Today I have a special treat for you – an interview with Patricia John of Room 2 Room Organizing, who is a professional organizer and certified Feng Shui Consultant. Patricia has been one of my clients since 2006, and has stopped by to explain what Feng Shui is all about and to help you decide whether it would be useful to you in your organizing business.

What exactly is Feng Shui?

Feng Shui is about bringing balance and harmony into your environment.  There are many ways you can do this… an example is by applying Feng Shui cures.  When you apply Feng Shui cures, among other things, you will help create an environment that feels and looks better.

It will make you want to come home at night because of the feeling that you get when you walk through the door.

What do you mean by “Feng Shui cures?” What are they and how do they work? Can you describe one?

An example of some Feng Shui cures are:

• Furniture placement to help the energy in a room flow easier
• Mirrors, water, or fountains
• Color – either by using paint or color in objects

When you use Feng Shui cures and one or all of the 5 elements together (water, wood, metal, fire, earth) you will create a balanced and harmonized room.  Of course, you have to apply the cures and elements with “intention” for Feng Shui to work.

Is Feng Shui just for homes?

Feng Shui can be used in your home, garden, property, schools and your office.

Why did you decide to study Feng Shui?

I have been interested in Feng Shui for many years now and decided it was time for me to take a course on it to fully understand the power of it and how I could use it to help myself as well as possibly my clients.

What did you have to do to become certified, and how long did it take?

I took the Feng Shui Practitioner Program with Katherine & Russ Loader of Power of Place, located in Oshawa. My course was every Sunday for 8-10 classes and each class was 6-8 hours in length.

After you completed your classes, did you have to write an exam?

Yes, I had to write an exam… It was several hours and very intense!

What impact has being a certified Feng Shui Consultant had on your business?

To be honest, it really hasn’t had an impact on my business… Feng Shui is still very new in the Durham area, and I think it may take a while for it to be accepted and understood here… but I can wait! I loved learning more about Feng Shui and I love teaching other people about it and how it can help in all different areas of their lives. I took the course for my own benefit as well as my clients.

Are there any books or other resources you would recommend to professional organizers who would like to learn more about Feng Shui?

My course was on Professor Lin Yun “Black Sect” Feng Shui and there are many books out there on this type of Feng Shui, but the one I think would be best for Professional Organizers is Clear your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston, because it deals with clutter and Feng Shui.

Do you have any advice for your organizing colleagues?

Decide what type of Feng Shui you want to learn about and then read as many books as you can about it first. The three different types of Feng Shui Schools are “Low Pan ” – Compass, “Chi School” – Energy/Chi and “Black Sect School” which is what I took.

Once you’ve read a few books and understand the basic principles, then you should consider taking a small course. After that, if your interest is still there, then you could take a course like the one I took. To find a program in your area, or to learn more about the three types of schools, just go onto the internet and type in Feng Shui.

Trish, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to share this valuable information with my blog readers!

If there’s something else you’d like to know, feel free to post your question either in the Comment section below or using the Contact form, and I’m sure Trish will be happy to answer it!