Clearing the Clutter during Chinese New Year

Clearing the Clutter During Chinese New Year

The lunar calendar sets the Chinese New Year and consequently, the dates of the Chinese New Year change every year. Generally, it occurs between January 21 and February 20. The Chinese New Year 2020 starts Saturday, January 25 to February 8. During this time, many traditional Chinese celebrations take place. This year it is the year of the Rat.

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One of the practices I have made a habit over the years is housecleaning and clearing out the clutter. You could do the same with your workspace. Clearing out clutter is quite cathartic at any time and I align it to the Chinese New Year because it fits nicely with Western Christmas/New Year holidays. You can use this time frame as a focus for your clearing or do it continuously.

Key Dates

With Chinese New Year celebrations, the Chinese call this ‘sweeping away the dust’ and it represents the wish to bid farewell to the old year and to welcome the New Year in. Clean between Jan 17 – 24. Don’t Clean 25 – 26 Jan then do the first clean during 27-31 Jan. Open the windows let the fresh air circulate through your home or office or business. Burn candles, oils and incense. I love it. The house and office always seem lighter somehow and it is my big once a year clearing and refreshing activity. During this time, I use the singing bowl and Tibetan bells to remove negative energy or Sha Chi from the rooms. Pay attention to the corners of the rooms as that is the place that becomes most congested.

I usually start well before the Chinese New Year, and this year, because I have made some major changes in my home, I started early.

For many years, I have used two rooms as workplace offices and during 2019 decided I would only have one. As you can imagine, this meant a considerable number of changing things around. I had accumulated lots of stuff, so I needed to decide if I was going to chuck it out or archive it somewhere. Initially, I started archiving yet discovered there was only so much the garage would take! So between Christmas and the Western New Year, I sorted through at least 30 years of my career and got rid of books, folders and notes and other information that I would thought I would keep for the day I wrote that best-selling guru-type, corporate management book. Well, that hasn’t happened! Time has moved on and it is important to let that stuff go so between now and 23 January is a big cleanout at our place.

Why is it clearing out your stuff so important?

The biggest benefit I have found in constantly throwing things out and doing these very big culls is that you create space for new things to enter your life. That has been a huge learning for me because it’s very simple yet works so profoundly.

We become so consumed with our present that we store things away for the future, thinking we might need them, only to find out years have passed, and we haven’t even looked at them. So, although I treasured some of these things, I asked myself the ruthless question,’ When was the last time you used this?’. As challenging as that was, it set a very good benchmark so the amount of stuff I got rid of it was huge. I’m talking a 250 L security bin and three recycle bins. I could still do more. The other strategy was to scan and electronically file those things I thought might be used in the future. Scanning has proved to be an excellent idea. It saves so much space.

On Chinese New Year’s Day, firecrackers are set off yet that will not happen with our total fire bands in Australia. We have had shocking bush fires across the country and experienced extreme weather conditions, up to 44° plus in places. We will do something a little more symbolic, maybe use those streamer poppers!

This blog is about clearing the clutter and setting up your home or office space for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Karen Kingston is an expert at Feng Shui and Clutter Clearing.

There are many traditions when celebrating Chinese New Year. If you would like to read more, you can do so here.

May I wish you, Gung Hee Fat Choy.

Love and light, Helen click here to get in touch