Melissa needed a Feng Shui room makeover to turn her extra bedroom into a craft room where she could work on all of her hobbies, and even start selling her creations. But the room was filled with so much old furniture, boxes, and files that she didn’t know where to start. Melissa loved crafts of all kinds, and that resulted in an organization problem for her collection of yarn, fabric, buttons, beads, and much more. To make things worse, the walls of her room were a sad, faded beige color that long ago needed repainting. Further compounding the problems, Melissa had been keeping her cat’s litter box in the room. A serious Feng Shui clutter-clearing was necessary for this makeover to create the peaceful, creative space that Melissa so badly wanted.

When Melissa called me for her Feng Shui room makeover, the first thing I did was explain my Five Step Clutter Clearing process, and how it would help her determine what was clutter and what was a “keeper.” Then, we started to create her dream room. Here is some of the advice I gave to Melissa:

Remove the Clutter. Clutter, and especially items that have unhappy memories attached to them, carry negative energy that keeps you from moving forward. So the first thing we did was get rid of everything Melissa no longer liked, wanted, or needed. For example, some of the boxes in Melissa’s room held photographs and mementos from former boyfriends, the files were from past jobs, and the furniture was from previous apartments and no longer fit her style. Then, we added beautiful baskets, colorful storage containers, and new shelving to hold the things she still loved. All of her crafting supplies went into clearly marked storage containers.

Choose the Right Wall Color. In Feng Shui, color is used to represent and balance the Five Elements -- Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood. I recommended that Melissa paint the walls a cheerful shade of yellow, and add accents in blue. Yellow is the Feng Shui Earth Element, so choosing this sunny tone for Melissa’s room not only brightened the space, but encouraged creativity. We chose sky blue as an accent color above her beautiful new shelves, which is the Water Element that represents flow and movement into her creative projects.

Display Crystals. Melissa found her collection of crystals buried in one of her boxes, so we displayed them on her windowsill. Crystals can be used in Feng Shui to circulate energy, either by slowing down or speeding up the chi around you. Crystals can also be used to enhance a positive situation, as Melissa did, by placing them where they would throw beautiful, rainbow light around the room to spark her creativity.

Grow Plants. Melissa moved some of the herb plants from her kitchen and placed them on the windowsill of her craft room to connect her to the natural world. She chose lavender because of its lovely smell. Melissa was lucky that she had ample light in the room to make her herbs thrive; however, if she didn’t have enough light, she could have surrounded herself with fresh cut flowers or silk plants.

Consider Pets. Pets bring lively, yang energy to any space. But while Melissa’s creative space would be enriched by having her cat “visit” while she was working, her creative energy would be diminished if she continued to keep the cat’s litter box in her creative retreat. According to Feng Shui principles, a litter box should be kept in the garage, basement, or large bathroom, but never in a bedroom or personal space. Melissa moved the litter to the basement.

After two weeks of following the 5 Step Clutter Clearing Process, painting, and adding storage, Melissa's creative space became a reality.


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