July 25, 2008

Saturday was my garage sale and it was a success! We had an $800 day, which I'm told is very good for a garage sale. What isn't good is that we still have half of our stuff, primarily the big stuff, remaining. It's all stuff that I won't allow back into the house. And, our garage is still mostly full (we have not purged that yet), so the garage sale remainders, for the time being, are sitting in our yard. Tacky, tacky. I have some of the items on Freecycle that will hopefully be picked up by the end of the week. Everything else will have one more chance to sell at our final garage sale, hopefully at the end of August.
 
At this garage sale, we eliminated a lot of furniture (or, at least tried to eliminate a lot of furniture). This was the best thing we did. It's really opened up our house and made a huge difference. In our living room we had two couches, two side tables, two recliners, an entertainment center and an occassional chair. In actuality, Josh and I always sit in the recliners, and the kids sit on our favorite couch. So, we purged the not-favorite couch, one of the side tables, and the occassional chair. Instead of arranging the furniture in the one way that allows everything to be crammed into this room, we can now arrange the furniture in an appealing way.
 
We have a "craft room" in our house. This is a house with a dining room and a breakfast nook. Years ago we decided that we needed a place for me to sew and craft more than we needed two places to eat. Unfortunately, what has the potential for being the messiest room in the house is in one of the most prominent places. Our craft room had my sewing and quilting table, my cutting table, several floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a china cabinet, the kids' computer desk, and the kids' art table. It was really packed in there and uninviting. A disaster, really. I haven't sewn in quite awhile because of it. So, at the garage sale we sold the china cabinet (along with the contents of the china cabinet). Now the kids' craft table can go against the wall, and the whole room has opened up significantly and become usable again. Now I'm in the mood to finish my four-year-old's baby quilt!
 
For this garage sale, we also purged the baby furniture. For the first time in seven years, we no longer have a nursery in this house. When Josh disassembled the crib, I cried. Hard. It was the first time in all of House Purge that I got emotional. I've been warned by friends and family that getting rid of the crib only guarantees that I will be pregnant within two months. Uh-oh...
 
The other most substantial furniture purge was a pretty antique table that used to be next to our refridgerator, as part of our dining room. It served as a really useful place to put food during Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, but the rest of the year it simply was a place to collect papers, mail and junk. By getting rid of that table, we were able to move our Crystal Springs water despenser next to the refridgerator, in a place where we can actually get to it. Now we don't have to throw ourselves over several dining chairs to get a glass of clean water.
 
All of this furniture purging and rearranging has been really good for the Feng Shui of our house. Ok, stop laughing and hear me out with an open mind. Feng Shui really works.
 
Before kids when Josh and I were living in Boulder and had a seemingly endless amount of disposable income, we had a Feng Shui consultant come to our house. I was skeptical, but figured, "Why not?" I was doing it "for fun". Besides, to live in Boulder, you have to have a crazy body piercing, a tattoo, and/or a Feng Shui consultant.
 
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice believed to utilize the Laws of Heaven and Earth to optimize energy flow to help improve one's life. Modern enthusiasts view Feng Shui as a practice of arranging objects (such as furniture) to help people achieve their goals. Some people use Feng Shui when building a house, choosing a place to live, and even for agricultural planning. I used Feng Shui to make my house feel better. To give it a free facelift, if you will. Feng Shui is not a supersition, religion or philosophy. It's simply the art and science of living in harmony with your environment.
 
The Feng Shui consultant went through our Boulder house, took everything in, made some suggestions on the spot, and then provided us with a full report on changes we could make and why. Most of the changes were easy, quick, and simply involved rearranging or purging furniture. Most of it was to rearrange in brilliant ways we had never previously thought of on our own. Many things, she said, we were already doing right, because people's instincts guide them to proper Feng Shui in the first place. We did as many of her suggestions as were feasible, and our whole house felt so much better! It really does change the way you feel in the house. You probably have a favorite room in your house, and you probably have a least favorite room. There's a reason for it.
 
While I don't necessarily believe in the new-agey, cosimic side of Feng Shui, the concepts make a lot of sense to my science-oriented brain. I remember our office in that house was our least favorite room. The consultant said it was because the desks were arranged in such a way that our backs were to the door. She said it was bad "chi" (energy flow) to have your back to the door, because it, on a subconcious level, makes you feel cautious to not know if someone is coming in the door or watching you. Of course, I would never sit at my desk and have a hard time paying bills because I was "feeling cautious", but there was a barely noticeable uncomfortable feeling that I really couldn't pinpoint until we rearranged that office to have both desks facing the door. All I knew was that before I didn't like that room. Moving the desks to face the door was all it took, and then we loved spending time in that room. I notice in my living room in my current house that when guests walk in and have a choice between the couch facing the front door or the couch with their backs to the front door, they go for the couch facing the front door everytime. It's just a sense of unease we all feel that we can't put words to, that sometimes takes a Feng Shui consultant to point out to us. (Of course, now that I've purged a couch, I've made the choice for you... You have to sit with your back to the front door. Sounds like it might be time for another consultation.)
 
Feng Shui also believes in a balance of "fire", "earth, "water", "wood" and "metal". Certain colors, shapes, surroundings and materials fall into each of those categories. When you walk into a 70s house with wood floors, wood panelling, wood furniture, and wood decor, it often feels dark and even overbearing - it's because it's lacking balance. In Estes Park we have so many log homes, located in the woods, with aspen log furniture. People may not realize how unbalanced it is until they feel the difference by being in a balanced house. It doesn't mean you can't live in a log home with log furniture out in the woods, it just means that with a few mirrors, fabrics, colors, and decorations your log home can feel so much more at ease.
 
While you may think Feng Shui falls along the same lines of horoscope readings - something entertaining and fun, but not something you take seriously - I am here to tell you that it is something that makes a difference, plus it's entertaining and fun. Whether you believe in the Chinese practice or not, a room that is balanced and properly arranged just feels better. You can call it "good design" or "nice and open" or "positive energy" or "psychology" or "chromotherepy" or "nice stuff" or "clean" or "favorite room"... I call it all of those things, and therefore "good Feng Shui". I believe that the room follows the laws of good Feng Shui, and we didn't know it, analyze it, or even call it that. And, I believe that most of the laws of good Feng Shui we already know intuitively.
 
If you feel so inclined, I would encourage you to get a Feng Shui consultant to come to your house. At the very least you'll get some new decorating tips, new ideas on how to arrange your furniture, and some tips that make a lot of sense. At the most you'll transform your house into something that feels totally different and can positively impact the moods and health of the people living there. Humor yourself and try it! And be ready to purge that excess furniture. Excess furniture equals bad chi.
 
For more information about House Purge, visit www.HousePurge.com.