FENG WHAT? 
ANCIENT CHINESE OFFICE SPACE
Copyright May 2006 All contents are the work of the author unless otherwise credited

The Chinese "art of placement" is known as Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway). The translation is Wind (which symbolizes unseen hopes, goals and dreams) & Water (which symbolizes outward actions). When these two elements are combined they produce change. And change is almost always good.

That's all nice in theory, but when I started Bella Andre's online feng shui class, I wasn't convinced it would actually work. However, since my writing was at a stand still and my friend Shelly Bates swore Bella's class had helped her, I vowed to be open minded.

The thing I liked best about Bella's class was that she took a lot of New Age mystic premises and translated it into clear instructions: "Feng Shui helps you create your ideal environment to live, work and play in. Why? Because you take all the stuff out of it that you hate and bring in all the stuff you love. Couldn’t be simpler."

The basic premise of the class couldn't be simpler either- who the hell wants to work in a messy office? This is what my office looked like before I got into the home work (excuse the pun).

Pretty awful, I know. And it's no wonder I was constantly dragging my laptop out to the nice, clean dining room table or over to my mother-in-law's spotless house to work. It's hard to concentrate on creating when your surrounded by things that make you feel anxious and closed in.

So the first thing I had to learn was to Let Go. There was entirely too much clutter in my office- paperwork, junk, half-started projects, memos, keepsakes, and a lot of things that weren't even mine. I really needed to do this because there are days I actually dread coming home to face toys and clothes and papers and and and...

As we attempted to tame the clutter, Bella had us ask ourselves
Why do I have this?
Do I need it?
Does it work? 
Does it help me?
Do I love it? 
Is it a positive environmental affirmation? 
If I moved tomorrow, would I take it? 

For the majority of the stuff, my answer was no!