Interior Alignment, founded by Denise Linn, blends the best of Eastern feng shui and the esoteric arts of many indigenous cultures with Western practicality and flexibility. Instinctive Feng Shui works with Native American teachings, Celtic symbolism, traditional as well as contemporary feng shui practices, Western astrology and healthy home concepts.  Visit www.interioralignment.com for more information.

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Nobody likes clutter. So why is it so hard to get rid of it? Psychologically, two factors are usually at work: a failure to honor our own instincts about what we do and don’t want in our lives, and a fear of scarcity. On a practical level, of course, we let clutter stick around because it’s time-consuming to address and—unlike doing laundry or paying bills—it can be put off indefinitely.

From a feng shui perspective, however, clutter constantly undermines every part of our lives. Clutter accumulation in a home is akin to cholesterol buildup on the arterial walls: life goes on, but the chronic blockage puts greater and greater pressure on the system. If you’ve ever felt like keeping the house clean is a losing battle, or noticed that your progress toward your goals seems perpetually blocked, clutter may be the culprit. It makes almost everything you do take a little longer, and contributes to an underlying sense of disorder that sabotages your goals. Just think about the deeply invalidating messages you send yourself each time you pass by that overcrowded desk or out-of-control laundry area: "I just can’t seem to get it together…I’m so disorganized."

Most feng shui practitioners agree that clutter affects your health and financial well-being, too. According to tradition, the flow of life force energy (called ch’i) throughout the home influences everything from the flow of resources into residents’ lives to the flow of blood and lymph within their bodies. If ch’i traveling through the home is constricted by overcrowded rooms or closets, we would expect to see corresponding constriction in the occupants’ physical health and/or financial lives.

Here’s the good news: once you’ve made up your mind to face it, a few simple strategies can greatly increase your clutter clearing power.

1. Define your objective. Don’t skip this step! Take five minutes to write out your long-term objective for clutter clearing and the benefits you expect to reap from it; for example, "This house contains only items we love and use. We make exciting progress toward our personal goals and enjoy radiant health and prosperity."

2. Create a blueprint. For your first task, choose a small place in the house to designate as the blueprint for your new, clutter-free home. Pick an area you see every day, such as your sock drawer or spice cabinet. Rigorously weed out anything and everything that’s not loved or used regularly, and then arrange the rest in a user-friendly and aesthetically satisfying way. (If you’re uncertain of whether to get rid of something, ask yourself, "Does this item bring my energy up or down when I see it?") Once you’ve completed the "blueprint," take frequent notice of it and absorb the new, empowering message it transmits: "I’m the kind of person who gets things done…My life is in order."

3. Manage your time carefully. Once you launch into clearing out the rest of the house, strict time management will keep you from getting bogged down or discouraged. Decide on your top priorities. What will make the biggest difference in your daily life? For many people, eliminating clutter from work surfaces such as countertops, desks and workbenches will provide the biggest payoff in terms of improving efficiency and eliminating triggers of stress. When you’re ready to get to work, decide how much time you can spend and set a timer to go off halfway through that period. Spend the first half of your time sorting items into categories: Discard, Donate, Put Away, etcetera. When the timer goes off, stop sorting and devote the rest of your time to bringing the items in each category wherever they need to go.

4. Reminisce some other time. Getting all of your old love letters or family photographs perfectly sorted is a pleasant activity, but it will absolutely thwart the completion of any other task you’re trying to accomplish. When you come across a stack of children’s drawings or some other sentimental item, refuse to be sidetracked. Put the items aside in a box and enjoy sorting through them on a lazy afternoon or a special occasion, such as Mother’s Day.

5. Cut a deal. If you share your living space with other people, there’s a good chance that their clutter bothers you at least as much as your own. Negotiate with your cohabitants to find the deal that best motivates each of you. Your partner could commit to fill one donation box with old sporting equipment and gadgets for each boxful of crafting supplies you eliminate. Alternatively, you might agree on a reward for the family member who manages to part with the most clothing or the most junk paper. If you live alone, partner up with a motivated friend or family member and commit together to a weekly or monthly clutter-clearing quota.

