My Blog

Category: Decluttering

  • How Your Home Can Help Heal You

    How Your Home Can Help Heal You

    — even if you’re renting, on a budget, or feeling overwhelmed

    A very common thing we designers often hear is, “I just want that wow effect.” And I completely get it. Of course we want to feel impressed by our space — to walk into a room and think yes, this is beautiful. But if you’re familiar with my philosophy at all, you’ll now that, for me, the true “wow” lies not just in how a space looks… but in how it makes us feel.

    I believe that the most powerful role our homes can play is as a sanctuary — a space that actively supports our wellbeing. Because the truth is, we’re all carrying something. Stress. Grief. Anxiety. Exhaustion. We carry it in our hearts, in our minds and in our bodies. And what we carry impacts our overall wellbeing — mentally, emotionally, and physiologically.

    But here’s the good news: our homes can help us release it.

    They can become spaces that gently hold and support us as we heal. And this doesn’t require a full renovation, a huge budget, or even owning the place you live. It just requires intention — and a few simple, conscious shifts.

    In this post, I’m weaving together some of the key ways your home can help you heal — all of which are low-cost (or free), and completely rental-friendly.

    1. Use Colour Consciously

    Colour is one of the easiest ways to shift how a space feels — and how you feel in it. It’s not just about aesthetics or style trends. Colour can actually communicate directly with our nervous systems.

    The key principle? Colour temperature.

    • Warm colours (reds, oranges, yellows) stimulate and energise. They’re great for active spaces like kitchens, dining rooms, playrooms — anywhere you want to encourage connection or productivity.
    • Cool colours (blues, greens, purples) calm and soothe. They’re perfect for bedrooms, living rooms, meditation spaces — anywhere you want to relax or focus.

    But there’s another layer here — one that goes deeper than simple psychology: your seasonal personality type. We all have a unique energetic blueprint (a blend of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter energies), and the colours we’re instinctively drawn to often reflect what best supports our own balance and wellbeing.

    If you’re not sure what your dominant season is, I’ve created a free quiz you can take to find out.

    When we understand our own seasonal personality type — and the types of those we live with — it becomes so much easier to create a home that feels naturally supportive and harmonious for everyone.

    2. Decluttering as Self-Care

    Let’s get one thing clear: I’m not preaching minimalism here. For me, decluttering isn’t so much about owning less — it’s more about letting go of what we don’t love or use, so we can create space for what matters.

    Everything we surround ourselves with carries energy. If we’re constantly seeing things we’re indifferent to, or that drain us, that has an impact. But when we’re surrounded by things we genuinely love or find useful, our homes start to give us energy rather than take it.

    Letting go can be surprisingly cathartic. Not just on a physical level — but mentally and emotionally, too.

    3. Space Clearing the Unseen

    Space clearing is the energetic follow-up to decluttering. It’s about cleansing and resetting the invisible atmosphere of your home.

    Yes — this is one of my more “woo” practices, but I truly believe in it. And if you’re even a little bit energetically sensitive, you’ll feel the difference after you do it.

    It’s especially helpful:

    • After illness
    • After an argument
    • When moving into a new space
    • Or any time you feel like your home feels a little “off”

    You don’t need fancy tools or complicated rituals. I’ve put together a cheat sheet download that walks you through a simple, effective space clearing process.

    4. Create a Sacred Corner

    You don’t need a meditation room or a dreamy Pinterest nook. Just carve out a little pocket of your home that’s yours — a space to decompress and come back to yourself.

    Maybe it’s a cosy chair with a cushion and blanket. A sunny windowsill with a view. A little altar, or just a corner of your bedroom where your phone doesn’t follow.

    The magic comes from treating it like a retreat — even for just ten minutes a day. Sip your morning cuppa, write in your journal, do a short meditation, or simply sit and breathe. It’s amazing how restorative this small ritual can be.

    5. Try a Little Feng Shui (or Vastu Shastra)

    I don’t teach feng shui in the traditional “manifest your dream life” kind of way — but I do love using it as a personal development tool.

    These systems connect different parts of your home to different areas of your life. So, by making changes in certain spaces, you can bring more balance to the related area — whether that’s relationships, health, career, or creativity.

    I always recommend approaching feng shui with curiosity rather than perfectionism. If you didn’t grow up with these systems embedded in your culture, there’s no need to stress over every guideline. Just take what feels supportive, and leave what doesn’t.

    6. Balance Yin & Yang Energy

    This is one of the most powerful shifts you can make — and it ties everything together.

    • Yin energy is soft, feminine, nurturing, restful.
    • Yang energy is active, bright, structured, energising.

    We need both in our homes — just like we need both in our lives. Bedrooms, bathrooms, and meditation corners need more yin. Kitchens, workspaces, and social areas benefit from more yang.

    When your home holds the right balance of these energies, it naturally supports the balance in you.

    Your Home Is More Than Just a Backdrop

    When we’re intentional about how we set up our homes — not just visually, but energetically — our spaces start to nourish us. They hold us. They ground us. They support our growth.

