Is your garage being used to store the cars it was designed to protect, OR is it packed with things that you think you are banishing from your home and your thoughts, but instead are creating stuck energy in your life?
Don’t let a garage that’s packed with stuff drain your good energy. If  your home has  an attached garage it becomes is an integral part of the Feng Shui of your home and needs to be included in the Bagua Map and cared for just as you care for the other important spaces in your life. If its nonattached but adjacent it can still act as a drain, similar to a messy, cluttered garden area.
Feng Shui uses the Bagua (Ba-gua) Map to identify the important facets of your life represented by areas in your home.  The Bagua comes from the Chinese philosophy, “The I Ching,” and literally means “eight trigrams” with the center as the source for grounding.
Think of your garage as an important room in your home that requires warmth, support and nourishment.
Wherever your garage resides, (usually in the entrance quadrant; Knowledge and Self Cultivation, Career or Helpful People) you can enhance it, so it begins to nourish rather than draining you by following a few simple steps:

Transforming your garage:

1) Declutter
If clutter and grime have accumulated there, now is the time for a thorough going-over. Take a day to create piles to throw away, give away, or reposition more neatly, and do it immediately. Sweep, dust, polish to “Move the Ch’i.” There are professional organizers, such as “Annie Fix It” in Benicia, and haulers who can help you.
So, what is clutter? Clutter is defined as any items that are disliked, unused, in excess and/or unorganized.  By getting rid of the things you no longer want or need, you revitalize your home and make room for what you really DO want to flow into your life; you enhance your happiness, clarity and peace of mind.
Ask yourself the following questions?
“Do I love it? Do I need it? Does it represent or support who I am now? What pleasant or unpleasant memories does it hold? Does it need repair, and am I willing to restore it right now? If I’m letting go, will I sell, lend, or give it away, and when?”
Label 3 boxes or bags:  Throwaway, Giveaway, and Stowaway. When you have separated all items into 3 categories, put the throwaways in the trash immediately, prepare and label the giveaways to go to their new homes (family, friends, and charities) and make sure you remove them from the space and give them away within a week. Stowaway the items can be  returned to other locations in a neat way.
Give yourself the gift of shelves and containers for your storage areas. (Wood if in Knowledge, Black if in Career, Metal or white if in Helpful People) Your environment displays your consciousness, and there’s no more revealing place to look than behind the garage door. You’ll know that you’ve succeeded in reinstating balance when you respond positively to your new room and feel a shift in your energy. Congratulations!  Now watch for new opportunities flow into your life because you have let go of the old and made a beautiful new room for the new.

2) Enhance
Recognize the Bagua area it sits in with appropriate art or other symbolism. Hang a beautiful piece of art here as well, to warmly greet you each time you drive in. Add Yang energy with bright lighting that makes you feel safe and welcome, add indoor/outdoor carpeting or colorful throw rugs for comfort.

Tips for Garages in Bagua Areas:

Garages in Knowledge and Self Cultivation Area (Wood Element)
* Items in wood, the colors of blues, greens, or black and in the shape of columns or stripes
*Art depicting nature scenes

Garages in Career Area (Water Element)
* Items in items in black or very dark colors, mirrors and glass
* Water features, (table fountains or aquariums)
* Art depicting water scenes

Garages in Helpful People and Travel Area (Metal Element)
* Art or figures pertaining to spiritual guides, mountains or places where you have traveled or want to travel
* Items in metal and colors of white, black or grey

I always also recommend hanging a 50 MM round faceted crystal in center to circulate the Ch’i.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and be creative in your garage, if it is clean and functional, who says how exactly a garage should look? It is up to you to decide.   Treat it like a room in your home; paint it vibrant colors based on the Bagua and enhance it as you would a room in your home.
Make your garage count and your life will thank you!
                        
Affirmations and Inner Work:
In Feng Shui, intent plays a significant role in enhancing your home or business. All enhancements need to be made with intentionality, with written or stated affirmations as if they have already happened. Examples of affirmations for garages: “I have the knowledge to make the right decisions”, My career is thriving”, I am surrounded by helpful people.”

 Feng Shui at Work:    

A client asked, “My husband wants the garage to be his ‘man cave.’ What do I do?” Don’t let this issue lead you to a divorce! I told her to help him declutter and enhance using the Bagua Map. He turned it into a home theater room with a fully stocked bar. Since it was in the Knowledge Area we painted it a hunter green, hung nature scenes in wooden frames, and added a wooden bar. We recently visited, and my husband joined the men in watching a sporting event in comfort. It has become an important room for entertaining and nourishes the house.
A non-attached garage can still drain you. Another client had a garage adjacent to her Wealth Area. Her husband wanted to make it his man cave bur it remained a constant mess. It became a point of contention and numerous arguments between them because all he would do is move the junk around the garage rather than working on more important projects or spending quality time with her. It was draining their funds and their relationship. Unfortunately, this led to a divorce. She is now having the garage cleaned and organized, will put her car in there and look forward to more positive energy and opportunities coming her way. Think what might of happened if he allowed them to work together to turn it into a nourishing man cave, sans the clutter, like the client above?
In our garage is in the Helpful People Area. We hung a large round faceted crystal in the center, and placed travel pictures and pictures of our spiritual guides on the white walls.  We also created a vision board inside one of the closet doors with pictures and positive affirmations of what we want to have come into our lives.  Outside, in a small flower garden by the garage we planted white flowers surrounding a small angel blowing toward our house. Whenever we feel that our synchronicity is off, and that we keep hitting stumbling blocks, I say, “Honey, it’s time to clean the garage.” We take a few hours to organize, dust, polish, sweep, and state our affirmations once again.  We immediately feel the shift in energy, plus our garage is once again pleasing to look at.
For questions or home consultations email at mtmccull@aol.com and put “Feng Shui” on the subject line, or visit my website at www.fengshuibymaria.com, (where you can read past columns), or Facebook “Feng Shui by Maria”, where I post pictures as examples to enhancements.

Classes:
I will be teaching a series of three classes through Acalanes Adult Ed:
“Feng Shui for Prosperity”
Thursdays,  Sept. 27 to Oct. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m.
You can register online at acalanes.k12.ca.us/adulted (Participants will receive $40 off a home consultation.)

* Check out my BLOG
Just go to the website and click on “Blog”: You can view many pictures and, I will respond to your questions quickly.
Until then…Blessings!

Maria McCullough is the owner / founder of Feng Shui by Maria (www.fengshuibymaria.com) and is a speaker and educator with over 20 years of experience. She specializes in residential, landscape and business consultations. She is a graduate of the Western School of Feng Shui and has personally trained with Terah Kathryn Collins, founder of the Western School of Feng Shui, specializing in Essential Feng Shui® and author of numerous books including “The Western Guide to Feng Shui.”

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