Here’s a special offer for all my Facebook, Twitter & Blog followers:
I’m offering free tickets for my Change Your Bedroom, Change Your Life workshop to the first five people to request them.
The workshop is on Sunday, 20 May, 10.00am – 4.30pm, at the Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham, UK.
Email info@spaceclearing.com to request your free ticket worth £60.
Offer ends at midnight UK time on 19 May 2012.
More info
About bedrooms
About the workshop
I wrote an article a while ago about how to leave an old home and find a new one. Here’s a lovely email I received recently from a woman called Melissa, describing how this worked for her and her partner. Thanks for taking the time to write to me, Melissa, and giving me permission to publish this.
Dear Karen,
I recently read Creating Sacred Space with Feng Shui, which was recommended to me by a dear friend who attended one of your workshops in Australia. My partner and I had been living in a share household for over a year, which originally we intended to be in for a couple of months. We’d just sold our home and planned to buy a new one, but things kept falling through. During this time of hiatus we kept treating our residence as temporary: we still had piles of stuff on the floor, our clothes on open racks, and we’d only unpacked one plate and set of cutlery each.
After starting to read your book, I noted your observation that it’s hard to move into another residence until you’ve settled in the existing one (or words to that effect). I also noted that the way our things were arranged (or more accurately, how they were NOT arranged) was having a negative effect on me.
So over a few weeks the piles of stuff on the floor went onto new shelves, our open clothes racks were covered with attractive pieces of material, and I cleaned every corner of our space, throwing out plenty as I went. I followed your suggested method for deciding what to get rid of, so instead of asking ‘Do I need this?’ I asked ‘How do I feel when I see/hold this?’ Many, many boxes and bags of things I thought I needed went off to charity.
Within a couple of weeks of completing the clutter clearing, an opportunity to buy the place of our dreams opened up. And I hadn’t even done a proper space clearing ceremony!
It’s now two months later and we’ve just moved in to our new home. Before moving in I did a space clearing ceremony at the new place and have noticed how quickly we’ve settled in. We’ve also slept really well from the beginning. Even our elderly cat is adjusting faster than ever to her new home!
I can’t thank you enough for sharing your knowledge. Many thanks also to my friend who recommended your book.
Melissa
Related blog
How to leave an old home and find a new one
What do your front door, your kitchen stove and your master bedroom have in common?
According to most feng shui experts, they are the three most important areas of your home to get right. If the design and energy flow of these areas works well, then it can go a long way towards compensating for any other deficiencies in the feng shui of a home.
Since most people spend a third of their lives in bed, their health, quality of sleep, love life, and many other aspects are affected by the energy of their bedroom on a very deep level. In my experience, the master bedroom is the most vital room in a home to get right, and if bedroom feng shui is the only feng shui you ever learn, it will hold you in good stead for the rest of your life.
So what are the key considerations when it comes to bedrooms?
Ideally, the master bedroom needs to be in the back half of the home, as far away from the front door as possible. Practically speaking, this makes good sense. The back half of the home is usually the quietest, most restful part of the building, on the opposite side to any passing traffic. But feng shui also looks at a person’s home as being a metaphor for their life, and it’s been found that when people sleep in this part of the home, they are also more able to see things coming in their life. They have more time to consider options to decide on the best course of action to take. People who sleep too close to the front door tend to find that things happen suddenly and take them by surprise. They may therefore miss opportunities and make choices they regret.
Bed positioning is also important. The ideal location for a master bed is diagonally opposite to the front door, with the head aligned to the back wall of the home or at a 90 degree angle to the front door. This gives you command of the whole home and the feeling of greatest security. In feng shui it’s known as the command position. It’s best not to sleep with your head pointing towards the direction of the front door. This is disempowering, and over a period of time it can lead to muscular tensions as the body twists during sleep to compensate, as well as a general feeling of life happening to you rather than you taking control of it.