    You don’t need a huge budget or a full makeover to start. Just choose one small thing to shift, and begin there.

    Thanks for reading. You might also enjoy:

    Discover your Seasonal Personality Type and How it can Transform your Home.

    Feng Shui: Personal Development versus Manifestation

    Create a Home Altar to Bring the Sacred into Everyday Life

  • 5 Mini Spring Cleaning Projects you can Complete this Week

    5 Mini Spring Cleaning Projects you can Complete this Week

    spring cleaning
    Photo by Precious Plastic Melbourne on Unsplash

    We’re mid-way through spring, with the summer in easy reach now. And all the dust that was quietly accumulating in dark corners is becoming more and more apparent – at least to my eye, in my home.

    I’ve been dipping in and out of spring cleaning tasks here and there, but I haven’t managed to do the kind of full clean sweep that happened in the spring of 2020 and 2021. I wonder why….

    When we’re busy, it can be genuinely hard to find the time and energy to do the jobs around the house that we have on our mental to-do list. And yet, it’s important we find a way to do them for a couple of reasons.

    1. Our homes are so much more than shelter from the big bad world. They are supposed to be retreats, places of sanctuary, and temples for our bodies, minds, and spirits. And in order to fulfill this important function, we need them to be clean, tidy, organised. Functional and beautiful (according to our personal tastes).
    2. Anything that’s loitering on our to-do lists is draining our mental energy. When we finally cross them off, our entire systems get a positive boost.

    So, if you can’t find the time to devote to a huge spring clean, but know that it’s vital to your home’s wellbeing – and yours, by extension – how do you get it done?

    In bite-sized pieces.

    The following seven suggestions could be completed within a week, or less, or more. Whatever works for you. But if you could get through them over the next week or so, your home will feel lighter and brighter and so will you.

    Cobwebs

    As the light gets brighter for longer, are you noticing cobwebs in corners that were completely unnoticeable during the darker half of the year? Instead of making a mental note to remove them at the weekend – only to forget or be too busy when it arrives – why not grab a long-handled brush right now and tackle them.

    Yes, stop reading and just go and do it.

    Clearing cobwebs is a speedy, but satisfying task. It’s the lowest hanging fruit on this list and there’s no time like now to get this quick win under your belt.

    Entryway – you’re probably noticing a change in the outerwear you’re choosing on your way out the door. Rain jackets may still be needed, but your warmest coats and heaviest winter boots are probably not getting much wear these days.

    So why not clear these out of the way, and swap them out for your fair-weather jackets and shoes. And while you’re at it, have a general tidy-up of anything else that is creating any sense of mess or clutter.

    The entryway is such an important portal into your home and can set the mood both for you and your family and also for your guests.

    It doesn’t need to be a Pinterest-worthy uber-styled space. But if it is neat and tidy and allows you to easily transition into indoor mode, it will fulfill its most important function: to welcome you home and help you decompress as soon as you arrive.

    The cupboard under the sink

    This is not the most fun job, but it’s definitely a satisfying one when complete. And it will help build momentum to tackle the rest of this list.

    Rubber gloves are recommended for this one, as it can be a mucky spot with all sorts of strange-looking stains from spillages. Clear everything out, give the shelves a good wipe down, and sort through what goes back in and what just goes.

    I find plastic baskets or containers very useful to corral the contents of what I’m keeping in here. Use different sizes for different items, but organize everything in a manner that will make it easy for you to access what you need on a day-to-day basis without any excessive rooting around.

    Usually, I find this task is completed pretty quickly. I waste far more time thinking about and dreading it than I typically do completing it.

    The fridge

    We’re going to stay in the kitchen for the next couple of tasks. Like the entryway, the kitchen is a significant area of our home that warrants special attention. Unlike the entryway, we typically spend a lot of time in our kitchens, prepping and often also eating the food that sustains our bodies.

    So cleanliness here, and a generally pleasant environment play a vital role in our overall health and happiness.

    And the fridge is another spot that can get mucky – and quickly. It’s a clean-out that needs to happen more often than spring-cleaning seasons. And that can be tedious, but it’s also one of the most satisfying cleans you can do. Because you probably open your fridge and look into it several times a day.

    When it’s freshly clean and organized, that simple action can be a brief moment of joy. When it needs cleaning and sorting, that’s a brief moment of not-joy (dread, frustration, irritation? It’ll be different for everyone, but it won’t be a pleasant sensation). And those little moments, multiple times a day, can have a cumulative effect on us subconsciously.

    Or not, each of us is different. But I think it best not to risk it and give it a good cleanout. If the under-sink cupboard spurred you on for more, this one will be even more motivating as I’ll put money on it you’re exposed to the inside of your fridge far more often than the inside of that cupboard.

    The pantry cupboards

    In a way, these are an extension of the fridge. Storage for your less perishable foodstuffs, you’re probably rummaging around in these nearly as often as you are in your fridge. But they’re often more guilty of harbouring out-of-date items than the fridge because there’s no light in the back of that cupboard highlighting that interesting-looking condiment you bought but never ended up using.

