Krista: [00:00:00] There's probably not just a simple answer to this question, but say you want to, you need to address the whole house. So you start with The front door, try to handle everything maybe that needs to be handled. over the course of like a week or two or especially let's talk about for the busy family.

So you've got maybe both parents working, a couple of kiddos and so just busy schedules. And this isn't something that we can dedicate. An entire day or two, hours on end to, like, what does that realistic, realistically look like for that person to handle every room, I

Patricia: guess.

Is it like six months? Yeah. This is so interesting. And I think this is also the difference between two different parts. So when people come into my world, I often say to them, what we're talking was like big, bigger surface things. Like, and when I'm working with a client, I'm like, here's your personal report.

Here's the nine things that you need to do in your house to [00:01:00] balance the energies first. And that's the acupuncture needles to get everything flowing. And then after that, everything that I've talked about here is supplemental and beneficial, but I don't have your personal, I don't have the information on your house to give you your personal report to be like, here's your priority nine things to make sure that everything is like balanced and happy and clear.

So we're kind of like, this is the other things you can do. So for example, you're talking about that front door. When you're going to, when you're just washing the dishes, you have the cloth washing dishes, you're like, I'm just going to go and clean the front door now. So you just do one thing.

I'm just going to clean the front door and say, clean that front door. Let me have a quick look around and see, and then you just leave it. And you can be like, Oh, look at the welcome mat. Right. Okay. The next day I'm in Walmart, I'm going to get a mat. I'm going to walk by and buy a new welcome mat. So it's not, it doesn't have to be, I want to tackle every part of my whole house.

Cause that's way too overwhelming. And even when it comes to say decluttering, I say to my clients, don't go near your clothes. You're a real bookworm, don't go [00:02:00] near your books. Don't go near the shoes, the clothes, or the photos until you've built the muscle for decluttering.

And the muscle for decluttering starts with, the Tupperware drawer, the food that's gone out of date. So you start on the simple little things. And then just in terms of, just by the fact of listening to this podcast, you're going to be more conscious of your environment.

You're going to just start seeing things. I would be like personally, if I was like, Oh my God, I have to do every room. It's not a feasible plan in terms of like, it's not a year long thing. It's just, it's in your life as you're moving through. So you're like, I'm just gonna, I'm cleaning the living room.

Okay. What's in here that's not relevant to being in here that I can get out look at the painting. I, I think that you're creating a massive big to do list for yourself. And I'm like, let that list go. And connect with your house and see what unfolds, and that's what I would say to you.

I have a seven week program that teaches feng shui that people do over a year to two years. And they do everything in their own [00:03:00] time and it's not a race. The idea of feng shui is to bring health and harmony and a happy home. So and you say like, where would you start?

Like for me, if I always say to people, start at your front door, then go check your bedroom because that's where you spend the most time, eight hours. And if you work from home, then your office. And then after that you can do the other spaces.

Krista: Perfect. That's exactly what I'm doing. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

Okay. So are there specific. Adjustments or design elements, that could support a child's development or concentration, creativity in their study areas, their play areas or their room.

Patricia: The first thing I like to say just about kids bedrooms, it really is their sanctuary and oftentimes their bedrooms are just way too busy.

There's just way too much stuff. If you just think about the idea of, and I'm just like kind of backing back a bit and being like, I'm not a minimalist. It's not about them having [00:04:00] nothing, but it's about being super realistic about what they're using and what they have in their bedroom what's on display in the room.

So I really like to encourage. And this is something I've really worked with my clients in, over the last few years with their kids bedrooms, is getting, like they get like either cork boards or picture frame boards that they're like, okay, this is your space to put whatever you want on those.

But then the rest of the walls, we need some clear space, cause we want to create it like a sanctuary, a place where they'll rest and they'll get good sleep. From a set up perspective in your bedroom or from working, there's two things that I talk about. And one is for the bed position of the bed.

Is important and that is like having a headboard and being able to see the door so that they're sleeping with their heads to the wall and they can see the door, but it's not coming straight at their feet. And that is [00:05:00] the best practice with feng shui. And I do have, actually, what I've done is I've got a few special resources for moms that you can go to patricialohan.com/moms. And there's a whole video on Feng Shui for your bedroom for kids. There's also a whole guide that goes through bedroom etiquette, like colors, linen, storage, all, everything for bedrooms for kids. And there's also a meditation for a harmonious home. So just even that setting that intention, there's a whole list of things.

