In the Feng Shui decluttering approach, there are seven steps to clearing clutter from your life. We refer to Karen Kingston’s book, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, and the seven steps to decluttering. I have been reading this book every year to refresh my ability to explain this concept to our clients.

Karen Kingston talks about the energy map, or bagua, and how it applies to energy within the home. Applying Feng Shui principles to high-traffic areas like the bedroom, living space or home office can have positive and reverberating effects throughout your life.  Feng Shui is all about balancing different elements such as wood, fire, earth, metal and water, and Ying with Yang. The bagua map, (which translates to “eight trigrams” in Chinese) is an important tool for creating this kind of harmony and balance throughout our client’s space. The ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui works with energy, or chi, to improve the flow of positive energy in the home or workplace. Clearing clutter is the first step toward having good Feng Shui. Clutter has a negative impact on your space, blocking the flow of chi.

According to Karen Kingston, the most important, and until recently, often overlooked step in the Feng Shui practice is getting rid of clutter. And not all clutter is created equal. Clutter falls into four categories: things you don’t use or love, things that are untidy or not organized, an excess of things that don’t fit into a space, and unfinished things.

Clutter is stuck energy.

More clutter, says Kingston, means more stuck, depressed energy in your home and can negatively affect your personal energy, mental state, and overall wellness. Clutter can also reflect what’s going on in your life (which explains why the pile of clothes on the chair seems to get bigger as you feel more stressed and out of control). On the other side, a clutter-free space filled with things that are loved and regularly used allows positive energy to move, not just through your space, but also through you. Kingston reminds us that, “If you have a clear focus in your life and you surround yourself with things that have this free-flowing energy, you will have a correspondingly happy, joyous, free-flowing life.” It’s good food for thought.

With this concept in mind, we offer the seven steps Kingston suggests to remove clutter from your life.

Don ‘t Clear Clutter Because You Should

The word “should” has a lot of negative connotation. It is a disempowering word. When you use it, you feel guilty and obligated. Kingston advises to remove “should” from your vocabulary and replace it with the would “could.” “Could” empowers you, gives you a choice, and later allows you to take the credit for a job well done.

Don’t Wait to Start Your Cleanup – Though Some Times Are Better Than Others

Kingston suggests you do at least one major clutter clearing per year and emphasizes that any time is a good time to start. That said, you could get even more mileage if you do it at specific times of year when the cycle of renewal happens in nature. Suggested times are spring or the beginning of a wet or dry season.

Other opportune times include after life changes like a big move, recovering from an illness, starting a new job, or even coming back from a vacation. At those times, your perspective may be different and make it easier to make decisions about what you realistically need to keep.

Know the Zones of Your Home and Declutter Accordingly

A key concept of Feng Shui is the bagua, which is a diagram or map of your space that connects different aspects of your life. These aspects of your life are connected to different aspects of your home. The idea is that stagnant energy in any of these areas can be reflected in your life, body, or emotional health. Before you start your decluttering, make a list of the zones that need clearing, from least cluttered (like behind doors or in drawers) to the most (junk rooms, basements, garages). Put an asterisk next to the zones that irritate you most and tackle those first.

Schedule Your Clutter Clearing

Select a date and adhere to it. In other words, show up for yourself. Remember that you don’t have to do everything at once. “It can be a whole day, a half day, or a series of appointments of just an hour or half an hour, depending on how fast you want to progress,” says Kingston. Allot a specific time to declutter each section and try to stick to that schedule.

Play Upbeat Music – And Turn Up the Volume

While some people prefer to declutter in silence, Kingston finds that people who declutter to loud music may find that they are able to keep going two to three times longer if they play the right music. She suggests skipping the headphones and using the speakers, so it’s playing at a danceable level.

Wear Something Red

Wear red, or something from the warmer end of the color spectrum. The reason for this? Kingston says red spurs you to act and warm colors are comforting, making it even easier to let things go. What not to wear on these decluttering days? Black. Black attracts low-level vibrations and will quickly make you feel tired when clearing clutter. Gray can cause you to be indecisive about what stays and what goes.

Reward Yourself, Even if You’ve Still Got Some Clutter 

If you treat yourself for reaching your decluttering goal, be it large or small, you’re more likely to continue the process. As Kingston reminds us, “You don’t need to aim for perfection. Just deal with the main items of clutter that are clogging up your space and then get on with your life.”

To learn more about Karen Kingston, baguas, and how to Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui, pick up a copy of Kingston’s book. It’s available on Amazon.