Many feng shui books exlain that the best position for a bed in relation to the actual bedroom is on the opposite wall to the door (but not in line with the door), with a solid wall at the head of the bed, and a view of the door and all the windows in the room from the bed. Again, it’s all about finding the command position.
However, it’s not quite so straightforward as this because there are a number of other things to consider. The most important of these is geopathic stress, which is primarily caused by earth lines, underground water streams or geological faults. Every home has some geopathic stress but it’s not a problem unless it is very strong, or it is located in places where you spend extended periods of time, such as your bed. Scientific equipment has been developed in Germany to measure geopathic stress but it’s very expensive, still in the experimental stage, and not generally available yet. A much more affordable and immediate method of detecting it is dowsing.
In my work as a space clearing, clutter clearing and feng shui practitioner, I find that at least 30% of my clients are sleeping in a geopathically stressed location, which accounts for why they sleep so badly, have illnesses that never seem to improve even with treatment, and generally feel tired and unwell. It comes as a complete revelation to most of them that their bed position could be the cause of this.
Dowsing the lines in their bedroom and moving their bed to a new position is usually all that’s needed to resolve the problem. In parts of Germany, this is so well documented and understood that medical doctors routinely investigate to make sure a patient’s recovery is not being impeded by them sleeping in a geopathically stressed bedroom. I find it very curious that such a scientifically-minded nation regards this as essential information while the rest of the world either doubts it or is ignorant of it. The Germans are well ahead of the game on this one.
Over the years I’ve accumulated so much knowledge about bedrooms that I have put together a one-day workshop called Change Your Bedroom, Change Your Life. So far I’ve only taught it in San Francisco, London and Bali. On Sunday, 20 May 2012, I’ll be teaching it in Cheltenham, UK, for the first time ever.
“This workshop was packed with information,” said one previous participant, “and brought up hundreds of things about bedrooms I had never even considered before. I did not realise until today how bad a space I have been sleeping in.”
If you’re ready to learn how to improve your life through making some simple changes to your bedroom, do come along.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
The 2012 Home Improvement Survey just published by HSBC shows a list of recommendations for home owners wanting to sell. It’s no surprise that top of the list is clutter clearing, which 93% of experts agree makes a difference.
What’s interesting about this survey is how much the experts’ opinions differ from the home owners.
For example, only 23% of home owners think repainting the front door is important compared to 63% of experts. From a feng shui perspective, the front door is one of the top three most important areas of a home to get right (the other two are the kitchen stove and the master bedroom), so I’m definitely with the experts on this one.
I’m surprised to see there is no mention at all of smells, though, which I would place very high on the list of things to get right. And no mention of lighting either.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
Some people keep things, not because they themselves have any need for them, but because they want them to go to someone who will appreciate them.
This may be fine for a while, but holding on to something indefinitely means you become the obstacle to it finding a new lease of life with another person who will actually use it. Decades later, the item is still gathering dust in your home, when someone else could have been enjoying it all that time.
To perfectly illustrate this, here’s a lovely story that was sent to me today about just this topic:
“I recently decided to do a big cull of my books. I lay on my bed and pictured the ones that I would grab in a fire and sent the rest to a charity store (your book is one of five that survived).
But I had a problem. I’d saved my childhood stamp collection, which I was quite apathetic about. However I did have fond memories of my grandfather helping me with it, so for that reason alone I was feeling obligated to keep it. This prompted me to call him and have a chat. It turns out that as a young boy, when he was orphaned and had to catch a train to get to his sister’s house in the country, he had to sell his stamp collection to get the fare.
I posted him my collection on the understanding that if he didn’t want it, he could sell it or give it away (he is amazing at not hoarding so I wasn’t too worried that it would clutter his house). He was delighted to receive it, given his history with stamp collections and the fact that we worked on it together. But most importantly, me clearing the space on my bookshelf meant that I got to hear such an important story from my grandfather’s life. Priceless.”
Related topics
Clutter clearing books
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
The dreamcatcher in this photo may look very pretty, but if you hang it in your bedroom, guess what it does? Absolutely nothing except gather dust, cobwebs and etheric debris.