    Unlike the fridge, a good clean out of these cupboards once or twice a year should suffice. So when you have completed this one, it’ll be an extra big tick off your list.

    What I love about cleaning out both the pantry and fridge is that you usually end up making space as well. And that extra space also gives us a little visual boost, in addition to the cleanliness.

    It’s amazing how these simple little things make a difference to how we feel. And it’s important to notice them and appreciate them. Also notice when pockets of our home are having a more draining effect on our psyches – and take action to improve, if that’s what’s needed.

    Bathroom storage

    Ugh, this can be a fiddly one. Lots of small bottles and tubes and packages to sort through in here, so it’s probably the one you’ll want to assign the biggest time slot to. While everything listed above could probably be completed in 20 minutes or less, you might want to allow up to an hour for this.

    Go through makeup and dispose of any that you never use, or is simply very old. And check all of your medications, ointments, and potions.

    The bathroom is where we both detox and purify our bodies, so keeping on top of cleanliness here is important. But let’s be honest, how many of us venture into the cupboards when we’re doing our regular clean? I can well imagine the resistance you may be feeling for this one, so I suggest focusing on the satisfaction of knowing you won’t need to face this one again for quite a long time.

    Five days of spring cleaning, even if in short spurts, deserves a day of rest. After your day off, maybe you’ll be inspired to take on more mini projects throughout your home. And little by little, your home will feel different. Lighter. Better.

    If you’d like some support decluttering and cleaning your entire home, in bite-sized daily tasks over a period of 30 days, then sign up for my Decluttering Challenge. It’s completely free, and you can register for it here.

  • Decluttering is an act of Self-Care.

    Decluttering is an act of Self-Care.

    Decluttering and self-care are two topics close to my heart. I bleat on about both of them on a regular basis. But I tend to really zone in on them during January.

    decluttering
    Photo by Humairah L. on Unsplash

    Because, as far as I’m concerned, January is a month to hone our self-care practices rather than go too gung-ho on self-improvement.

    And January is also a great month to declutter – to make space for what we’d like to invite into our lives this year.

    There is actually science behind the notion that decluttering supports our wellbeing. Well, to be more precise, they demonstrate that clutter is bad for our health. So, we can view decluttering as an antidote to those ill effects.

    Psychologists, social scientists, and anthropologists have been examining how clutter affects behaviours and mental health over the last couple of decades, and studies show:

    • Clutter can increase the stress hormone cortisol, particularly in women. (This doesn’t mean men can forget about the clutter, just because they’re less bothered by it. If they don’t help out with keeping on top of things, it can lead to tension in relationships and that’s not good for anybody’s health either.)
    • Those who do feel stressed by the clutter in their homes experience more depression and fatigue, and have diminished coping skills compared with those who feel more positive about their homes.
    • Excess cortisol also causes headaches, irritability, intestinal problems, high blood pressure, low libido, poor sleep, heart disease, suppressed immunity to disease, and difficulty recovering from exercise.
    • Cluttered homes can lead to weight gain – 77% more likely to gain weight than people who live in tidy homes. (Well, it is difficult to feel inspired or motivated to cook fresh and healthy meals in a messy kitchen. It’s a breeding ground for bad habits like processed convenience food and takeaways.)
    • Air quality suffers through an accumulation of dust and can result in respiratory illnesses.
    • Focus and productivity also suffers, while procrastination flourishes.

    So if you’re planning a health re-set this year, a good place to start might be to declutter your home. The physical and mental health benefits are clear – lower stress, lower cortisol levels, lower risk of asthma and allergies, greater focus and productivity, improved relationships (through lowered mess-related conflicts) – what’s not to love about all that?

    But the decluttering benefits I usually write about aren’t ones I can find scientific evidence for.

    And yet I’ve experienced it and heard countless reports of similar experiences.

    It’s a cathartic shift in our energy that can propel us forwards in life. A catharsis that is usually (according to anecdotal evidence) caused by an emotional release.

    Much of the stuff that we’ve been hanging onto for years can be bound up with memories (maybe suppressed) of traumatic experiences. And when we finally look the item in the eye and decide it’s time to let it go, we can find ourselves shedding tears in the process. That’s not a bad thing at all, but it’s something to be aware of if you’ve never done a deep-dive declutter before.

    The first big declutter will probably be the most cathartic. And top-up declutters will give a top-up energy boost.

    Either way, decluttering is never a one and done – unless you get rid of all your belongings and never acquire anything new. There is almost always a little corner of our homes where there’s an accumulation of stuff that needs sorting and clearing. And regular clear-outs will help us to enjoy our homes more, which – as we’ve already seen – will benefit our health on multiple levels.

    Any time is a good time to declutter, but my favourite times in the year are January, spring, September and the close of the year. I don’t do it four times a year, but I do aim to do it at least twice, if not three times. And I do mini spot-decluttering on an ad hoc basis – especially if I’m feeling stuck in an area of my life and want to create some mental clarity to get unstuck.

