Chapter 2: THE PROBLEM WITH CLUTTER

In the course of doing Feng Shui, Space Clearing and Clutter Clearing consultations, I have the opportunity to visit many homes and poke about in places people would never let me otherwise. As a result of this unusual (and sometimes dubious!) privilege I have been able to identify and verify the type of problems clutter causes.

Clutter and Feng Shui

It is important to realize how fundamentally intrinsic clutter clearing is to the whole practice of Feng Shui. Most books on the subject mention it only in passing or not at all. Perhaps they assume their readers have already dealt with this issue, but of course the truth is that most have not.

I do not consider clutter clearing to be one process and Feng Shui to be another. I have come to realize that clutter clearing is one of the most powerful, transformative aspects of Feng Shui there is, and in most cases, Feng Shui cures and enhancements are at best only minimally effective until this has been done.

If you have already been using Feng Shui for years without knowing this you will be delighted at the energy upsurge clearing your clutter will bring about, and if you are new to Feng Shui, you will be pleasantly surprised to realize that the first and most important steps to learning these arts are already well within your reach.

Clutter Is Stuck Energy

The word ‘clutter’ derives from the Middle English word ‘clotter’, which means to coagulate – and that’s about as stuck as you can get.

Clutter accumulates when energy stagnates, and likewise, energy stagnates when clutter accumulates. So the clutter begins as a symptom of what is happening with you in your life and then becomes part of the problem itself because the more of it you have, the more stagnant energy it attracts to itself.

You know what it is like. You are walking down the street and you see that someone has thoughtlessly thrown an empty cigarette packet in a corner near the roadside. The next day you walk past the same spot, and the empty pack has been joined by a few more items of rubbish. Before long it becomes a full-blown garbage dump. Clutter accumulates in the same way in your home. It starts with a bit and then it slowly, insidiously, grows and grows – and so does the stagnant energy around it, which then has a corresponding stagnating effect on your life.

If you somehow get your life moving again, you will instinctively want to clear the clutter out of your home and make a fresh start. It will feel like the obvious thing to do. So one approach to clearing clutter is to embark on a course of self-improvement and wait until you get to the stage where you just can’t stand having clutter around you any more. There are many self-improvement books you can read and courses you can take (and I certainly recommend that you do) but it can take a while for you to get inspired enough to clear your clutter taking this route.

What I am teaching in this book is a new approach – sorting out your life by sorting out your junk, which results in a tremendous renewal of your life force energy. This is something practical and tangible you can do to actively help yourself.

Stuck Energy Is Very Sticky

This is why it is easy to let your clutter stay put. You have to have some pretty good reasons to rouse yourself enough to do anything about it. That’s what the next chapter's about.