Originally used by Native Americans, who are said to have believed they could help to filter a person’s dreams, they are now sold in New Age stores as a kind of good luck charm.
One of the first things I suggest to people who have them and who need to do clutter clearing is to take them all down. They collect stagnant energy and clog the energy of a space, especially if hung in corners or near beds. And the downward-hanging shape pulls the energy of a space down, making clutter clearing harder to do.
They are a very good example of a so-called cure that causes more problems than it solves.
This may come as quite a surprise to some people, but for those who have perception, it will be a welcome breath of clarity and fresh air.
Related topics
Getting the right balance
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
There’s a bit of a hoo-hah going on here in the UK at the moment about a book written by Sophia Waugh, grand-daughter of Evelyn Waugh, which she gave to her friend, the famous chef, Nigella Lawson, complete with a dedication in the front. Somehow this book found its way to eBay, where a friend of Sophia’s bought it, told her about it, and Sophia decided to tweet about it to the world.
The story was picked up by national newspapers, with Katy Guest of the Independent commenting, “Giving away unwanted gifts ought to be a noble act of recycling and free from guilt.”
Absolutely. Just because someone gives you a gift, it doesn’t mean to say you are obliged to keep it for the rest of your life.
But apparently the emphasis of her statement was on the word ‘ought’. She then went on to say, “…but everyone knows that it is not. Giving away unwanted gifts is rejecting the warm feelings of the person who gave them, and giving away unwanted books is even worse… She [Nigella] of all people ought to know that you don’t give away books, no matter how tight your shelf space.”
Says who?
Imagine a world where it is FORBIDDEN to ever throw away a book that someone has given you, and the burden of having to buy or rent a home large enough to house your collection, even if you never read the darn things or have any interest in keeping them. Imagine the lengths you would eventually be forced to go to in order to avoid being given any more books. How ridiculous would that be?
And whatever happened to that age-old wisdom, “It’s the thought that counts”? The gift itself is immaterial.
The main thing to understand about gifts is that if someone truly cares about you, then surely the last thing they would want to do is give you something that becomes clutter in your life. They would want you to let it go. And if you really care about the giver, the last thing you would want to do is keep a gift out of obligation. Every time you look at it or think about it your energy will drop, and that’s what you’ll connect to rather than the love the gift was given with. It’s far better to let the item go and put fresh energy into the friendship instead.
I also don’t understand why there should be a special case for keeping books. I’m always delighted to find my own books in second hand book stores because I hope it means the person who originally bought it has now used the information in it and moved on.
Books really do have a shelf life (pun intended). I keep around me those that are useful in my life right now, and when I’m done with them, I let them go to make room for new books. Increasingly these are ebooks, which take up no shelf space at all and are much easier to search through, notate, and eventually delete or archive when their current usefulness comes to an end.
Related topics
What to do with unwanted gifts
One person’s clutter is another person’s treasure
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
It’s more widespread than I thought.
A man came to clean and restore the seats in my husband’s car recently. He travels all over South-West England to do this and is a master of his art. It’s amazing to watch him work.
And what he said as he was leaving was just as amazing. “You know,” he said, “I’ve been in business for 25 years and this is the first garage I have EVER seen that actually has cars in it!”
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a garage as a “building for housing a motor vehicle or vehicles”.
I think the time has come to redefine it, and here’s what I suggest: “A building designed for housing motor vehicles but more commonly used for storing clutter”.
And if this continues, perhaps a ‘b’ will need to be added to the middle of the word garage to truly reflect its modern-day purpose.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
Related post
Is your clutter worth more than your car?
Weeding a garden has many similarities to clutter clearing your home.
I was reflecting on this today as I was pulling out nettles. I thought I’d got rid of them from my garden last year but the roots go deep and they happily over-wintered and sprang back up. The same thing happens with clutter. If you don’t get to the source of the problem, it will just accumulate again.
