Making An Entrance
I don't know about your house, but when summer strikes here, life throws me a curve ball. While I relish lazy summer mornings and warm lingering evenings (after all, isn't that precisely what summer is for?), my house takes a beating. What once was calm becomes chaotic: the laundry multiplies exponentially, piles of random things warp into mountains overnight, and everywhere I cast my eyes I see something needing, rather begging, my attention. I literally take more deep breaths during the summer than any other time of year.
And since I feel summer's beginnings in the air, I am embarking on a deep clean around my place. The plan: evaluate each room in my house, determine its priorities as we approach the mother of all breaks, and freshen it up accordingly. The beauty of a deep clean is if you manage to do it well the first time, you can get by with a quick wipe down and straightening up in those last-minute, unexpected pinches we can find ourselves in…especially during the summer months.
First on my list? The front and back entryways. That's it? you may question. Yes. Remember, in feng shui, your front door is one of the 3 most important areas of your home. The front door is where opportunities and possibilities come to you. Or as Edith Wharton explains, "The main purpose of a door is to admit, its secondary purpose to exclude." Exactly. As for the back door, let me just say a backyard symbolically represents the future so the wise, prudent choice here is to make yours inviting and attractive. Care to follow in my footsteps?
Here is my "TO DO" list for the week:
(1) Sweep the front porch and back patio. Clear away all the winter and early spring debris.
(2) Replace any unhealthy foliage. Plant something new. Incorporate more color and fragrance.
(3) Wipe down doors and hardware.
(4) Clean light fixtures. Replace any burned out bulbs.
(5) Rinse off outdoor furniture and rugs.
(6) Freshen up garden beds with new bark.
(7) Assess curb appeal.
A few other suggestions: Clear all clutter around the doors, both inside and outside. Replace your doormat if it is fairly worn out. Make sure your address can be seen from the street. Trim back anything overgrown, including the yard. Weed, if necessary. Fix anything broken or squeaky. And, by all means, use your front door at least once a day.
Your front and back doors are the transitional thresholds from the outer world into your inner sanctum. Make every effort to have what is inside and out provide a sense of promise and safety. If your space feels inviting and welcoming, you create tremendous potential for you and yours. And that's a very worthwhile investment, wouldn't you agree?
