Picnic Baskets and Punch Bowls

When’s the last time you had a picnic and used your deluxe picnic basket? Or served punch from a crystal punch bowl? It’s a sweet idea, right? But does it really happen? Really? Or is it the idea of the picnic and the picnic basket and the idea of the party or shower with the punch bowl that has you hanging on to these items? Don’t get me wrong...I am ALL FOR you keeping them if you really love them and use them! How romantic! How lovely! In my experience with clients, though, these items are dusty (very dusty), stuffed on a shelf and taking up space in a basement storage area. And, more often than not, they are more a metaphor for unfulfilled hopes and dreams than symbols of future fun. In the last month, I have taken 4 glass punch bowl sets and 3 fancy picnic baskets to the Goodwill.

So, if this is you...(owner of picnic basket, punch bowl or something similar: cake stands, Nesco cooker) really drop in and notice your own energy. When you hold the picnic basket with the strapped in dishes and the special gingham napkins, do you grin from ear to ear? Start planning the spring picnic? Or, do you take a deep sigh and say, “Oh, yeah, the picnic basket, it was a wedding gift, we never used it. We eat outside a lot and we love to go to the park, soak up the sun, but we don’t bother to pack this huge thing up, it’s just too much.”  When it’s time for the shower or party, do you eagerly run downstairs and scoop up the punch bowl, check out what you'll need for your favorite punch recipe? Or, do you pick up seltzer, wine, juice, champagne and fruit and serve individual drinks to your guests?

So many times we are in love with the IDEA of what the item represents. So, if the punch bowl represents, sweet afternoon “ladies only” gatherings, and you LOVE the feeling of that, then do it!!!! You may just not need or want a punch bowl to pull it off.

Here’s your Feng Shui lesson for the week: Basements are directly related to health energy. Anything stuck, stuffed or stagnant in the basement will correlate to your health being less than optimal. It you want to create space in your life to feel lighter and leaner and invite in new opportunities and adventures, take a serious look at what you are storing in the basement.

Consider that your stuff may actually be holding you back and keeping you from a life you love.

Start at one end, on one shelf, or in a corner and one box and item at a time, make decisions using your personal energy meter to guide you. Does it lift you up, make you smile, clap and twirl? Keep it! Does it give you the “socked in the stomach” feel? Do you actually groan with an audible “UGH”, or  shake your head and wonder, “WHY?????? did I keep this for so long?”

Let go (with love) and watch the magic happen! Working with the physical objects in a basement is powerful. In most cases these items have been put away and left for dead. By following the checklist in my free Tackle Your Clutter ToolKit as you address the situation, you'll be feeling the effects quickly.

And then watch out...a whole truckful of goodness is on the way! You will be amazed at what concentrating your efforts in the basement can do for your health and your life!

Here’s to your health!

Love,

XOXO

Jane