On the other hand, to some people nettles are not weeds at all. I may not want them in my garden but to someone who loves nettle tea, they are a delight and a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Similarly, I may not want clutter in my house, but the things I get rid of may be just what someone else needs and wants.
Like weeding, clutter clearing needs to be done again and again.
And like weeding, you always feel better when you stand back and survey the results of your toil.
Many people tell me that after clutter clearing their home, they get inspired to start on their garden. It can also work the other way around – weed your garden and you’ll be more inclined to do the same in your home.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
Curious to know how clutter habits have changed in the last seven years since I taught a workshop in the UK, I began yesterday’s Clear Your Clutter & Reclaim Your Life workshop in Cheltenham with an anonymous survey of the participants.
This revealed that half the group had had clutter all their lives, and so had their parents before them. The rest had accumulated it over a few years as a result of having children, downsizing, or going through a big change of life they had found difficult to handle.
As usual, keeping things “just in case they come in useful one day” was the most common reason given for holding on to things, followed by sentimental attachment. But they all declared themselves ready for change, and we had a great day with some serious moments and plenty of laughter along the way. They left looking very motivated to go home and begin.
One woman has already written to say, “I was plotting all that needed decluttering all the way home. Today I have filled 5 bags of clothes/books/stuff (couldn’t wait to get going so went ahead without boxes this time) and am just waiting for my partner to return with the car so I can get the bags out of the house. I feel really motivated for the first time!”
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
Somehow the idea has been spread that green technology is both environmentally friendly and also a much healthier option. It’s assumed the two go hand in hand.
This is certainly true in relation to solar panels used to convert light into direct current (DC) electricity to heat water for domestic use or swimming pools. It’s an excellent idea.
The problems can start when the DC supply is converted to alternating current (AC) so that it can be used to power electrical equipment in the home such as televisions, fridges, computers, and so on. To do this, an inverter has to be installed, and what many people don’t realize is that to avoid any health effects from electromagnetic fields, it needs to be located at least 2 meters (approx. 6.5 feet) away from anywhere people spend much time, especially bedrooms. The same goes for the water pump. And cables running from the inverter need to be sheathed or placed inside metal conduits. Systems vary widely, so it’s advisable to test thoroughly with a good quality EMF meter before installing.
But this is only the beginning. Most inverters also create dirty electricity, which can have many health effects. Surplus electricity can be sold to a utility company and fed into a local or national grid, causing dirty electricity to spread to other people’s homes too. In many countries, governments actively encourage this by giving subsidies to people who want to participate in such a scheme. Ironically, they are usually the most environmentally responsible folk who genuinely want to help and have no idea this can have any side effects.
Then there is the problem of radio frequency (RF) radiation emitted by most inverters. People with electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS – approx. 3% of the population and rising) find this intolerable. In places such as New Jersey, where solar powered lighting linked to a smart grid has been extensively installed, some EHS people report they cannot even stand near to a street light without feeling debilitated. You’d certainly want to research your own level of sensitivity before spending a huge amount of money to install solar panels in your home and discover – as some people have – that you can’t stand to have the system turned on.
Like many technologies, it’s probably possible to design a solar panel system that does not generate high EMFs, dirty electricity or RFs, but it will cost more. It will therefore only be developed if people become aware of the problems and start asking for a better system that is both green and healthy. Hence this blog article.
Something also needs to be done about the eyesore solar panels create (see top photo), and I recently heard about a company in the UK that has done just that, winning the 2011 award for ‘Product Innovation of the Year’ at the Low Carbon Performance Awards. Solar Slate has designed solar panels that look just like ordinary roof slates, and blend in so well with the local envornment that they have received planning approval for installation on a Grade II listed property, which is extremely hard to get.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
Those of you who’ve met me know I’m not really interested in clutter at all. I write books and blogs about it but only with one goal in mind – to help people to let it go so they can get on with their lives.
The truth is, holding on to clutter is a huge waste of time and resources.