Congratulations! If you’ve read this far, you’re serious about freeing yourself from the burden of clutter. These strategies won’t clear it away for you, but they will absolutely ensure that you make tangible progress in a reasonable amount of time. Of course, it’s not a bad idea to implement some kind of reward system to keep yourself going once the initial fervor fades. You might look forward to a hot bath at the end of each clearing session, and an overnight getaway or professional massage upon completion of your first major goal.

Most important, allowing yourself to fully experience the effects of your progress guarantees that you won’t run out of steam anytime soon. Does the whole house feel lighter? Do you notice that you work more effectively at the desk than before, or get more pleasure out of using your kitchen? Give yourself a round of applause. Eliminating clutter isn’t easy work, but it’s one of the most powerful steps you can take to improve your well-being.

Tasseli McKay, MPH, CPFS is a professional feng shui consultant based in Bynum, NC. She offers consultations and workshops throughout central North Carolina, and can be reached at tm@clearingtheway.org or via her website, www.clearingtheway.org.

Chances are you’ve experienced the satisfaction of entering a quiet room and closing the door behind you. Instantly, those four steady walls set the clamor of people and tasks firmly into the background. For a moment, you can return to a sense of yourself as distinct from other people, independent from obligations and to-do lists. This kind of experience hints at how powerfully our personal boundaries are wrapped up in the physical boundaries that define our homes.

According to feng shui tradition, the state of a home’s doors, windows, plumbing and wiring are all intertwined with personal boundaries—the way the occupants relate to one another and the outside world. Doors are the mouths of the home and relate to communication and energy exchange, while windows represent perception: how you see others and how they see you. Plumbing directs the flow of water in a home, which symbolizes the emotions. Leaks suggest a chronic, emotionally draining situation, while blockage suggests old or bottled-up emotion that needs to be released. The home’s electrical systems, our modern "fire," represents personal will and action as well as reactivity to others. Frequent blown fuses, for example, can indicate over-reactivity.

Personal possessions, too, carry strong symbolism with regard to interpersonal boundaries and discernment. A home filled with furniture from a former marriage, or a bedroom dominated by photographs of in-laws, each raise questions about how much these particular relationships are being allowed to rule one’s present family life. The presence of almost anything that isn’t loved or used regularly, even if it was a gift, is also worth examining: is too much space (time, energy) being given to people or things that aren’t truly important? Finally, the state of the home’s exterior and yard is linked to the exterior image its occupants present to the world—be it sloppy and uncontained, rigidly manicured, or a confident reflection of the inner nature.

Examining the home and surroundings through the lens of these symbolic associations can yield useful insights about your personal boundaries and the way they shape your relations with everyone from family members to passing acquaintances. And by actively harnessing this symbolic connection, you can open the door to powerful transformation in your sense of self and every relationship in your life.

To better develop your personal boundaries using feng shui, try the following:

1) Reflect. Take a look at the current state of affairs in your home. Consider your home as a symbolic map of your personal boundaries, and notice what may need changing. For example, a broken door latch might suggest difficulties in saying "no" or refusing unwanted influences, while dirty windows could point to a lack of discernment or an inability to see people or situations as they truly are.

2) Revise. Once you’ve identified your problem areas, create a clear written intention for change. In the above example, new intentions might include "I make discerning choices about the people and environments with which I surround myself," or "I see and accept others as they are."

3) Repair. Empower your good intentions by taking action to fix the problem area(s) you identified in Step One. Tackle small, inexpensive projects first. If it’s carried out with clarity of purpose and a positive, pro-active attitude, giving away an unwanted item or fixing a wobbly doorknob can be the feng shui equivalent of a major home improvement.

Tasseli McKay, MPH, CPFS is a professional feng shui consultant based in Bynum, NC. She offers consultations and workshops throughout North Carolina. Tasseli can be reached at tm@clearingtheway.org or via her website, www.clearingtheway.org.

Send mail to tm@clearingtheway.org with questions or comments about this website.  Last modified: 02/08/07.      Sunflower photo courtesy of J. Gregor:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/barton.