Decluttering Feng Shui Style

It is two weeks until the garage sale, my deadline for getting my house decluttered. I'll be honest - for the last few months I've done nothing. I'm in major need of motivation, so it is perfect that I happened to come across this unpublished piece I wrote back in January - it is just what I need to get back in purging mode...

My friend Amy has transformed her life by embracing Buddhism and Feng Shui. She suggested starting the new year with the Feng Shui practice of eliminating nine things a day for nine days to make room for new positive energy in your life.

It is also common Feng Shui practice to acknowledge and appreciate the purpose an item served in your life when you let it go, hence the list that follows.

4 baby blankets given to a friend with a new baby boy - I remember cuddling my little guy in these blankets and how soft and warm they were for both of us.

10 baby outfits given to a family member with a baby boy - my boy brought life to each of these outfits for such a short time before growing too big, it's wonderful that someone else can wear them now.

1 dead Christmas tree - for one month in our house it provided a focal point for a very joyful season.

1 broken vacuum - the first vacuum we bought as a couple, helped us keep the carpets clean in our very first home. Why it's stayed in the closet for years I just don't know.

10 outfits I no longer wear - I remember the phases of my life when I chose each outfit. How spoiled I am to have clothes designed as much for fashion as function.

5 broken Barbie dolls - broken because of many hours of play from my girls - possibly the hardest things to let go because they still "love" the dolls even with the missing arms, legs or head.

1 bag of random toy pieces - ugh - I hope they provided some fun for my kids at one point. I mostly just remember them as being scattered around the house where they didn't belong.

3 bags of store returns - Not Christmas gifts I got, rather gifts I purchased but then decided to give something else instead. These gave me peace of mind that I at least had *something* if the perfect thing never came along.

1 electric clothes drying rack - this was a Christmas gift and it is a good reminder of who I don't want to become. Excess is what I am trying to get rid of and electricity is what I am trying not to waste.

1 pizza cooker - Another gift that falls in the same category as that last. My oven works just fine and we just really don't need to be eating that much pizza.

3 games with missing pieces - These missing pieces may actually be in the bag of junk noted above, but not worth the search. Fun at the time, but just taking up space now.

1 stack of old magazines - I love to read and surely got pleasure from these pages. But recycling them felt so good because hording things like magazines is definitely one of my pack rat issues.

1 bag of plastic dishes - Many meals were served to my kids on these - hopefully not too many chemicals were served at the same time.

2 coats - A warm coat on a cold day is worth so much. I'm glad I had these to wear and I hope they will provide comfort to someone else now.

5 pairs of worn out shoes - These served me well as I wore them to the ground! Not even in condition to donate. I like that.

That did feel good! I now welcome the positive energy (and the organized house).

25% Off At The Zimmermans

The curse of online shopping is most definitely the resulting fire hose of email sales promotions. At this moment, Toys R Us is particularly driving me crazy. I’m sorry; I’m just not interested in your deal of the day AGAIN!

I’m simply not inspired to shop. And it’s not about spending money. I hate buying gifts just to give gifts. I don’t like the trend my family has taken of basically telling each other what to buy. Certain unnamed family members (by marriage) literally provide SKU numbers for the gifts they want. A couple years ago they even bought the gifts and just asked us to give them the cash. That’s when I surrendered to the fact that we have very different ideas of Christmas and I’m not going to let them spoil mine.

Moreover, I just have no desire to add more junk to our overflowing house. I am telling my family to please not buy me gifts, and really, the kids need nothing (read: keep it small, I’m begging you!).

Instead of standing in line for Zhu Zhu Pets or seeking out the best deal, this year I am spending my time purging. I have set the goal to reduce the contents of my house by 25 percent. (Really, it’s that bad.)

I’ve been honest here before that household organization is not my strong point. (Remember my tribute to Organized Audrey?) It was no joke when I said I am serious about it this time. I have spent a lot of time planning what needs to be done, and the bottom line is that there is no way to maintain this house in an orderly manner when it is completely packed with stuff. Really, how can I organize a closet that I can’t even shut?!

I have set a deadline of May 1 to complete this project. Our city-wide garage sale is the following weekend and my neighbors can look forward to a quarter of our possessions piled on the driveway up for grabs.

I’ve already started on the kitchen and the kids toys, and it’s been incredibly refreshing work so far. I’m not brave enough yet to post before and after pictures, but here’s a shot of the recently decluttered toy cabinet. The board games alone were a several-hour project – finding missing pieces and taping up boxes. Not fun work when I was drowning in piles of homeless junk, but worth the effort in the end. Sometimes now I open the cabinet just to look at the perfectly stacked boxes. (Maybe I need to get a life?)

I am quite confident that I purged a quarter of the toys from the main level of our house last weekend – and all of those I removed had not been played with in at least a year! I truly believe I could cut a fourth of our possessions without anyone in my family noticing. But I can guarantee that they will notice the result. I think it's going to be better than Christmas!