With many of us spending more time than ever before in our homes at the moment, it’s a good time to look at ways to improve our living spaces. Using some of the key ideas from Feng Shui you can declutter, clear your mind, and promote balance in your home.
What is Feng Shui?
You’ve probably heard the term Feng Shui every now and then, but what does it actually mean? It’s an ancient Chinese practice that focuses on strategically placing furniture and objects in relation to the flow of energy, ‘chi’, to create harmony in a space.
While there might not be a lot of scientific evidence to prove whether or not Feng Shui can improve your health, its key principles will help you to organize your home and create a more balanced environment, with small tweaks and changes.
Clutter-free space
The best place to start improving the balance of your home is to clear out the clutter. Whether it’s piles of mail and paperwork, shelves filled with trinkets, or just a general overload of stuff, give yourself a weekend to declutter your life.
You want to keep all the surfaces in your home as clear as possible at all times. So get rid of the things you don’t need, and invest in storage solutions that can help you keep your home clear and tidy. If you’re on a budget, Furniturebox has a good range of affordable drawers, shelving units, and storage furniture.
And for sentimental items that you don’t want to let go of, pack them away in a box and put them out of sight. But remember you want to get rid of as much as possible, emptying your house will help to clear out your mind and find more balance.
Choose the right colors
Colors in your home can have a big impact on your mood. Focus on neutral tones for a calming effect, and if you want to add some color then stick to two or three different colors in one room.
Try to avoid darker colors as they can drain away positive energy, but choose bright colors that make you happy for an uplifting effect. A feature wall is usually a good starting point, and then match the rest of your furnishings and decor with it.
Balancing the elements
The practice of Feng Shui is supposed to balance the five elements — earth, metal, water, wood, fire — in your home. These elements are represented by different shapes, colors, and materials, and each has an impact on different qualities and areas of your life. Try to choose colors, furnishings, and objects that represent the elements and help you to keep each room balanced.
Good quality air
Fresh, good quality air is another important part of improving the balance of your house. Open your windows up every day to get a flow of air through. Buy air-purifying plants such as spider plants, or a dragon tree — you can find a good range of indoor plants that are easy to look after at Patch. Use essential oils to clear the air of your house. Improving the airflow will help your home to feel more open and improve your wellbeing.
Lighting is essential
Feng Shui is centered around the flow of energy, and light is key to improving it. Keep curtains and blinds open as much as possible.
Make sure each room has at least two or three sources of light, try adding some lamps and ceiling lights. Look for lights that will fit in with the colors of your room — somewhere like The Lighting Company has a huge range of lighting so you can find something that keeps your home balanced.
You should also add mirrors to darker rooms to reflect the light and expand the space. But ensure that they are reflecting open spaces, and not showing cluttered or busy areas of the room.
These are the basic principles of Feng Shui that can help you to declutter and open up space inside your home. Alongside other simple changes to your habits, Feng Shui is a good starting point to improve your home environment that can have a positive impact on your wellbeing.