As the summer heat accumulates, so do the nerves of millions of college kids across the globe about to embark on a new beginning. The comforts of home are traded in for an exciting and unknown adventure.
Help make your child’s dorm room a home away from home to ease the transition with these simple feng shui tips.
Love, Money, or Fame?
Straight A’s or Dating Magnet? Arrive early to the dorm room, if you have a preference. You’ll want to pick the best bed depending, not based on view, but on its placement on the Bagua Map. The Bagua Map is a timeless tool used in Feng Shui that shows what areas of a home, or in this case, a room, represent each area of your life, including the more popular love and money sectors.
Draw a tic-tack-toe over the floor plan of the dorm room or suite. Because it’s a shared space, you look to the location of each bed to see which area of life will be highlighted during their dorm room days. If you’re standing at the doorway leading into the space, the corner in the back left is the Wealth Corner and the corner in the back right is the Love Corner. In between love and money is Fame and Reputation.
For more focus on academics, go for the bed in the Wealth Corner. If finding love is a primary focus, then the Love Corner is the place to be. A bed in the Fame area will give your child the edge in being voted student council, sorority president or fraternity sweetheart.
Organize Your Thoughts
There are a plethora of scientific studies proving what feng shui consultants have known for years – a cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind. With square footage at a premium, organization is key. Use bins, baskets, and containers as much as possible to keep shelves and exposed spaces clear of visual clutter. Closed storage options will keep the space looking neater and lend to better focus.
Whose Line is This Anyway?
You want your child to get off on the right foot or, more specifically, their own two feet. Have you ever thought about the lingering energy leftover from last year’s dorm room occupant, or the one before that? Energy patterns stagnate in spaces and can negatively affect current emotions.
Is there a pattern of success, heartbreak, or failure? No need to wonder. Instead, space clear the dorm room of any previous occupants’ energy. Burn sage or use the smokeless alternative, Smudge Spray®, to clear the old energy so that your child can have their own experience, not that of previous occupants.
Out With the Old? Not So Quick!
Contrary to my usual mantra of clearing clutter, this is the one time I advise the opposite. While space is a premium and organization is a necessity, give your child the option to bring items from the past that you might otherwise question.
Going to college is a huge change. While exciting, it’s also a scary step into the unknown. It’s a time when having items equivalent to a safety blanket may be necessary. Once settled into their new life, they might then be more inclined to lighten their load of the past. Everyone is different in how they handle change and college-aged kids are no exception. Allow your child to explore their emotions through their stuff in what they let go and what they prefer to keep.
Plant an Idea
Plants are proven to clean the air of toxins and electromagnetic energies. They also bring life to otherwise stagnant areas. Bring in fresh energy with a plant. Keep it simple with a maintenance-free bamboo or succulent that needs little water or care to accommodate a busy college life.