Fighting the Yin of the Basement

Basements, in their natural state, are bad Feng Shui. The damp, dark, and cold make them too Yin to be a good environment. But, as a household that has our only family room in our basement, I feel there is a way to combat the yin aspects and add to the living space of your home. Here are a few steps you can follow to turn around the Yin nature of your basement to make it an inviting space.

1. Keep it dry. To remove the chance of dangerous molds and mildew it is very important to take steps to make the space dry. I always suggest a dehumidifier in a subterranean space. Some homes have to go as far as secure water proofing companies to make sure seepage issues are controlled.
2. Let there be light. Adding as much light as possible to combat the dark. A lamp or two usually won't due, rather, overhead recessed lighting or track lighting should be used for maximum brightness. They even make compact fluorescence in daylight spectrum. Add a dimmer switch if you want to be able to control the lighting for movie watching.
3. Wood over carpet. Using wood or tile flooring instead of carpeting is going to help with the first step. Carpet only holds moisture and adds to the possibility of molds and mildews creeping in.
4. Lighten up. Use a light color pallet to help add to the yang and decrease the yin. Dark colors are fine but should only be used where lots of nature light is found. Light colors, like the example on the left, will brighten the entire room.

So go for it and turn that basement around. Add to the square footage and enjoyment of your home.

Bathroom Organization

My up-stairs bathroom is very troublesome to me. I find I am constantly battling the stuff that is all over the sink. We live in a 1920 Cape Cod and have only one bathroom that all six of us use on the bedroom level. It is an old bathroom with a pedestal sink and no medicine cabinet so I have tried to be creative on how to handle the "stuff". A few months ago I wrote a blog about Feng Shui in the bathroom and keeping things clean and organized is a must for good Feng Shui, always, even in the bathroom.

We tried putting a shower caddy on the back of the bathroom door to hold the bottles and such. Two problem; first, every time you opened or closed the door the caddy would bounce against the door and occasionally things would fall through the space in the back. Second, the kids couldn't reach it so they could get their tooth paste or put it away. Not too go for teaching independence.

The other day I had an evaluation of a classroom This teacher was really extremely organized. She had a shoe organizer hanging on the back of the closet door which she used to keep all of her craft supplies. I told her what a great idea it was. I don't have a problem with craft organization but then it dawned on me last night that this would be a perfect solution for the bathroom. Check it out. I put the children's tooth brushes and paste near the bottom and our stuff at the top. Easier access for everyone. and you can open and close the door without fear of an avalanche of bottles falling on you.

And look at how wonderful the sink looks now! Easier to clean and keep clean. Now I just have to train everyone to put their stuff away, but that is always a never ending job!

Canvas Keepsake

Every summer I give my kids a canvas and some paint and let them do what ever they want with it. It all started when my Hazel was 2 and Wyatt was 3 and I was looking for ways to fill the long summer days. We would always have the easel out for them to paint on but I wanted to do something a little more long lasting. Michael's usually has a 2 pack of pre-made canvases on sale in July for around $9. How easy is that?

Now I have 4 little ones; Wyatt is now 8 and Hazel 7 and the twins are 3. I let the twins start their own canvases last year. You definitely have to let go and not worry about the mess when little one's are working on their master pieces. Oliver got especially messy but his work was more special because you can see his little finger prints all over the canvas.

It is amazing is to see how these children have evolved over the years. We have all of the works hanging in the playroom and it is so fun to see how Wyatt for instance went from painting bold brush strokes to an overview of a hot wheels map to, this year, clone troopers. I only wonder what next summer will bring.