What We're Reading: Simple Shui for Every Day: 365 Ways to Feng Shui Your Life by Amanda Gibby Peters - April

We’re on a 3-month streak sharing our monthly tips from our favorite book Simple Shui for Every Day: 365 Ways to Feng Shui Your Life by Amanda Gibby Peters. Below are some of the feng shui tips we incorporated throughout the month of April.

The short version is Amanda is the "Martha Stewart of Feng Shui". Amanda makes Feng Shui more digestible and accessible with a "home improvement-meets-self empowerment” approach. 

---

Here are some of the practices we incorporated in our home throughout April:

April 1

Adding water to your front door will welcome more money into your life, so we pulled out the birdbath and added it to the right of the front door. 

April 9

The kitchen nourishes and replenishes you so it should be free of clutter. We did a quick edit of the kitchen, tackling easy wins first - expired items, take-out utensils and sauce packets, mismatched Tupperware. 

Take a look at our quick decluttering checklist for more inspiration

April 12

A mirror amplifies what it reflects so make sure it’s dusted and that it’s reflecting something inspiring or beautiful, not a pile of laundry or stack of papers. We’re guilty of this so we moved that laundry basket far away from the mirror’s reflection. We don’t need to double our to-do list.

April 17

When you’re an entrepreneur it’s hard to shut off your work brain. And it’s even harder when your office is in your home. Try shutting your office door when you’ve clocked out for the day. This will keep your work from spilling into your personal life. 

April 21

Keep the toilet seats down and covered to eliminate energy drains. 

April 22

Add more red to your life and home. It’s a power color that promotes energy, courage, and attraction. We have bright red kitchen chairs that we were going to replace but we’ll keep them for a little longer now that we know this! 

April 24

Your clothing relates to your identity and personality so when we’re working with clients' wardrobes we always ask them to think about who they want to be and how specific clothing makes them feel. If the item doesn’t make them feel their best or doesn’t represent the version they want to be then we encourage them to let it go. Amanda suggests leaving a little open space in your closet to attract new things - a fun tip we started using this spring. 

April 28

Our backyard is one giant hill and it’s very challenging to use (it’s a real uphill struggle - ha!) Amanda’s remedy to counteract this energy - adding a flag pole or a weathervane to the property! So now we’re on the hunt for a funky weathervane - any ideas? 

April 29

Ah, our favorite April suggestion….Get rid of 27 things! Yes, 27! It’s the quickest way to change the energy of your space. Why 27? It’s a powerful number in feng shui - we can talk more about that later. If removing 27 items from your life seems too daunting, try moving 27 items instead. 

---

disclaimer:

If you purchase from one of our LTK links, we may earn a small commission.

Tidy Tips: Energy Clearing

Everything you’re bringing from outside will impact the energy of a space, including guests (invited or uninvited!) The events within the home will add energy- an illness, strong emotions like anger, grief or depression, or a party, celebration or other kind of ritual.

Have you ever had an argument and felt the tension in the room sort of lingering afterwards?

We ask a lot of our spaces, energetically and functionally, especially now that we’re spending more time in our homes. Our home, our office or any space we spend significant time in, should bring peace and positive energy. But let’s face it, we dump a lot of energy into these spaces which can already have old, stagnant or even negative energy that is hard to shake. Whether it’s a home that still has the previous owners energy, a cluttered space you just can’t get ahold of or a room that just witnessed an argument, spaces need to be cleared frequently.

There are many ways to do this and there are no right or wrong techniques. Below are some ways we like to clear energy in a room.

Remove Trash & Clutter

Remove obvious trash, clutter and broken items. Clutter drags down the energy in a room. Trash and broken items create difficulty for energy to flow through your space.

Open The Windows

Open the windows and allow fresh air into your space!

Use Lemon Oil

Wipe down surfaces with a mixture of lemon essential oil and water. Don’t forget door knobs, door frames, window sills and window frames - doors and windows are where outside energy enters your home so it’s important to keep these spaces clean. Plus any citrus scents are energizing and purifying.

Burn Herbs, Wood Or Incense

Burn your choice of herbs, wood or incense - just make sure it was sustainably sourced as many of these smoke cleansing tools have been harvested unethically. We like to start in the doorway of the room and walk around counter clockwise to clear negative energy wafting the smoke in all the corners of the room and then again clockwise to bring in positive energy.

Ring A Bell

If you’re sensitive to smoke/ smell, try ringing a bell or even clapping three times in each or the corners to break up the stagnant energy.

Add Crystals

Add a piece of selenite to your windowsill, an amethyst in your bedroom or black tourmaline by your entryway.

Add Salt

Add a small bowl of salt to the corners of the room and let it sit for 48 hours then discard back to the earth. The salt can act as a magnet pulling out any negative energy that is lingering.

Create Intentions

Create an intention for each space and recite it while doing one of the techniques above. Think about the intention of each room when creating your mantra. For example: “I release the stagnant energy from this space and invite in new opportunities for my best and highest good.”

---

---

Tidy Tips: Best Crystals For The Home

We (okay, just Shannon & Marilyn) are big believers of the power of crystal healing so if you think they are just rocks you might want to skip this one. 

If you don’t know Shannon well, she has an extensive crystal collection. We’re talking about over 100 crystal specimens displayed in her office - some are display pieces, some are in jewelry form, some are eye masks and beauty tools, some go in her water bottle, some are strategically placed in corners of the house… can you see Jared’s eyes rolling…

Basically, she has a crystal for everything - just give her an ailment or a problem you’re trying to sold and she’ll prescribe a crystal.

This goes for the home too! Here’s her crystal recommendation for select rooms in the house:

Crystal: Selenite

Space: Living Room 

Healing: Use in corners of your home or on your window sill to protect your space from unwanted energy.

Crystal: Amethyst

Space: Bedroom

Healing: Place next to your bed to calm emotional energy and encourage restful sleep.

Crystal: Black Tourmaline

Space: Front Door 

Healing: Add this near your front door or entrances to ​​protect negative thoughts, patterns and energies from entering your home.

Crystal: Rose Quartz

Space: Kitchen

Healing: Incorporate this into your kitchen as it’s the universal love stone and the kitchen is the heart of the home.

Crystal: Clear Quartz

Space: Bathroom

Healing: This crystal clears and purifies physical and energetic bodies so place in your shower, next to your bathtub or on your vanity for some extra cleansing.

Crystal: Shungite

Space: Office

Healing: Place next to your electronics or computer as it absorbs electromagnetic frequencies (EMF) and will keep you grounded while you’re working.