“Help”,cried by client Sharon, on the phone. “My parents just moved a 2,000 square foot house full of 40 years of stuff into their new 900 square foot apartment. They can hardly find a place to sit. Can you help them Feng Shui?”
I always have to sigh when I get these phone calls. It reminds me of a cartoon I saw once of a giant toy being stuffed in to a small cardboard box. I can stack it, shrink it, squish it, pile it and box it but I can’t make 2,000 square feet of stuff fit in to a 900 square foot space! Nobody can – but I see people trying to do it all the time. That’s why I like to teach my downsized senior clients the fine art of Feng Shui.
Feng Shui is an ancient philosophy that considers all objects to contain energy, called Chi. When Chi is in balance (Harmony:Ying/Yang) it contribute to health and happiness. The opposite can also be true. When the Chi is too cluttered, it becomes agitated and flows too quickly. It can also be so densely packed that it is stifled and dead. This could be compared to either living in the middle of a hurricane or in a buried in a dung heap. Clients living in bad Chi feel stressed, agitated, unhappy and often physically unwell and they don’t realize why. Out of balance Chi is a very harmful thing.
At long last, Feng Shui has been accepted as mainstream! Large corporations and business superstars have employed Feng Shui principles to increase their profits. Architects are employing Feng Shui principles. Even prisons are finding that Feng Shui decreases violent behavior. How amazing is that?
Feng Shui means “wind” and water”. Thus, energy should flow gently and easily as if it were water and air. Imagine gentle breezes and soft flowing streams, not rocking canyons with rapids or dust storms and stagnant swamps. Look at the space and decide where air and water would get stuck and stifled. If you can’t walk there, the air and water can’t flow there either!
So how can Feng Shui help Seniors? First and foremost, too much stuff is a traffic hazard. Seniors can easily trip and fall. Too much stuff means too many things to dust – causing respiratory issues. My senior service colleagues have told me many sad stories about seniors being injured in their cluttered homes- the end result being permanent skilled nursing!
Feng Shui is all about flow. Take a look at your beloved senior’s traffic patterns in their home. Are they having to squeeze by a coffee table with their walkers? Get rid of the coffee table. Perhaps it is time to pack up some collections that are now gathering dust? Seniors often keep heaters blasting and their windows closed, causing stifled air.
Are there dark corners in their home? Adding light to those spaces makes them not only more beautiful, but safer too.
Broken anything is very bad Chi. What needs fixing in the home? Are all the appliances working? Get rid of what cannot be fixed. This will improve energy flow and remove fire hazardsw.
There are many easy and inexpensive solutions to improve the Feng Shui in a home. Do it now and then take time to enjoy the new positive flowing energy and safety in your beloved senior’s space.
Marilyn Ellis, Author, Speaker, Professional Organizer, Senior Move Manager and Business Development Coach, loves working with senior clients and their families. She also coaches individuals and companies on how to grow their senior service businesses. For three FREE reports on how to become part of the growing senior care industry, visit her website at http://www.movemomanddad.com .