People commonly mistake organizing with rigidity. Having things tidy seems like it must be solid and form fitting. I imagine most people picture labels, boxes, and items in neat little rows when they visualize organized space. While order can certainly look stiff at times, I want to assure you, the best feeling organization is flexible- constantly moving, changing, and transforming. February 5this the Lunar New Year, which amplifies fresh start energy. Are you feeling like a fresh, more flexible, start???
My living rooms are constantly changing. Friends and family occasionally poke fun at me, because moving furniture and other stuff is my pastime. I am “playing house” by arranging and rearranging my home. Many things call for a new spot and influence my living space, examples include: seasonal decorations, children’s growth spurts, new items, released items, and temporary items. I love moving things, but I also recognize it can be difficult to have flexibility with these moves. A fresh idea can spark changes that snowball into many areas of a home. I frequently have days I call “when you give a mouse a cookie day” where moving one thing turns into restocking, revamping, and cleaning out multiple spaces.
It is a Feng Shui basic to set up your environment to mimic nature. One of my favorite books is, “Feng Shui That Makes Sense” by Cathleen McCandless. She writes, “Scientific studies have proven time and time again that plants, images, and materials from nature reduce stress, promote healing, increase productivity, and provide a greater sense of well-being in humans.” The natural world is constantly transforming through both growth and destruction, and ideally our living areas reflect and support us through these changes.
The concept of yin and yang offers insight into the energetic shifts we all experience. McCandless says, “Yin represents energy that’s feminine, dark, damp, soft, and still. Yang represents energy that is male, bright, dry, hard, and active. When these two energies are equally present, harmony and balance are also present… The changing of the seasons provides a perfect example of the shifting between yin and yang energies over time.”Summer is a hot and bright yang season. Autumn is a transitional time of balance between yin and yang. Winter is a cold, damp, and dark yin season. And spring brings back the light to equalize yin and yang again. During each season your home can help balance yin and yang energy by flexing in a multitude of ways. A home can be brighter in winter with holiday lights or cooler in summer with water elements.
I think settling into a home takes about a year, because each season calls for different things. Finding the “sweet spot” for each item in your home can require time, trial, and error. It’s not just having bins for seasonal decorations; it’s learning to move your things in sensible ways to embrace the season. Having your stuff in easy to access and move places can increase enjoyment levels greatly. Also, clearingclutter opens up space for the flexibility life requires! McCandless writes “When you have too much clutter in your home, the flow of energy cannot circulate and begins to stagnate. The more stuff, the more stagnation, and the less your life flows and flourishes… What’s Clutter? Clutter is anything that you don’t want, love, need, or use…Clutter is postponed decision-making.”
I like to give myself time to both make decisions and be inspired. When figuring out how to arrange my home I make lists, take pictures, look up project specific ideas, and sometimes draw things out before starting. And during the process I remind myself to stay flexible. Organizing can be fun, flexible, and inspired! Allow the ebb and flow of things to move energy in new ways. Go ahead, rearrange the living room.
Love Always,
Meg
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