    If you’re feeling inspired and motivated to tackle the clutter in your home, and you’d like a daily nudge to keep you on track with it, you might like to take my 30-day decluttering challenge. It’s a free resource designed to take the overwhelm out of the overall project, breaking it down into short daily tasks. Sign up for it here.

    And if you just want to do your own thing, your own way, and according to your own timeline, here are my quick decluttering tips:

    • Apply the rule, “Love it, Use it, or Lose it.”
    • Prioritise the entryway (what greets us when we come home, and sets the tone), kitchen (where we prepare the food that nourishs our bodies), bathroom (where we cleanse our bodies) and your own bedroom (where your body and mind gets to rest and restore itself). Start with these four areas before tackling living rooms, playrooms, kids’ bedrooms.
    • Get organised for organising – use boxes or bin bags (all labeled) to temporarily house what you’re dumping, donating and recycling. Use them while you’re going through the process, and empty when full or when you’ve completed all your decluttering.
    • Learn the Marie Kondo folding technique. Even if you’re not keen on her strategy (I’m not – too overwhelming for me), her folding technique is gold and will create so much space in your drawers and cupboards.

    Happy decluttering. I hope it brings you improved health and happiness.

    Thank you for reading. You might also be interested in:

    Get your Home in Order and your Life will Follow.
  • 6 Suggestions to Harness the Energy of Spring, to Spring Forward in your Life.

    6 Suggestions to Harness the Energy of Spring, to Spring Forward in your Life.

    spring forward
    Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

    In astrology, the Spring Equinox is the actual ‘new year,’ which makes complete sense to me.

    I, for one, always feel much more inclined to shake things up in my life in springtime than in the darkest depths of winter when we’re traditionally encouraged to consider developing new habits.

    In January, I reflect. In February, I start to get an itch. And in late March, I begin to scratch.

    As the signs of new life happening outside my window become more apparent, I get an urge to move into action. Don’t you?

    If you’re starting to feel a spring in your step and want to harness that energy to create some changes in your life, the following are my suggestions.

    Start spring cleaning your home.

    There is a reason why there’s a tradition of spring cleaning. It harks back to pre-electricity days when we were all more naturally attuned to our bio-rhythms. And they, in turn, are influenced by nature.

    As daylight increases, our energy levels start to rise too. The lethargy of winter begins to be replaced by enthusiasm and optimism – and these are far better moods to support us in creating change.

    And deep cleaning (and decluttering) has a far-reaching effect on the psyche for many of us. It can help us to release mental and emotional baggage that has been holding us back. And our newly refreshed homes can infuse us with a newfound inclination to tackle tasks we’ve been putting off.

    Even with the benefit of electricity, I can happily mooch through the winter, oblivious of cobwebs forming in dimly-lit corners. But as we move into late March and early April, I can see those cobwebs clearly, and I want them gone.

    I’ve been eyeing them up the last couple of weeks on the brighter days, and yesterday, on the equinox, I finally went through the house with a long-handled duster. My spring cleaning is now in session.

    It will take me several weeks, as I don’t love cleaning. But I do love the effect of a thoroughly cleaned (and decluttered) space. The energy in each room will palpably shift as I complete it. And as I cross each room off my list, I’ll build momentum to work on other projects too.

    Clean your Windows.

    Yes, this might fall under the spring cleaning category. But it deserves to be mentioned in its own right.

    Our windows let the light (chi, energy, life force) into our homes – and our lives. The quality of light affects our moods (and how well we can see the cobwebs gathering in the corners of our homes). Whenever I clean my windows, it gives me an immediate boost. And I continue to enjoy that feeling every time I look out for weeks…until they start to get grimy again.

    Unlike the spring cleaning, the windows will be a regular maintenance job from now until the end of September – giving me a repeated pick-me-up long after the upshift in energy from the spring cleaning has dulled.

    And again, that mental boost will aid me in following through on my life plans.

    Spruce up your entryway – both inside and out.

    Ok, this is the last one that can fall under the spring cleaning umbrella. Again, it does deserve to be highlighted in its own right.

    Our entryway sets the tone for how we feel when we come home. When you come through the door, are you greeted by a cheery and inviting space or one which drains your energy?

    In Feng Shui, the main entryway is the portal of chi, bringing opportunities into our lives. It is essential energy can enter freely and flow easily into and throughout our homes.

    If yours feels a little lackluster after the winter, now is a great time to spruce it up. Clean, organise, swap out seasonal items. Maybe redecorate, or add a plant or piece of artwork that gives you a little lift when you arrive home.

    And do the same outside. Sweep the step, remove the cobwebs around the doorframe and tidy up your plants. Let that little lift begin as you approach your home and continue after you walk through the door.

    Sow some seeds and tend to your plants.

    March and April are the primary months for sowing seeds, especially if it’s for edible plants. Whether or not you’re not planning on growing your own food, do think about pretty foliage and flowers that will give your heart a lift throughout the summer and early autumn months.