If you’re ready to move on, come and join me at the Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham for my Clear Your Clutter & Reclaim Your Life workshop next Sunday. You’ll leave wondering why on earth you ever thought it was such a good idea to keep so much stuff in the first place.
Some participants are coming from the Gloucestershire area, but most are travelling from various parts of Europe and the UK. There are just 9 tickets left.
If you live in or near Cheltenham, there’s also a Fast Track Clutter Clearing course that starts on 3 April and runs for four consecutive Tuesday evenings. The last group that took this course had a ball – you can read some of their comments here.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
It’s that time of year again when everyone and their auntie writes articles about springtime and clutter clearing, and how the two go hand in hand.
Reluctant as I am to add to the general throng, I have to admit it’s true. Those bursting buds and flowering blossoms awaken deep instincts in us to emerge from winter hibernation, dust everything down and begin anew.
Here in the UK, the daffodils are ablaze in every garden and roadside, trumpeting the arrival of the new cycle of seasons. You’d have to be pretty depressed not to be affected and impressed.
Snowdrops are white and cute, crocuses are multi-coloured and vibrant, but daffodils are to the garden what giraffes are to the animal world, with their long stalked heads and their eccentric design, bursting with the yellowest of yellows. They really get your attention. And they’re such an uplifting sight after a long, grey winter.
They’re bright, they’re perky, and they embody everything you can be too if you sweep through your home cleaning, dusting and clutter clearing with glee. It’s easier at this time of year than at any other, when the whole impulse of nature is with you.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
“I would like to know your view of keeping yearbooks,” one reader asks, who has clutter cleared a lot of photos but still has a couple of yearbooks from high school. ”I asked people I know well and they told me I should keep them. I don’t know what to do.”
I had to research this question before replying. I was brought up in England, have never seen a yearbook, and couldn’t imagine what use one could possibly be.
So that says something in itself. The only mementos I have from my school days are a few scanned photos of myself and my family, and I don’t feel the least bit deprived because that’s all I have. In fact, I’m sure my life would have been very different if I’d kept all my childhood stuff and tried to drag it around with me each time I moved. I wouldn’t have done half the things I’ve done or lived in many of the places I’ve lived.
My American friends tell me that yearbooks are part of the US and Canadian educational system, and they are usually very weighty volumes. Perhaps because they contain photos of people who were once friends, many people find it difficult to just throw them away.
These days, yearbooks are mostly done online, so the question about what to do with the printed editions is one that future generations won’t even ask. It will all be stored digitally, for better or for worse.
My advice for those who still have them and can’t quite bear to let them go is to get a sharp knife, a paper cutter, and a double-sided scanner. Cut open the yearbook binding, trim any frayed pages, and then feed them all through the machine. The best reasonably-priced scanner I’ve found is the Fujitsu ScanSnap. It can scan 20 pages per minute, double-sided and in full colour while you get on with your life.
If the binding is very thick, you may want to take your yearbooks to a printing company and pay them to slice them open using one of their big commercial guillotines. This will give you a much neater edge for easier scanning too.
You can store the resulting pdf file on your computer and probably never look at it again, but at least you’ll know it’s there if you ever want it, and it won’t be taking up space in your home. Check the copyright information page at www.yearbookdigital.com before you do this to make sure your yearbooks are in the public domain and scanning them will not infringe any US copyright laws.
Is it worth the time and expense? Probably not, but these days a scanner is an essential piece of equipment for anyone wanting to run a paper-free office, so if you’re going to use it for that purpose too, it would be a very worthwhile investment. I’ll be writing another blog on that topic soon.
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012
Here’s an inspiring story published in The Telegraph and Daily Mail today about 19-year old Ryan Kitching, who lives in Scotland. After persistent nagging from his mother, he tidied up his bedroom and found a bunch of lottery tickets, including one that won him £52,981.
“Next time she nags me to tidy my room I won’t need telling twice,” he said.
Many people have let me know over the years about money they’ve made from cleaning and tidying their stuff. What items do you have in your home that could be worth money instead of just gathering dust?
Copyright © Karen Kingston 2012