simple shui | a fresh take on back-to-school
social media has been chirping this week with photos o’plenty {mine included} of little birdies leaving summer’s nest for school. whenever the winds of change howl, i use a little shui magic to carry me and my canaries along the way. so, if you feel your brood could use a little more courage and a little less roar in the days + months ahead, these shui moves will pamper those intentions!
BEGIN WITH A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP.
fears at bedtime competing with sweet zzzz’s? have a conversation with your little, and encourage her to pick out a ‘protector.’ this could be a stuffed animal, a statue, a photo, a flashlight – anything that says safety to her. place it near the bed. and if she fancies the idea, move her bed into a corner – for anyone under the age of 10, sleeping against two walls offers the reassurance of being safely nestled into a nook. punctuate the room with happy photos of you, grandparents, or loved ones – this is a subtle reminder of her secure place in a happy family. and it creates a loving embrace for her to sink into at night.
if your little is more tween to teen-ish, it’s time to pull the bed away from the wall {if he hasn’t already}. when wings start flapping with burgeoning independence, open space on both sides of a bed provides a feeling of freedom. and if clutter is camping out around him, resist the urge to invade! clutter in adolescence fuels a sense of security. teenagers have little control at this point in their lives – school, money, and personal independence are all dictated by others. so, allow him this rebellion. if you clean it up, it leaves him feeling exposed + powerless. instead of battling the room, set some house rules that are non-negotiable to you; insist the clutter stays within his space; and trust this phase will pass.
MASTER YOUR RATIOS.
in shui, the number of doors to windows in a home is believed to affect family dynamics. why? doors represent the voice of parents; windows represent the littles’ and not-so-littles’ voices. and if there are more windows than doors {by a 3:1 ratio}, you might notice competing opinions + back-talk coming from your kids. likewise, if the windows are bigger than the doors, the kids could ignore your input + seem rebellious. a quick fix is to hang a set of bells on a door so that when it opens, the ‘door’ is heard by the ‘windows,’ giving your voice the widest range of them all.
LAY A GOOD FOUNDATION.
on average, we spend a third of our lives in bed – so, if you’d like a simple, go-to space clearing for the kiddos’ bedrooms, let’s take it to the mattress. fill a mason jar with baking soda. add in several drops of your favorite essential oils, if you’d like – we use lavender + rosemary. put a lid on it and shake well.
strip the bed(s) – everything that is washable, pillows included, goes off to be laundered.
sprinkle the baking soda mixture generously over the mattress and let it sit for at least an hour {i sometimes leave it for several hours}. when you are ready to vacuum up the mixture, visually section off the mattress into 4 quadrants. vacuum each quadrant in 3 different directions. not only does this ensure all the powder is removed, this deep cleanse draws out moisture + dirt + energetic mites.
once all the bedding + linens are washed, make the bed with your little. as you fluff the bed, encourage your sunbeam to set some intentions. i’ve been guiding our lovelies through this for years using the shui map as goal + life aspiration inspo. what feels wonky at first, if used as a yearly ritual, soon becomes a natural part of their thought process. the time they spend one-on-one with you becomes a simple way to reset their energy. and it re-calibrates the promise and potency of a fresh start. a perfect concoction as the new school year bell rings!
and from our house to yours, here’s to a year filled with peace + LOVE + all that good stuff in between! xo
p.s. with the kiddos back in school, now is the PERFECT time to make most of the calm before the holiday storm. so, if you’ve wanted to invite some magic your way, polish up your soul goals with one {or all} of my workbooks! each one is filled with plenty of shui ideas + home inspo to get your house in great shape + energize YOU! and for all of you who’ve dived into them, i feel like putting on a party dress when i hear the delicious deets about shui in your world. thank you!
p.p.s. i’m tweaking my newsletter template, adding in a few new sections. while i am elbow deep in that process, i would LOVE to hear from YOU! talk to me — what would you like to see included? email me or reply in the comments below! and if you haven’t signed up yet, somersault on over + join the fun!