    And pot up any plants that are outgrowing their current containers. As you do so, imagine that you’re sowing your intentions for what you want to create in your life. Or envisage plans in progress growing in the direction you desire.

    Use this time of birth and renewal in nature as a metaphor for your own life, and bring conscious intention to these everyday jobs.

    Rearrange your furniture.

    This is a quick and cost-free way to refresh a room, and it can help to shift your energy at the same time.

    Maybe something isn’t working well for you right now. Circulation might be tricky because furniture is placed too close together. Or a seating arrangement isn’t facilitating conversation or connection. Maybe you’ve introduced a desk into a room, and now everything is feeling cramped.

    If a room in your home is feeling off, then reconsider the layout of all the items in it. This has a significant impact on the functionality of a space, which in turn impacts our moods when we’re in it.

    And the change of season can also change the way we use different rooms. Sometimes a room falls out of use entirely at certain times of the year. Again, switching up the layout can often help to make a space feel more relevant. And it’s always a shame to have some rooms sitting idle while others may be working over-time.

    Get imaginative and see how you can rejig things so that all your rooms feel fresher, more inviting, and useable.

    Create a Vision Board.

    Many people do this in January in support of their new year resolutions and goals. For me, this is counter-intuitive. I prefer to spend January contemplating how I’d like my year to pan out and then get into supportive practices as we move into spring.

    And the visual representation of what we’d like to create can be one of these practices. Vision boards help to programme our subconscious mind. They give clarity around what we want and can help to support us to keep going. To persist when the going gets tough so we can bring our visions into reality.

    If this idea appeals, jot down some notes on how you’d like to see your life unfolding over the remainder of this year. What kinds of experiences do you want to have, what type of work do you want to be doing, what kind of lifestyle do you want to be pursuing? Think about your health, relationships, hobbies. Focus on the essence of what you want, rather than getting too specific about the details.

    Then find images that speak to you of these ideals and create a collage of them. It can include words and even abstract images. It’s not to make an impression on anyone else. The only thing that matters is that when your eyes alight on it, what you see makes sense to you. And makes an impression on your subconscious.

    While we can decide to implement changes in our lives at any time, I believe that harnessing the energy of birth and growth associated with spring can help us pursue our life mission.

    Our bodies and minds respond to the increasing light, giving us much-needed fuel to kick-start new projects. It’s the best time of year to focus on new beginnings.

    You might also be interested in:

    Spring Cleaning is Emotional Clearing

    Imbolc: What are you Ready to Give Birth to?

    Pro Tips to Elevate your Home Decor: Room Layout

  • Get your Home in Order and your Life will Follow.

    Get your Home in Order and your Life will Follow.

    get your home in order

    Photo by Volha Flaxeco on Unsplash

    One of the best things you can do for yourself over the month of January is to clean, declutter, organise and Feng Shui your home.

    Seriously, get your home in order and it will reap benefits in other areas of your life.

    I know that sounds like a lot of work, but you do have a full month to do it. A month when there’s often not a lot of exciting social activities to distract you (even pre-Covid times).

    And if you’re looking to bring about meaningful change in your life over the coming year, this work is a perfect foundation. Because spring cleaning is emotional clearing.

    It has this magical, alchemical effect on our energy. It’s as if clearing out the physical debris in our homes has a metaphysical correlation on the mental and emotional stuff that’s been weighing us down.

    It’s amazing how many people report an upturn in their mood, their creativity and the opportunities coming their way after a thorough decluttering of their homes.

    So while spring cleaning might not be a traditional January activity, this year more than ever, it’s a great time to focus on sorting out your home.

    So tidy up the coat and boot mess in your entryway. Clean and reorganise your kitchen cupboards. On a dry day, wash your windows, even if there’s still plenty more rain to come in the weeks ahead.

    Go through your home room by room and remove anything that you don’t actively love, or use. Stop holding onto ornaments, artwork and knick knacks that were gifted to you by loved ones, unless you love the actual gift as much as the gesture.

    At the same time, make a list of any repairs that need to be made. Undone tasks are a form of mental clutter, and they drain our energy on a subconscious level every time we notice them. So make that list, and start ticking the items off it as you move through the month.

    Learn about the Feng Shui bagua, which divides your home into nine equal zones that energetically correspond with different aspects of your life: health and wellbeing, relationships, finances, career path, personal development, family and community, reputation, travel and helpful people.

    When you regard a corner of your home as being reflective of your financial situation, it will motivate you to keep it in good order.

    There are a lot of rules and guidelines that Westerners may not resonate with, but the important lesson we can all benefit is to create homes where the energy can circulate freely.

    This is why decluttering can have such a powerful effect on our lives, not just our homes.

    Piles of stuff that need to be sorted through, cleared away, or moved around when we need to get to whatever they’re blocking, is a constant drain on our energy—even if we’re not consciously aware of it.

