No one's a stranger to the "new year, new me" philosophy; in a sense, everyone's eager to start fresh and become better versions of themselves come January 1st. This involves setting big goals, building novel habits, and changing up the things in one's surroundings like clothes or home décor.
Personal spaces can benefit from an intentional design process, and feng shui is a fantastic philosophy to emulate if you wish to invite positivity into your home life. Feng shui is all about balance, mindfulness, and good energy as related to the harmony among the 5 Taoist elements. It is in this harmony that you can find stability in your life.
So go ahead and try your hand at this Chinese philosophy and see how it can positively affect your everyday experience. And if you're not familiar with the practice at all, the new year should be a good start. Here are 6 tips inspired by feng shui to set you up for prosperity in the new year.
Tip 1: Do a major clean.
In preparation for the year ahead, it's crucial that you take time to clean your entire house and other personal spaces. Doing so cleanses the space of negative energy and bad luck that accumulated the year prior.
Do your laundry, sweep the floor, and declutter a few days before New Year's Eve. This not only allows you to fully focus on the celebrations ahead, but also helps you rid of past baggage and make way for the good fortune to enter your home. If you're particular about cleaning following feng shui principles (i.e. qi cleansing ritual), must know that there are auspicious dates and a proper cleansing procedure that many use when spring cleaning.
New Year's Day is a day reserved for celebration. No cleaning must be done during this day as it is believed that the cleaning process strips you from all the good luck you called during the festivities. Sweeping the floor means sweeping luck away from the home and washing clothes means "washing for the dead."
As a good rule of thumb, avoid any cleaning activity during the first few days of the new year. And as the year progresses, make small cleaning a daily habit so clutter doesn't ever pile up. This is especially important for your windows, the entryway, and kitchen, where good fortune and abundance enter and reside.
Tip 2: Enjoy great food with family and friends.
It's important in Chinese culture that you celebrate major occasions like the New Year — especially meals — with your family as a sign of the intimacy and close relationship you share. For New Year's Eve in particular, it's expected that you ring in the new year with your loved ones.
During New Year's Day, it's imperative that you open your home to only the important people in your life. Doing so is said to strengthen your meaningful relationships.
For the days following January 1st, it's highly recommended that you schedule gatherings with friends and colleagues. Enjoying each other's company with good food predicts affection and camaraderie among people.
Tip 3: Bring in all the reds.
It's no secret that the Chinese opt to wear red when celebrating any joyous occasion. For the New Year, red is known to bring the person an energetic and happy future.
Implement red in your holiday décor and overall interior ornamentation for the new year, and don't be shy about adding the fiery hue to your wardrobe and other articles. If you're not big on Chinese lanterns, there are other ways to make this power red your own. Candles and smaller textiles like runners are perfect for when you just want a splash of red in your home.
On the flipside, avoid decorating and surrounding yourself with "sadder" colors like white, black or dull and dark neutrals. These are colors associated with mourning, and may attract unwanted negativity to your home in the new year.
Tip 4: Inject some gold into your space.
Gold is the penultimate symbol of wealth and prosperity, which is why many Chinese figurines have the shiny metal in their make or painted. Gold is a mainstay in luxe interior design for this very reason as well, especially as it pair wells with royal and jewel tones.
To invite serious fortune into your space, don't be afraid to use gold in large-scale furniture pieces like sofas or cabinets, and even hanging artwork or sculptures. Just make sure to follow the flow prescribed in feng shui philosophy when placing these bigger home items.
Tip 5: Go heavy on water and wood.
In feng shui, there is a need to balance all 5 elements of nature — earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. That said, you may choose to focus heavily on incorporating water and wood elements to your space given the qualities associated with them. Wood signifies life and growth, while water connotes abundance and good energy flow.
Good luck charms can be attached to wooden furniture or indoor plants to stimulate wealth in a space. Additionally, setting up a water fountain or aquarium helps drive the flow of fortune into the home. If you're into natural imagery, maybe incorporate a painting of fish to attract auspicious energy. It may also play to your advantage to have both wood and water elements feeding into each other, like plants surrounding a koi fish lake.
Tip 6: Embrace the great outdoors.
Like the idea of bringing in wood indoors, there's good luck in surrounding yourself with natural elements. If you're fortunate enough to have outdoor space, there's no reason why you can't be celebrating New Year's Eve in your patio or garden. Doing so not only gets you a helping of fresh air, but also gives you an expanded space to play around and entertain guests.
If you're stuck indoors, you can still introduce nature by investing in indoor plants and flowers. Flora, specifically bulbs like daffodils, are known to be auspicious, while jade plants and money trees are associated with — well — money.
As you reflect on the tasks that you need to do in preparation for 2022, there's no need to be so serious about the tips above especially if you don't think they mesh well with your overall interior design style. At the end of the day it's you who makes your own luck. But following one or a few of these ideas shouldn't be of any harm if it makes sense in your space, and may even inspire you to take charge of the year ahead.