter in feng shui and should be removed to improve the “chi” of the room. </p>
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<p>The position of a chair is important in feng shui. If you have a guest who has a tendency to be overbearing, you place the guest on a chair with his back to the door to reduce his dominance in a group.</p>
<p>Color is important too in feng shui. For example, peach is not recommended for master bedrooms because it may lead to marital infidelity. Blue is good for bedrooms since it is a soothing color but not for dining rooms since it will suppress appetite.</p>
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<p>I better get painting, as those are my colors in both rooms! :O</p>
<p>What? Blue dining room? Just painted part of it blue. On the other hand, my appetite could always use a little suppression. </p>
<p>To the OP, I know what you mean about clean cars. I feel so much better as well! And grit on floors makes me grit my teeth and sweep immediately. Though clutter is less of an issue for me, I feel better when it is not present.</p>
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We lost a sale on a house this way … we had an accepted bid but an expert on feng shui was brought in … and we lost the buyers. (not sure what flunked)</p>
<p>A good friend is into feng shui and she says that different experts have differing opinions, so she goes with what feels right. Here at Chez Spy, we go with the flow. And try (try being the operative word) to keep the clutter to a minimum. </p>
<p>Blue is a fairly wide color pallet. Growing up, we had neighbors who had covered every surface; cabinets, walls, countertops – everything in a most disturbing shade of blue. One child left never to return. The remaining child was not quite right. Mom had a breakdown and Dad just disappeared one day. Choose your blue well.</p>
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<p>Is this something you actually believe?</p>
<p>Oh dear. When you open my front door, you can see straight through to the back door, which is glass, so you see straight out to the backyard. Maybe there’s money back there! Blocking the view would also inhibit movement to other rooms. I guess I’m SOL. 
But wait a minute…I used to have a peach bedroom and my now ex-husband was unfaithful. Maybe there’s something to this…</p>
<p>We’re about to remove a portion of a wall so, when we come in the front door, we’ll be able to see straight out the back of the house. Oh well.</p>
<p>When my kids were younger, I was working at Barnes and Noble and a co-worker was very into feng shui and would take home blueprints and do an overlay of feng shui. This is why I have little tiny mirrors in my son’s bathroom opposite each other, a rock under the sink, the beds facing auspicious directions, the desk in the office at certain angle, a plant on the landing to screen the window, a mirror on the dining room wall facing the window and a carpet with a dominance of red in the foyer. I can’t tell you whether or not the feng shuing of my house has “worked” but we’ve lived here for over twenty years and we’re still married… so maybe! However, now we’re getting ready to sell and the stager had us rearrange the master bedroom… not sure what that might do to things, but hopefully it will sell sooner vs later!</p>
<p>I knew a senior trader who was doing well at his new firm. The traders tend to sit in rows with backs toward each other. This guy was senior enough that he had more open space behind him. He brought in a feng shui guy to see if his desk was optimally positioned. The feng shui master told him that his back was unprotected and he needed some flowing water around him to bring in some money. He suggested to put a fish tank behind the trader. Well, that’s what happened. This guy set up a huge fish tank right behind him. According to him, he desk started to do better. Not sure if it was all in his head.</p>
<p>My mother would say, “If you don’t know about it then it won’t bring you bad luck.” So sometimes maybe less is more.</p>