    When we declutter and clean, we also cleanse the space on an energetic level and leave room for that energy to move unhindered around our homes. On the contrary, clutter causes stagnation in our homes’ energy, and also in our lives.

    And quite apart from the Feng Shui benefits, a decluttered home helps us in other, simple ways which generally improve our day to day experiences in our homes:

    • Less items to accumulate dust makes it easier to clean and improves respiratory health issues.
    • Precious time is saved when we no longer need to hunt for items.
    • Decluttered spaces are calm spaces, and calm spaces are easier to relax in than busy ones.
    • We can use our space and furniture properly, for example sitting to eat at the dining table instead of balancing a plate on our lap because the table is buried under books, paperwork and ironing.
    • We can see all the clothes we own and access them more easily. Although the quantity of our clothes will decrease, the variety of what we now wear will probably improve.

    When our homes only contain what we need for the day-to-day functioning of our lives, and just enough artistic and decorative pieces to give us a lift, we gift ourselves with a home that is so much more than a shelter from the world.

    It becomes a true sanctuary for our bodies, minds and souls.

    Instead of draining our energy, our decluttered homes gives it a boost. And that empowers us in all the other areas we’re hoping to make changes.

    If we didn’t know it before, 2020 taught us that our home is our castle. And it’s in our best interests to enable the energy to flow easily and make it as uplifting a space as possible.

    So, let’s use this oft-maligned first month of the new year to get our houses in order.

    First published on Newsbreak.com

  • Spring Clean with Me.

    Spring Clean with Me.

    spring clean
    Photo by Good Soul Shop on Unsplash

    Spring cleaning and decluttering our homes makes them far more pleasant spaces to spend time in…need I say more in the current circumstances?

    It’s the time of year for it anyway, and with all the extra time we’re spending at home it’s a perfect opportunity to tackle it.

    I started a couple of days ago with my entryway and yesterday I tackled my kitchen. Today I still have plenty to do in the kitchen – the more hidden areas. But the external area of the kitchen is now making my heart sing and I’m happy to cook and eat there again. (And do what work I do have left at the kitchen table – I have mostly been doing that from the sofa.)

    I’ve made a short before and after video of both my kitchen and entryway, in the hopes that it will motivate you to join in with me. They’re all on my Facebook page and you can view them on the following links:

    Entryway: Before

    Entryway: After

    Kitchen: Before

    Kitchen: After

    If you have kids at home with you who are old enough, get them involved – it’s an important life skill so qualifies as home-schooling, methinks. 😉

    Next up for me will be my bedroom and bathroom. Followed by living room and the middle hallway (that I pass through a gazillion times a day).

    I’m aiming to complete my entire home this week. But if you’d prefer a baby-steps approach then my 30 day decluttering challenge might help. That’s a free resource that you can get here.

    Come, Spring Clean with me! 🙂

    You might also be interested in:

    Spring Cleaning is Emotional Clearing.

  • To Close the Year Strong, Detox your Home.

    To Close the Year Strong, Detox your Home.

    home detox

    As autumn hits and the end of the year fast approaches, the signs around us in nature are all about endings (to make way for new beginnings).

    Maybe it’s a resistance to what is—such a human quality—and not wanting to let go of the more active energy of the brighter months. Or maybe it’s a sense of panic related to our (perceived) lack of achievement around the goals we set back in January.

    And maybe it’s simply because the “back to school” routine was ingrained in our psyches during our formative years. Whatever it is, autumn often sees us refocusing our attention on what we want to get done before we ring out the old year on December 31st.

    And a good old home detox can be a powerful tool in this process.

    As we clear out our physical stuff, something magical takes place on the metaphysical level. Old mental and emotional issues can come to the surface, to be fully felt and finally released. And clearing out the non-physical, alongside the physical, also clears the path forward. Not only is the physical debris removed, but blocks in our psyches can also be dissolved.

    Hence the popularity of Marie Kondo’s KonMari movement: Clearing out your home really can be magically life-changing.

    And the only way to test the theory is to give it a go.

    Over the coming weeks, why not resolve to clear out as much of your physical clutter as you can—and see what knock-on effect that has on your personal energy levels, your creativity, enthusiasm, and outlook on life.

    There are different ways to approach the challenge. The KonMari method is to organise in categories and to create a huge pile in one place in your home. Pick up each piece, ask if it sparks joy, and if not then thank it and move to a donate/recycle/bin pile.

    For me, this method is overwhelming. I prefer to go room-by-room, or area-by-area. A fantastic resource for this is Declutter your life with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. As well as guiding you through the decluttering process, it’s a fabulous Feng Shui primer. It’s the book that turned me on to decluttering and, like me, everyone I’ve loaned it to got the decluttering under way before they finished the book.

    When I couldn’t find a start-today online challenge that guides you through the process, I created one myself. My free guide leads you through a room-by-room method through manageable daily tasks. I designed it for those (like me) who get overwhelmed by the very idea of undertaking a giant purge in one day, one weekend, or even one week. (If it appeals, sign up here.)

