Feng Shui My Mudroom

[Edward Swanson]

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice of balancing energies in your
surroundings. According to the complex teachings of Feng Shui, you
should surround yourself with balanced, purposely placed items to
ensure a lifetime of good health, good fortune and wealth. Now, who
ever thought of applying Feng Shui principals in your mudroom? We did
and I will tell you why. Your mudroom is usually where you enter and
exit your home. Everyone in the family uses this area as a catch-all
for shoes, mail, trash, book bags, purses, cell phones, keys, coats
and whatever else they might be carrying as they are coming and going.
An area that gets this much attention should be given the same in
return.
When you enter your home, you are immediately impacted by you
surroundings. Your psyche picks up on things like clutter and filth.
This can put you instantly into a stressed state and affect your mood
for hours. Now, would not you rather be put into a peaceful motivated
mood every time you enter or exit your house? What about the whole
family? Imagine if everyone came and went in a pleasant mood, ready to
take on the world or have a relaxing time with the rest of the family?
It is strange that we have not put more thought into using Feng Shui
in the most visited area of our home.
Well, it is time to get to it. The best way, especially if you are new
to Feng Shui, is to start very basic. Clean up the area and clear out
the clutter. You want to create a clean, light atmosphere. This can
involve investing in some nice tile or high traffic carpet. You may
also want to add some storage space to your mudroom. Pre-fabricated
wood cabinets are an easy and inexpensive way to hide away
necessities. Consider baskets or bins for each family member. Another
option is to buy some nice wide boards and mount them on the wall with
some nice brackets. Baskets on these shelves will be easily
accessible. Your family can simply toss in their keys, purse, mail, or
whatever they happen to be carrying.
Adding an electronics station is a very good idea as well. Get an
electrician to add an outlet or two at about eye level by the door.
All of your phone chargers and MP3 chargers can be kept up on this
shelf. Bind the cords together and leave the ends free for each family
member to plug in their phones as soon as they walk in the door. This
way, they are always charged, a bonus for safety when leaving the
house, and they are never lost. This simple step can save you lots of
time when you are leaving in a hurry. Install small hooks for keys
under the shelf and make the shelf big enough for wallets as well.
Coat hooks are nice for coats, scarves and book bags, but having too
much sticking out from the walls can make an area still seem
cluttered. Consider hanging a bar and investing in some nice wooden
hangers to finish out the upper area of the mudroom.
Clearing out the clutter and organizing the space is the first step to
Feng Shui your mudroom. You can get into more advanced techniques
later, but just this little bit of revamping can change the stress
levels in your home and get your life moving in the right direction.