your favorite ways to shui!

last year, i asked readers: what are the rituals you’ve learned here that you keep doing because they work?

and in no particular order, here is what everyone said:

“walk your house every morning and night.” this ritual keeps your energy engaged in the space and develops a deeper relationship with your house. much of the shui work we do focuses on the quality of energy in our home. however, if we let spaces just sit – no matter how beautiful they might look – they exact an energetic toll. think about a healthy river. it is flowing, teeming with life. if it hits dry patches, it loses force being absorbed into the earth. for it to flow again, it requires a surge of water. energy in your house is very similar. and walking it – easy and free – is a simple way to keep the tide high.

“sweep.” there is the actual act of it – clearing the porch or entry, but the ritual of it says two things. (1) i’m clearing out the old to make room for the new. and. (2) i’m creating space to welcome the very best energy available. people often do this one with such healthy skepticism – but when something “delightfully unexpected” lands, they can’t wait to tell me how sure they were it wouldn’t work.

“declutter.” the things in our lives – all of it – have two possibilities: they are either enhancing our quality of life (we call that a deposit) or they are interfering with it (we call that a withdrawal). it is SO important to know that no matter the cost of something, if you are not loving, using, needing, or appreciating what you have, it is taking energy from you. this is exactly why the spark joy movement lit a fire across the nation – because clutter is a buzzkill.

“do something nice for your home consistently.” think of your home as a family member, and realize you are part of its life, too. when we love our homes, that energy is reciprocated back. so, make a gesture weekly. for me, it is flowers. and if we go back to the beginning of what i personally did to turn the tide when i was brand new to shui, it was buy flowers. it felt indulgent. it felt ridiculous to spend the money we really didn’t have. but my home felt better, and our lives did, in fact, change completely. xo