    You’ll also find thousands of videos on YouTube to guide, inspire, and motivate. The most important thing is to get started. Start with your purse, with a single drawer, with the cupboard under the kitchen sink. Once you get started, an energetic momentum gathers and it’s much easier to keep going.

    The home detox golden guideline is this: love it, use it, or lose it.

    If you feel able to commit to clearing a full room or area, but are wondering where to start, try the entryway to your home. Make it so that it uplifts your energy every time you walk through the door. Clear away the summer jackets, shoes, and bags, and bring out what you’ll need for the coming new season. Organise a system for keys and whatever else you usually grab on your way out. And place something on a wall or shelf that will cause you to smile when you come home.

    Hopefully, completing one area will motivate you to detox another. When resistance arises, remember that it will reap benefits on the metaphysical realm as well as the physical.

    View your home detox as a self-care exercise, because that’s precisely what it is. On a well-being level, we gain so much more than we lose. And all that we lose, we no longer need anyway so there’s really no losing involved. It’s win-win all around.

    First published on elephantjournal.com

    Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash

    Thank you for reading. You may also enjoy:

    Decluttering is an Act of Self Care.

  • Spring Cleaning is Emotional Clearing

    Spring Cleaning is Emotional Clearing

    spring cleaning

    What Makes “Tidying Up” So Magically Life-Changing?

    Spring cleaning—a thorough and deep cleanse of our homes at the end of winter—is a common tradition that’s as old as the hills. In many cultures it marked the onset of a religious or seasonal celebration or festival. The home was cleaned as part of a preparatory purification process.

    And over the ages, it has somehow seeped into the crevices of our consciousness – this need to clean house as we emerge from the darkness of winter. When the sun shines brightly and highlights the smudges from months of wet weather on our window panes, we want those smudges wiped clean so we can see clearly beyond them. We want to be able to fully take in the beauty of the burgeoning springtime.

    And when we do clean our windows (and all the other grimy corners of our homes) we just feel so good afterwards. Lighter and brighter.

    Spring cleaning is the ancient precursor to the modern-day practice of decluttering, the benefits of which Marie Kondo is helping to bring into the mainstream. Decluttering is a whole other level of work that often needs to be done before we can even get to the spring cleaning. It has evolved from our insane levels of accumulating stuff.

    Most of this stuff we don’t need to live a functional and fulfilling life. However, its acquirement has been salving some part of our souls that have been crying out for something—and the stuff gives us a brief feeling of having satisfied that need. It’s because of this subconscious association between our stuff and our emotional needs, or our unhealed traumas, that decluttering can have such a life-changing effect.

    Truly, spring cleaning and decluttering does more for us than the obvious. The immediate, joyous effect is a beautiful calmness that descends on a room that’s recently been cleaned and cleared of cobwebs and unused, unloved stuff. But the long-term benefits can run much deeper.

    When we clear out our physical space we also clean up our energy—physical, spiritual and emotional.

    When we change our inner world it impacts on our outer world. And when we change our outer world it impacts on our inner world. Because our minds, bodies and spirits operate as an integrated whole, when we make improvements on one level we invariably start to experience improvements on other levels too.

    And so, if we’re feeling stuck in some area of our life, by clearing up our physical environment we can give ourselves the mental, spiritual or emotional boost we need to get unstuck and get going again.

    Here comes the science bit…(if you consider Feng Shui a science, that is—I prefer to look on it as an art).

    Feng Shui (pronounced Fung Shway) is an ancient Chinese practice of balancing the elements of the environment and optimizing the flow of energy or chi. An environment where the energy can flow freely allows for good health, wealth and relationships. And the converse also applies.

    Clutter causes the energy flow to stagnate, and the areas of our homes that are cluttered often represent corresponding areas in our lives where our energy may be stuck (and where circumstances may also be less than favorable).

    An achievable solution? Keep our home environment clean, organised and simple. Don’t overcrowd rooms, cupboards or drawers with furniture, books, clothing or any other apparel that we don’t actually use, or love.

    There’s a simple rule: have only what we need and adorn strictly with items we love. And nothing more!

    Poverty Consciousness versus Prosperity Consciousness.

    It’s certainly pleasing and comforting to look around our homes and see that we have plenty. That fosters a feeling of abundance. But when we have stuff jammed into cupboards and drawers that we can’t even access because they’re so full, then we have unnecessary excess. And far from fostering abundance, it actually blocks the flow of abundance.

    Ironically, hanging onto all our possessions regardless of whether or not we need them is known as poverty consciousness. Which simply means that we don’t trust that we will always have whatever resources we need, whenever we might happen to need them. Prosperity consciousness is trusting that whatever we need will always be available to us at the time we need it.

    So, instead of hanging onto something that we might need ‘someday’, the answer is to let it go. Trust that if you do ever need such an item in the future, either you will have plentiful resources to acquire another, or you will receive one as a gift at the perfect time.

    I used to be like a squirrel, afraid to throw things out in case I’d need and regret it later. I don’t do that anymore, and somehow or other I generally have what I need when I need it. (I might not always have what I want, but what I want isn’t always for my highest good!)