So if you need that, if you want that, that'll help you with just the bedroom setup. But in terms of the bedroom, it depends on also the age of the kids as well. But if you set it up from a young age, you're like, this are you, this is your corkboard, put whatever you want on it.

As opposed to here's all the walls and you can have angry birds everywhere or Avengers or whatever it is. I have worked with, prior to my feng shui taking off and my work with feng shui taking off, I worked with kids with autism and on the spectrum for several years, one to one [00:06:00] and with sound and with vibration and healing.

And I always asked their parents about the bedroom, or what the kids were wearing. I have one little boy that used to come into me and he was wearing angry birds all the time. And I was like, Angry birds. We don't, he doesn't need any more anything high energy.

And it's just not connecting the dots? So in the bedroom, it may be fun to have Superman quilts, but the color and the energy is a lot, especially for kids that are super sensitive. So you want to be like, how can I neutralize this, but also keep them happy. So that's something that you really want to be thinking about.

And then, would you walk in there and be like, Could I sleep here? Is there a dangly thing hanging over my head? It could look really cute, but it's going to affect your sleep. And oftentimes kids bedrooms is a lot of storage on display. Can we pack it away?

Can we get it into boxes? So it's just stored away. And then for desks, you asked about creativity and for desks, for work and study, study and school. I see this. [00:07:00] It's so many times it's the position of the desk. So I don't like having a desk with a kid a child's desk with the up against the wall and their back to the door.

So it's the same goes for an actual, your office or your workspace. Ideally, you don't sit with your back to the door because it puts. automatically heightens your flight or fight response because you can't see what's coming at you. So you're just like, huh. So you're on guard. So you're not able to relax.

So then you can't get creative. So you're tense working. And that's what we're doing to kids when we sit them with their face to the wall on a little desk with the door coming behind them. So if you turn them around and it may not, it doesn't sometimes be the most practical thing. But just think about their productivity and they're sitting with their back to the wall.

They can see the door coming. They've got their little area to do their homework and they've got support of the wall. Way better, way, way, way better. So they're able to relax and see what's coming. In children's bedrooms, I also definitely recommend having a picture of the family together. I was recently interviewed [00:08:00] by a lovely Lovely two moms together and they were, one of their daughters was not sleeping well at all.

And they're like, what will we do? How can we do something? And I'm like, well, how far away is her bedroom from yours? And she was well, we're on the first floor on this level and she's over a hallway and then up on the second floor. And I was like, how old is she? She's two. I was like, okay. She's too far away.

And if you can't change that, we need pictures up the staircase to her bedroom. We need her to see pictures of the family together. she's just feeling this distance away from you. Is there a closer bedroom, to get started with you? She could ultimately be in that far away bedroom, but then how can you psychologically?

Still feel the connection with your parents if you're too far away. So that's photos and all of that will make a big difference. Sure.

Krista: So smart. It all makes sense. It really

Patricia: does. It all makes sense. I know. But you need

Krista: to hear this stuff. Yeah. Cause it's not, it's not necessarily, [00:09:00] it's not just obvious.

Patricia: So, and sometimes kids bedrooms are all decorated in colors, reds, blues, bright, but it's like, oh man. Would you sleep in a red bedroom? Would you sleep in a red race car bed? It's a race car. Imagine racing, a red, sleeping in a bed. That's the shape, it's Oh, now if your kid does have a race to her car, a car bed, like one of my clients recently, I was like, it's okay.

She's like, he's going to grow out of it in the next couple of months. Perfect. But future pacing, please just get a normal bed. It's, it's, it's a skeletal bed, you want them to sleep. You don't want them streaming or, or in fire element, which creates anger, which creates aggression, which creates restlessness.

And that fire element is too much. Sure.

Krista: Well, are there, okay, so we all self admittedly, all of us spend lots of time with screens. Are there ways to. kind of balance that technology use, with that [00:10:00] need for the healthy and balanced environment. So for example, I did grow up with a TV in my room and I enjoyed it at the same time.

It also made me stay up way later than I should have. I'd put a sleep timer on, but I had as a little kid, I was up close to midnight more than I as an adult moving into this house, we strictly said, No TVs in bedrooms, if wherever we're sleeping, I have a TV here in my office, but that's, that's okay because I'm working sometimes I need to have that TV on.

