Following my last post I received a question about how does one Feng Shui the garage.  This is an interesting question.  Garages are so often used to house more than just the family car, lawn mower and miscellaneous garden tools.  The question asked was about proper placement for the stuff we store in our garage.

The first thing to consider is proper placement of the Bagua.  The garage door is the largest opening into the garage and is therefore considered the ‘front’ of the Bagua.  This means the Knowledge, Career and Helpful People is positioned at the garage door.  Let this be your guideline to determine the other 6 areas of the Bagua for your garage.

Now that you know where each of the 9 guas of the Bagua are located you can better determine what items you want to store in each area.  Here are a couple of suggestions:

1.  Place sharp objects like saws with the teeth facing away from the entrance into the garage.  These items are usually metal so store them in the Inner Child/Creativity area if possible.  Placing them in a yellow container can help reduce the amount of ‘sharpness’ they represent.
2. The lawn mower is best stored in the front of the garage with a yellow towel draped over it.
3. If you enter your home through an entry door in the garage make sure this entrance is as beautiful and welcoming as the true front door to your home.  This is the energy you walk in and out of every time you use this entrance. Avoid clutter, garbage cans, broken or ugly items in this area.
4. The Love/Romance area of the Bagua is a good place to store the things that make you happy.  For some this may be the Christmas decorations, for others this could be the workbench.  Either is fine but it is important to keep this area accessible, organized and pleasant to look at.
5. There really isn’t a good place to store the garage cans but sometimes we don’t have a choice but to keep them in the garage.  If this is your situation, try to keep the garage cans toward the front of the garage (the garage door entrance) and keep lids on them at all times.  The Knowledge/Wisdom area or Travel/Helpful People is preferable.
6. You can store your rakes, shovels etc. pretty much anywhere but store them so the teeth and blades are facing the wall and not into the garage.  Each tooth or blade creates what is called ‘sha chi’ (poison arrows).
7. A good place for planters, gardening tools and dirt is in the Family area of the Bagua.
8. Garden hoses are best stored in the front of the Bagua.
9. Avoid placing any water items in the Fortunate Blessings/Prosperity area.

When trying to decide where you want to store an item in the garage, consider what the item represents (water, metal, earth, fire, wood, harshness, beauty etc) and then decide where that best fits with your energy.  Everyone is different is their perceptions.  This is why there can not be a one-size-fits-all approach to every garage.  What is right for you may work for your friend or neighbor.  I cringe whenever I read a Feng Shui book that implies there is only one correct way to approach Feng Shui principles.  The pointers I provided in numbers 1-9 above are only suggestions.  Follow what ‘feels’ right.  And remember, “YOUR OUTER ENVIRONMENT IS NOT CONTROLLING YOU, IT IS ONLY A REFLECTION OF HOW YOUR INNER ENERGY IS FLOWING”.