Seasonal Cleaning the Feng Shui Way

Everyone needs to do a thorough seasonal cleaning a couple of times a year just to get rid of dust and excess clutter. Even if you think your home is spotless, if you look closely, you can find a cobweb, some bit of clutter or a dirty window. When you do seasonal cleaning the Feng Shui way, you go beyond the normal pick-up, put-away, and scrub process. Cleaning the Feng Shui way not only eliminates dust, dirt and clutter, it also removes negativity, energy blocks and enhances good chi.

If at all possible, when you do your Feng Shui seasonal cleaning, involve the entire family and make it fun. Depending on the size of your home, the cleaning can take one to several days or even weeks. Give each member a list of chores and have a set time to start and complete the list. After the day’s chores have been completed, have a family fun time. This can be a movie together, a barbeque, game night or whatever your family likes to do for relaxation. Each evening, plan a different project and if you have teenagers, be sure to make at least one evening a time for each to do something with friends instead of with family. By involving the entire family, you are creating a positive bond and flow of energy.

Clean each room paying particular attention to the corners and hidden spots. Be sure to clean the windows inside and out since these are said to be the eyes of the home. Remove clutter and organize all areas. Don’t forget the garage, basement, attic and exterior areas since any dirt or clutter in those areas can affect the flow of positive energy in the entire home. I even like to detail my vehicles during the seasonal Feng Shui cleaning. For some reason, and I’m feeling it is because of good energy flow, a clean car runs better.

Once the entire home is clean and clutter free, use the Orange Peel Remedy (see my article, The Orange Peel Remedy) and spray around the entire exterior of the house and garage. I also like to spray the boundaries of the yard unless your yard is extremely huge.

Next, perform a smudging ceremony to cleanse, clear psychic clutter and restore positive energy to your home. There are two methods for performing a smudging ceremony; with smudging sticks or with incense. The smudging ceremony should take place as near the center of your home as possible. If your home is quite large, you can smudge each area separately.

If you use smudging sticks, choose sticks in an aroma that is pleasing to you and your family. To perform a smudging ceremony, place smudge sticks in a fireproof container and light with a match. Be very careful to place this container in an appropriate area where it won’t set curtains, furniture, etc. on fire. Once the smudge sticks are lit, smoke will begin to rise. As the smoke rises, wave your hand over the smoke in a clockwise manner to send it through the air. The entire ceremony only takes a few minutes. Once your home has been smudged, extinguish the smudge sticks by pushing the lit end into sand or by holding it under running water. Be sure the fire has completely extinguished before storing or disposing of the smudge sticks.

If you use incense in your smudging ceremony, you should choose incense with an aroma that is pleasing to you and your family. Simply place the incense stick or cone into an incense container and light with a match. Be very careful to place this container in an appropriate area where it won’t set curtains, furniture, etc. on fire. Once the smoke starts to rise, wave your hand over the smoke in a clockwise fashion to send it through the air. I prefer incense for my smudging ceremony unless a very traumatic negative event has occurred in my home.

In summary, a couple of times a year involve your family in a thorough seasonal Feng Shui cleaning of your home. Find ways to make this a special occasion for your family so they will look forward to the tasks and not create additional negative energy. Once the tasks are completed, perform a smudging ceremony to do a psychic cleaning and to restore positive energy to your home.