Spring is a time of renewal and rejuvenation. The trees are showing their tiniest first buds, the sunlight lingers a little longer each day, and in general, the weather is much more cooperative. Taking a cue from Mother Nature, this is a perfect opportunity to clear out the depths of winter and invite fresh spring energy into your space, especially now that most are sheltering and spending more time at home. And although things feel uncertain, there is plenty of time to make your home feel more welcome. Here are a few of my favorite feng shui ideas to freshen the energy in my home and life.
Declutter
Do an overall scan of your house and take it one room at a time. What are you ready to let go of? Perhaps it is just as simple as a candle that invokes a negative memory. Perhaps it's a painting that you are just tired of. Forget the fact that you spent a lot of money framing it. If it's time to go, let it go. Clean out your pantry, medicine cabinets. Throw away anything expired or ignored. Clean out the literal and figurative cobwebs, no matter their location.
Open your windows
If the weather is nice, open all of the windows in your house. Open the front door and any other doors to the outside for a bit, and take a minute to envision your home or office filling up with fresh spring air, clearing out all of the winter stagnation. If you can leave the windows open all day, do it!
Re-evaluate your clothes
If you have a spring bucket of clothes stored somewhere, bring it out. As you add springier clothes to your closet and remove the heavy winter gear, I challenge you to get rid of 5 items of clothing. Maybe it's something you haven't worn in a while. It could be something you love, but need to face up to the fact that it has lost its shape and just doesn't look nice anymore. I like to use this time to evaluate both warm and cold weather clothes to see if they still works for me. If it doesn't, toss it!
Move things around
Sometimes a small shift in decor, or maybe furniture can make a huge difference in space renewal. I spent a weekend re-hanging paintings in different areas of my house and was amazed at how much better I felt. Not only that, but I realized how they could serve better in another area of the feng shui bagua.
And wow, what a difference! A friend came into my house the next day and said my
home felt different. She recognized that it didn't look like anything new was added; it just felt different, better.
Bring in fresh flowers or plants
This sounds cliché, but spring is truly about growth and renewal. What better way to honor this by adding live foliage. If you have a brown thumb, never fear, try something small and fairly easy like bamboo (I say fairly easy because it is possible to kill bamboo, yes, I'm speaking from personal experience).
Re-connect with nature
Go outside and be in nature. Even if this means just walking in your back yard with bare feet, so you can feel the first green blades of grass emerging. Go hug a tree. Yeah I said it, hug a tree; don't be afraid to be the crazy person in the park. You'll be surprised how good it actually feels. Winter is fabulous for cocooning yourself inside, but now it is time to get out and breathe the fresh air. If you have a windowless office, it's even more crucial to get outside when you can. Even if you don't smoke, take a "smoke break" and soak in a little vitamin D.
Whatever your spring rituals may be, now is the time to invite in new energy. Please share a comment and let me know some of your favorite ways to invite spring energy into your home and life.
Happy Spring Equinox!