Spring Cleaning: Do-It-Yourself Space Clearing

Christan Hummel

Spring is here, and it's time to clear out the old energies of the past to create a fresh space for the new seeds of our intentions to sprout. What better place to start than in our own homes.

While feng shui and space clearing have become a multi-billion dollar industry catering to the likes of corporate CEOs as well as Hollywood celebrities, there are some simple techniques that you can use to spring clean the energies of your home and prepare the space energetically for the warm days ahead. These simple space clearing tips empower you to sweep out the old vibrational imprints of the past and make way for the new growth of spring in your environment.

1. Clutter. To our subconscious mind, clutter triggers images of stagnation, stuck energy and places where life doesn't move. It usually represents the things we are resisting and where we don't want to put our attention. Simply put, clean out the clutter - the piles of laundry, papers, boxes, mail. Dive into your clutter like a heat-seeking missile. Put it away, find a home for it. If you use a pendulum or dowsing, you can use those techniques to help make decisions about keeping or recycling the clutter. Once you move that dead energy in your home, you will be surprised at how it moves in your life.
2. Corners. Keep corners free of clutter because here the life energy or chi of your environment comes to a halt like traffic at a four-way stop sign. Co-create with your environment to discover plants, artwork or objects that move the energy in your corners: the running water of a fountain, the flow of air represented by wind chimes, or even the life sustaining energy of a plant can be enough to keep the energy moving and flowing instead of stagnating in your corners.
3. Closets. Clean them out! They are the bowels of our homes, the storage bins for old, dead energy. If you don't use it, lose it. Keep your closets clean, neat and free of unwanted, old, unused items. Yes, you looked marvelous in that dress you've been holding on to for the last five years, and one day you'll lose that extra 10 pounds and will fit in it again, but for now, give it to a friend or family member who can use it.
4. Ceremony. Ceremony is a time when we honor life, the seasons and those aspects of living beyond the physical. It reminds us of a vastness of life beyond our immediate attention. By making time for ceremony in your life and your home, you open a doorway to allowing fresh new ideas, inspiration and energies to flow into your home.
   Create a ceremonial act that matches your personal energies and the energies of your space to inaugurate spring's new growth. It could be as simple as a ribbon-cutting ceremony to initiate the new energies of your home or even popping open champagne to signify spring's arrival. Even the simple ceremony of smudging a new dwelling can be quite profound when done with an awareness of the intention. Burn a candle each night and ceremonially let worries burn in the fire, clearing your home of the burdens of the day.
5. Consciousness. Where you put your consciousness, you put your life energy. Find the places in your home that you pretend are not there, such as closets, corners and dead zones. It could be a room once occupied by a parent who has passed away or a child now living at college, or even the junk pile in the kitchen that calls out for help. Put your consciousness into that space with intention and ceremony, and notice that energy flows where attention goes.
6. Cycles. There is a rhythm to life, a time for growth and a time for death. Cycles are important to observe. Moon cycles are often used for planting, cutting hair or beginning new projects. Similarly, observe the cycles of the sun and be more active during the daylight hours and wind down in the evening when there is less energy available. When we are in tune with these cycles of nature, we find more harmony and balance in our lives. Spring is a natural time go forward and celebrate the energies coming out of the hibernation of winter.

With a small investment of energy and focus, you can dramatically change the energies of your environment, making your home a sanctuary to reflect your highest intentions and dreams.

Christan Hummel is the author of Do-It-Yourself Space Clearing Kit. She travels internationally lecturing and teaching people how to access nature in a co-creative spirit. Visit www.earthtransitions.com.