I am currently reading a great book called Feng Shui for Health- The Anatomy of a Home by Nancy Santo Pietro.   Other Feng Shui experts I have talked with and books and articles that I have read agree that we create significant mental and emotional distress by living with a lot of clutter in our homes and offices.  Sato Pietro, however, takes this idea to a whole other level, seeing clutter as instigating, prolonging, and exacerbating physical health issues.  One of the analogies she uses is clutter as high cholesterol or plaque, blocking the arteries of our life.

 We can be completely in synch with the natural cycle of the seasons as we start to deal with the unneeded “stuff” in our garages, under our beds, and in our basements!

Chinese Medicine links the idea of clutter to the proper functioning of the Large Intestine, the “Drainer of the Dregs” of the body.  We understand that we need a healthy colon to eliminate waste products from our body on a regular basis.  Without this function, our body becomes heavy and stagnant.  Unexpelled waste can eventually turn toxic and create a host of other problems.  The same holds true on an energetic level.  We need to be able to easily eliminate material things that we no longer need, belief systems that no longer hold value for us, and habits that no longer serve a healthy purpose.  Clutter is a manifestation of this– my clients who describe their closets overflowing with stuff they never wear, dining room tables piled high with papers, and medicine cabinets filled with outdated prescriptions also express frustration at feeling stuck in their lives, as though they cannot move forward.

Autumn is great time to face and begin to deal with the clutter in our homes and offices.  Nature is already busy with that task – shedding leaves, withering grass, and getting rid of what is not needed for the upcoming winter season.  We can be completely in synch with the natural cycle of the seasons as we start to deal with the unneeded “stuff” in our garages, under our beds, and in our basements!

Santo Pietro goes into great detail about how the location and type of clutter in your home can impact specific aspects of your physical and mental health.  She offers some practical steps for getting your clutter under control.   Acupuncture treatment can also help, by strengthening the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of your Large Intestine energy.  It can support you as you release the things that are clogging up your life, preventing the smooth, easy flow of health and happiness.  

Here is something you can do for yourself.  DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IF YOU ARE PREGNANT OR THINK YOU MAY BE PREGNANT.  Place your right thumb on your left palm, right where the bones of the thumb and the index finger meet in the “web” of the hand.  Place your right index finger on the outside of your left hand in the same place.  Squeeze your thumb and index finger together, and you should feel a little twinge of energy.  This is the acupuncture point called “The Great Eliminator.” Rubbing or applying pressure to this point is useful any time you are trying to get rid of something in your life that you no longer need. 

Use The Great Eliminator to help get you motivated.  Start with one drawer, cabinet, or closet. Understand that you are not only clearing the physical space of your home, but you are setting the stage for better physical and mental health.