We have one of course in our living room, but I really feel that our bedroom, well, you said it, they're our sanctuary. It's where we're supposed to rest and relax and unwind. And so that's one line in the sand that I've drawn. It's just no TVs in bedrooms. What, what else can we do to just help?

Patricia: Yeah, for sure.

And I think we're in such a crazy digital age right now that, again, I'm a hundred [00:11:00] percent behind the no TVs in the bedrooms. But. I had one client who's just like me, my husband, my son on a Saturday morning, we put on our favorite family movie, we snuggle in bed, it's our family time, this is what we do.

I want to get over in my TV and I'm like, I am not going to hold you back on having your family time. If that's something that feels good, she's like, it doesn't go on any other time of the week. It's just that's our one thing. And I was like, if that's your one thing, it's completely fine. But in the meantime, can you cover it?

Can you put a screen over it? Can you literally just because there's a reflective energy with it and just think about all of the energy that's going on. It's behind a TV that has been actually on the screen like the news and all that stuff. You don't even want to connect with that. So putting even a little shawl or something over it if you do have a bedroom, a TV in your bedroom.

But in the general I'd be like a no to TVs. The other thing in terms of right now is think at night time. And if everyone, if you're having technology, you just create, create a new [00:12:00] habit. So I ha this is my office and this is where I charge my phone. So this is where my phone is at night. I don't bring it to my bedroom.

It doesn't sleep beside my head. Cause beside my head at night, I will not sleep because basically I run my business from it. So it has all the emails, all the messages, it has everything on my team. This is basically, I may as well be in bed with my work. So it's like, no, I can't, I can't, I'm not bringing my work to bed.

So the, and then when you think about that, you're like, Oh, but what about my alarms? What about this? What about that? Buy an alarm clock, go old school, and not only just like what's being used and what you use the phone for, but also the EMFs and the wifi and the signals right beside your head.

It is not going to be helping for a good night's sleep. So I would recommend definitely just creating a family routine of we put our phones in this place. This is the charge station. Everyone puts them here, all screens, all of that just goes here and then you step away and you've got your bedroom [00:13:00] and that's a really important boundary for you, for your relationships and for your kids.

If you have your, for example, I had a client who We were in her apartment in New York and beautiful apartment into the bedroom. And there was like, it was fascinating because she, they were trying for a baby and it was just, hadn't been happening. And she's like, can you come and have a look?

Let me see. And I was like, okay. In the bedroom, literally double bed. And then one side of the bed on her husband's side of the bed was paperwork, higher than the bed. And I was like, there's three people in this relationship. There's his work, him, and you. There's no space for anybody else in here.

he's been split between the two. So it has to get out. And you have to create the bedroom to be a sanctuary. So she had family. photos, she had her grandparents photos in the room and get all of that out and just make your bedroom about you and your partner, a picture of you and your husband or you and your partner on the [00:14:00] happiest day you are ever together, whatever day that is that you kind of see it.

It doesn't matter if it's the worst picture photo, it's just like the best energy from it. Bring that into your bedroom and get rid of everything else and that will change. I guarantee you. Change the energy of your relationship.

Krista: Well, Patricia, so many great nuggets.

Is there a tip that you can just offer for just. keeping the household balanced energetically when, it just seems like things are constantly moving from upstairs, downstairs, inside, outside pets,

Patricia: all of that. So what I would say to you, first of all, is to relax.

The thing is that, if it bothers you, it's going to be creating tension for you. And it's just that's creating stress. So, how can you relax in it? And then from that relaxed space,

When you started to connect with the energy of your home, you started to notice, notice things and you're like, [00:15:00] okay, well that happens with his shoes. Okay. So just show me, and you can communicate with your house, and there's so many times with clients, I'm just like, connect with your house and be like, okay, show me how I can, work with this.

And from a relaxed place, be like, what can we do here? For the kid, for your daughter who brings everything down, maybe you need a space downstairs so that things go downstairs and you're like, okay, so you're going to bring things down.

We're going to have a home for them downstairs, but you're going to have to bring them back up again. That's gonna be your job. Whatever comes down, this is the home for it. But if, and if you want it, you have to bring it back up. So it's like, can you recreate, make, how can you make it easier for you rather than stressing yourself out?