    Paring back our possessions to only those that we actually use and those that make our hearts sing doesn’t just lighten up our homes. It lightens our hearts too. So much of the unnecessary stuff that we accumulate is bound up with an emotional need or pain. Making the choice to let go of the items often brings up the pain. And when we sit with it for a while, acknowledge it, feel it, its grip on us starts to loosen. When we choose to let go of the item, we often let go of the pain too.

    And sometimes we can go through a massive clear out without the emotional stuff getting in the way of the clearing—but we still benefit from a freeing lightness anyway.

    Even if you don’t believe in the energetic principles of Feng Shui, living in a decluttered environment has many practical benefits:

    • Less items to accumulate dust makes it easier to clean and improves respiratory health issues.
    • Precious time is saved when we no longer need to hunt for items.
    • Decluttered spaces are calm spaces, and calm spaces are easier to relax in than busy ones.  They promote greater relaxation.
    • We can use our space and furniture properly—for example, sitting to eat at the dining table instead of balancing a plate on our lap because the table is buried under books, paperwork and ironing.
    • We can see all the clothes we own and access them more easily.  Although the quantity of our clothes will decrease, the variety of what we now wear will probably improve.

    When our homes only contain what we need for the day to day functioning of our lives, and just enough artistic and decorative pieces to give us a lift, we gift ourselves with a home that is so much more than a shelter from the world. It becomes a true sanctuary for our bodies, minds and souls.

    Piles of stuff that need to be sorted through, or cleared around, or moved when we need to get to whatever they’re blocking, is a constant drain on our energy—even if we’re not conscious of it.

    A home that makes our heart sing doesn’t need all that much. Simply surround yourself with items that you truly enjoy. Our home is our castle and it’s in our best interests to enable the energy to flow easily and make it as uplifting a space as possible.

    So, if you’re a bit of a squirrel, but skeptical of the energetic benefits, I challenge you to have a clear out of just one room of your home and pay attention to what you notice in your life afterwards. It will be an interesting experiment and all you have to lose is your clutter.

    First published on Elephant Journal

    Photo: Volha Flaxeco/Unsplash V

    If you’d like some help getting started with decluttering, why not join my free 30 day challenge.

  • Goodbye, Hello: How to Welcome in all that 2018 Offers us.

    Goodbye, Hello: How to Welcome in all that 2018 Offers us.

    Have you set yourself some big, hairy, audacious goals for this new year? Or some more gentle and mindful intentions?

    Hell bent on “out with the old, in with the new”?

    Whatever it is we desire for this year, if we want to invite new experiences and opportunities into our lives, we need to make space for them. All the goal-setting and visualisation in the world won’t make a difference if we don’t actually have the space to welcome in what we’re looking for.

    Space in our schedules.

    Space in our heads.

    Space in our hearts.

    And I know you’ll be tired of seeing this all over your newsfeed this month, but the best way to make space is to declutter. Start with your home, and allow the clearing habit to spread into all areas of your life.

    Making physical space in our homes magically helps to open up space in the non-physical (but critical) aspects of our lives.

    On the surface, this might seem to be crazy nonsense—but when we accept that everything is interconnected, that our outer world reflects our inner world and our inner world affects our outer world, it makes perfect sense.

    Try it and see.

    Decluttering our home creates a sense of well-being on all levels. We can physically relax more easily in an environment that is clear and uncluttered—and physical relaxation helps us to release mental and emotional stress.

    But on a deeper level, decluttering also helps us to release emotional attachments to people, experiences, and earlier phases of lives. These attachments keep us stuck, hindering us from living fully in the present or moving fully into the future.

    Letting go of stuff we’ve been hanging on to for far too long that doesn’t serve us now brings up the emotional attachments to be fully felt. And in fully feeling them, we can let them go.

    I don’t know anyone who has done a clearing out of their home and not felt better for it. Yet, I know from my own experience that just the thought of getting started can be overwhelming.

    To inspire myself to get going—because once we start, momentum takes over and makes it easier—I often revisit the first book that convinced me to declutter: Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston.

    There’s an abundance of other decluttering books to choose from, including Marie Kondo’s hugely popular The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. And there are also lots of online resources. I have joined 30-day e-courses in the past, in which you get a daily prompt to tackle a particular area of your home, and I have found them invaluable. And if you want to really take your time—with the benefit of going extra deep with the clearing—then I recommend signing up for Stephanie Bennett Vogt’s 365-day course, “A Year to Clear What is Holding You Back.”

    Whether you take the fast-and-furious or the slow-and-deep route, decluttering is the first step in creating sacred space in our homes. And turning our homes into a sacred sanctuary helps us to create the space in our heads and our hearts to truly welcome in all that we desire. I encourage you to give your goals, resolutions, and intentions the best chance possible by decluttering.

    Happy clearing and happy new year.

    First published on elephantjournal.com
    Image: Unsplash/Courtney Prather

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