How To Feng Shui Your Laundry Room
When you hear the word feng shui, you may not immediately think about your laundry room. Often, feng shui is associated with bedrooms, entryways, and living rooms; however, the philosophy behind this traditional Chinese practice can be applied to the space where you clean, dry, and fold your clothes as well.
According to The Spruce, feng shui is a state of mind in which you arrange your furniture and decorative accents to become more balanced with the natural world. The end goal is to ultimately allow more energy to flow into your home and push the negative energy out. And fortunately, you can do this in any room in your home. So, if you're looking to feng shui your laundry room and reap the benefits of this philosophy, keep reading. We've provided a few simple yet effective ways to create a more mindful laundry room that aligns with the principles of feng shui below.
Choose the right colors
Ensuring your laundry room features the right colors can do wonders for your feng shui. Love to Know suggests incorporating light blue, green, tan, purple, and brown shades for an abundance of wealth. The blue tones will attract more water, which means more prosperity and wealth, while the tan and brown colors represent the wood element, which is nurtured by the water feature. As for purple tones, they can encourage balance and prosperity to enter the space, not to mention the luxurious vibes they give off.
You can also incorporate a lot of white. Not only is white simple and meshes well with other pieces of décor, but it also represents productivity and completion, The Spruce notes. So by painting your laundry room white, you may feel more inclined to fold your laundry as soon as it's done drying. This way, you can prevent a pile of clean clothes from building up.
Add more light
A bright and airy laundry room could be just the thing you need to add more feng shui to your life. In fact, Love to Know suggests that light is a powerful energy source that can restore balance to the room's chi and yin energy. Moreover, increasing the light in your laundry room can make it easier to get stuff done since you can easily see what you're doing.
From opening the blinds to adding a few new lamp fixtures, bringing in more light to your laundry room can be accomplished in multiple ways. However, when including brightness in the space, there are a few things to steer clear of, especially if you're using artificial light, like floor lamps or wall lights. Love to Know also recommends avoiding low-hanging ceiling fixtures since it can hinder the area's feng shui instead of helping it thrive. Instead, go for simple fixtures that attach to the ceiling or are placed within walls.
Keep your washing and drying machine closed
If you want to ensure you bring good vibes into your home and maintain them, it's a great idea to keep your washer and dryer closed. According to Love to Know, leaving your washing and drying machine open will allow positive energy to get trapped inside, so your good fortune can leave the space once the water is drained during the wash cycle. A similar concept applies to drying machines since all that good chi can get stuck inside. As a result, you could wash or dry away your prospects of wealth, luck, health, and so forth.
To avoid this, keep all lids closed at all times. If your washer or dryer isn't closing correctly, take this as a sign to get them repaired. Another door that should remain closed is the door to your laundry room since it can allow those positive vibes to leave the space.
Repair any leaks
Repairing any leak you may have in your laundry room is essential for maintaining good feng shui. This is because leaks can interrupt the proper water flow representing money and emotions in feng shui, mindbodygreen explains. Plus, leaks can lead to a hefty water bill, so getting them fixed can help keep more money in your pocket. Moreover, a leaky washing machine or pipe can flood your laundry room, causing structural damages and irreversible losses to your personal belongings. Leaks also pose a hazard to electrical components in the home, leading to fires and more.
So, what can you do about leaks stemming from your washing machine? The first thing is to identify where the leak is coming from. For example, is water leaking directly from the water hose, or is it draining from the washer tub? To determine the source, turn off your washing machine, unplug it, and take a look at where the water is gathering.
Maintain the area clean and organized
Oftentimes, the laundry room becomes a catch-all space for random items, from lost socks to tools and other household things. However, cleanliness and organization are key to good feng shui. After all, a messy space can make it much more challenging to be productive. As a result, this can lead to an excess amount of unfolded clothes, dirty clothes, and even lint. Moreover, this lack of organization and clutter-free space can throw off the balance of chi and yin.
To maintain a clean and organized laundry room, Appliances Connection recommends you use storage equipment, such as chests, shelves, cabinets, and bins, to declutter this home area once and for all. For example, using wall shelves increases the floor space amount, so it's easier to get around. Maintaining a clean laundry room also means ensuring appliances are working correctly, mopping floors, getting rid of old light bulbs, and so on.
Add more plants
Several features bring bad feng shui to your home; however, plants are not one of those. This is because plants will strengthen the overall positive energy in the space, allowing you to keep more good fortune in your home. The Spruce suggests getting air purifying, protective, or money plants. This includes Boston ferns, bonsai trees, lucky bamboo, golden pothos, and snake plants, but avoid spiky plants, like cacti, since they can drain your energy. Maintaining your energy levels is vital so that you can easily and quickly wash and fold your clothes.
If you're considering incorporating more plants into your laundry room, you should water them regularly to prevent them from dying out. It's also important to ensure they're being taken care of correctly to minimize fungus or bugs. Finally, if you don't have much of a green thumb, consider getting an easy-to-care-for plant that requires minimal effort and attention.
Don't let your dirty clothes pile up
While it may be tempting to let your dirty clothes pile up, it's important to avoid this habit. Remember that this doesn't mean you have to wash your clothes daily. Instead, avoid allowing your hamper to start overflowing with dirty clothes. This is because clutter, in this case, dirty clothes, can be very disruptive to your space, which can also welcome negative energy and throw off the balance, Treasure Island Storage says.
To combat this dilemma, make sure that you wash your clothes regularly. If you prefer not to have a traditional hamper in your laundry room, you can find many hampers that fit any aesthetic. You can also use storage cubes or shelves to neatly organize your dirty clothes and keep them out of sight. Regardless of what type of hamper you have, make sure that it's strategically placed in your laundry room for optimal feng shui.
Decorate with mirrors
When using feng shui in small spaces, mirrors are just the thing you need. According to The Spruce, mirrors can increase the positivity of any space, especially when strategically placed in front of a window: They can reflect the outside world, inviting more wood elements into the laundry room. In addition to adding more feng shui into the space, mirrors can make an area look more spacious and well-lit.
The Spruce suggests using flat, convex, concave, or bagua mirrors for your laundry space. Flat mirrors are traditional mirrors that you see almost everywhere, whereas convex mirrors are shaped like a bowl. On the other hand, concave mirrors are molded like the inside of a bowl, and bagua mirrors are octagon-shaped. Any of these mirrors will help increase the feng shui of your laundry room, bringing in good energy and balancing the chi. However, make sure to avoid dirty, broken, or opaque mirrors.