Because the home for all the stuff from upstairs is go down. If it's coming up and down, what do we need to do that? And the answer will come from a calm place, not from a, I'm running around picking up stuff all the time. That's where it'll come from. So it's like, how do I come and relax and see what's happening and be like, okay, well, that's just always coming down.

I'm always bringing the same thing down. So maybe it just needs to stay down here [00:16:00] and be okay, that's going to stay.

Krista: And I know one of my, one of my big things is just, I just need to clean the mudroom. That's the one area in our room, not clean it. It just needs to get organized. I feel like our mudroom has become our catchall. Mm hmm. And. Again, other things have gotten somewhat organized around the house, but that has truly become, well, if there's no room in the living room, just shove it in the mudroom.

Or if there's in the garage, well, this doesn't really belong in the garage. Well, there's no spot in it for the house. Well, it just needs to land in the mudroom. So I think a big thing, probably a big item on my Feng Shui checklist would be front door. I'm still going to, I'm going to start there, but then mudroom.

Yeah. Because. Like I said, it does kind of just become the catch all.

Patricia: Surely that's not, surely that's not just me. and when that, when that is organized, then it'll just like ripple out. Because if that's what they go and they see that room, they're like, oh my god, it's a bomb, I'll just like leave. Then it's just like, it mirrors everything else.[00:17:00]

So you're like, okay, if I have this place, they come in, it's like, it's organized, and you are on top of it, then you're just like, all I need is for you to help me with this one. and not a like because if you do the, and get cranky with it, they're just, It's not going to listen. It's not going to change either.

No.

Krista: And with my daughter, I'm usually pretty good about, cause she'll come in and just first thing, she takes off her shoes. All she wants to do is kick off her shoes and they go right under the coffee table. And then they would be there the next day if I don't say something. So I've gotten pretty good about when she takes her shoes off.

Where, where do your shoes go, honey? Go put them at the bottom of the steps, so that when we go upstairs, one of us is packing the shoes up to her closet. My final question for now is, how can parents start incorporating these principles into their home without feeling overwhelmed?

I know you said to relax, like, come at it from a relaxer.

Patricia: Yeah. So I think that the first thing is just like, again, [00:18:00] just relax and be super grateful that you have a home, that you have a roof over your head, that there's this beautiful space that you get to create and you get to actually use to help you and support you.

Because oftentimes, and this is something that's very misunderstood about this, your home can become your biggest ally in supporting you. I have seen. So many amazing successes for my clients where their kids are getting better grades, where their relationship is getting better, where their finances have completely improved because the energy of their house has been improved.

And that's why I do this because it's like your home is the start of everything. It's the foundation of everything and you can have it as your biggest ally or it can be literally sabotaging you. So you want to get started with building this connection with it and getting that awareness. That it can be holding you back from like literally flourishing for you and everyone in your family.

Krista: Very important takeaways that I know all parents [00:19:00] can use here. Truly, Patricia, this has been such a fun, entertaining chat. I really, I really appreciate your time today. And is there anything that we didn't cover that you think would be helpful for parents to know?

Patricia: I don't, I don't think so. I think that the first, like just really just understanding that your home has an energy and it has a power to support you to really, create a beautiful, easy flowing life.

And. And, just acknowledging that and diving deeper into it would be just amazing because it truly is the gift that keeps on giving when you start to support it and work with the energy of it.

Krista: Well, everybody can find you at patricialohan. com, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Patricia: patricialohan.com/moms for all [00:20:00] those resources.

But I also have more for abundance and for your career. And I've got an amazing feng shui mini course that kind of guides you through more of the fundamentals of feng shui and how to get started with like tons of little one minute tips that you can do in like a second to change the energy really quickly in your home.

Awesome.

Krista: That's what I was going to ask you when I had gone to your website. I, I noticed. That it seems like if you put in your email address you could get you could get some things there were maybe eight or ten resources there and I was going to ask you is there one one specific one in those lists in that list that you would point someone towards if they're just getting started and then Have never

Patricia: done any of this.

I would start with the mini course like feng shui 101, because if you don't know anything about it and how it can help you, that was really important to kind of demystify it. And then for, for as a mom and you wanted to kind of check out your bedroom and the, the child's bedroom and that beautiful meditation to really kind of set the stage for a [00:21:00] harmonious home.

It's beautiful. So that's patricialohan.com/moms.