I did a massive cleaning/clearing project last week! It was motivated by a couple of feng shui questions. I’d wondered if I needed a remedy for the iron security bars on my windows and sliding glass doors. (Yeah, I’m from Miami.) I learned the remedy is what I’d already done: soften the inside with window treatments, and the outside with bird feeders and tall plants that move in the wind. I also wondered how might I lay out my feng shui bagua if I have an integral garage? I have a built in two car garage, so it is in the No. 6 Helpful friends, Travel and Guides sector. I read that entering through a messy utility space “can lead to issues such as always putting other people’s needs before your own.” I had an awakening in that moment. I went out to the garage, which I’d last cleaned in 2011. I could get to everything, but it was in much disarray. I’d slowly let it become a real mess, and I walked past my garbage bins, pest control, tools every time I came in the house. Enough! I moved the car out and took photos of the garage, my “before” photos. The next morning, I began moving everything out of the garage and onto the driveway. That’s the fastest way for me to organize — clear and clean the room, then decide what goes back in there.
I set up my trash and recycle bins, and set up a table in a staging area. Everything out, I swept the floor and cleaned it. My main storage unit is a frame made of two by fours, with waferboard shelves. I shored it up with a few 1x2s to keep the shelves from sagging in the middle, and I sanded and painted all the wood white. It was looking better already.
While the paint dried, I began sorting and discarding. I have plenty of paint and painting supplies, caulking, tile adhesives, joint compound. I have plenty of metal shelving brackets, gardening supplies, automotive, tools, small bins of sorted nuts, bolts, screws, nails, scraps of wood all sizes.
I filled two bins each of trash and recycle. I spent an hour breaking down cardboard boxes. I was getting a good arm and shoulder workout. The paint dry, I began putting things back on the shelves. I had plenty of room. I stacked my long wooden shelves by size along one wall. I stacked my various lengths of wood and scrap wood on a rolling cart that made it easy to see at a glance what I have.
0rganized!
I moved the garbage and recycle bins to the passenger side of the garage, and I made my entrance into the house a welcoming, ordered space. I made it easy to ride the bikes in and out. Much better feng shui! Now, as I drive up and come in the new entryway, I feel welcome, I feel invited, I feel like someone has created the space for me to be there. It feels more like home than it has in a long time.