Feng Shui in the Midwest Styled Home

When most people think of the interior style of many rural Midwestern homes, Native American and "country" themes, quilts and dried flower wreaths, often come to mind. The Chinese art of feng shui is unknown, or misunderstood, in some areas of rural America, but these homes, and those inhabiting them, could benefit greatly from the balance and positive energy that could be found by tweaking their homes with a little feng shui.

All feng shui principles do not have to be used. Some of the feng shui principles share advice that all Americans need in their lives and most cannot find. You do not have to believe that wood in the southeast corner of your room will bring you prosperity to understand that less stuff crammed onto your kitchen table will make you feel better.

Homes should feel welcoming and relaxing but many walk into their homes and feel just as stressed as they do when they walk into work. Laundry piles up, magazines lay scattered on the floor, drawers won't close because they are over full. Getting rid of those items you do not use or need anymore, can leave you more time and energy for other things in your life.

Look around your house and see what you can purge. Just think how much better you'll feel without so many items to clean or step over! Those ceramic cats may have been cute in the store but fifty of them on a shelf begin to look cluttered, not to mention scary, and dream catchers are an interesting idea until you have ten in your living room window. To make purging easier go through your collection and see which of the items actually have a memory attached to them. The ceramic cat you received from your granddaughter has a sentiment attached to it that the ten cats you got for three dollars at your neighbors garage sale do not. Keep the dream catcher you bought on your first family road trip to New Mexico but ditch the rest.

Having less sitting around your home means less for you to clean (who really wants to dust fifty cats?) and more time for you to spend doing things you enjoy. Feng shui states that keeping areas organized gives more positive energy to a home. Who wouldn't be more positive with a cleaner house to come home to?

Feng shui also discusses the importance of being clean and organized in certain areas over others such as the bedroom. Feng shui mentions taking the television out of the bedroom, a staple in many Midwestern homes, to rid the bedroom of the negative energies it puts off. Negative energies or not, a bedroom of peace and quiet without the noise and distractions of the rest of our lives would help many to relax more and sleep better.

The flow of positive energy is often spoken of in Feng shui. This can easily be seen in the natural flow of your house. Is your home broken up into sections with each room having a different color in flooring and on the walls? When you enter a room do you have to go around a piece of furniture? Having one room blend softly into the next can create a more unified space. Shifting furniture can change your whole outlook if the next time you bring in the groceries you don't have to go around the couch as you make the trip from the car to kitchen.

No matter what your decorating style, adding a little feng shui to your home can be an easy task that could make your life easier and in turn give you a more positive outlook and more energy to live the kind of life you want.