For two or three days I’ve been revamping my office. It started Monday night with the moving of small stuff into the living room, hallway, or bedroom. With Benjamin Moore’s Aura line of paint I knew I could theoretically have two coats cut in and rolled on in a few short hours. Because I played hooky for several hours on Tuesday afternoon, we needed to relocate everything on the bed so we could crawl in to sleep.

By 1:00 p.m. Wednesday the painting was done. Inukshuk (color CC-460) is decidedly different; lighter and safer than the Chinese red that has been on the walls for the past few years. I wanted a fresh new look and hope this is it. With white crown moulding, trim, bookcases, and built-ins the high contrast is gone and consequently some of the edge. Once the wall decor and decorative pieces are in place it should feel more homey and finished.

I’ve long been fascinated by the art/science of feng shui and try to incorporate the principles in my home design whenever and however I can. For instance, my custom desktop faces the doorway and is perpendicular to the large east-facing window. It is inauspicious to ever have your back to the door or a window. In the first instance it potentially allows an enemy to sneak up on you; in the second a strong solid wall behind you puts you in a position of power. I don’t know what to do about the ?poison arrows? that come off open bookcases.

Central to feng shui teaching is the need to remove clutter and I’ve got several books to prove it. (Does anyone but me see the irony in that?) At any rate, I’m using this redo to purge papers, hide the utilitarian stuff behind closed doors, and just generally see if I can do with less. At the same time I’m alphabetizing and organizing the fiction, art, gardening, and home decor books in the hall bookcases. I’m also making a master list of titles I already own to avoid the duplication that occurs when my memory fails me. The non-fiction, self-help, and reference ones will stay in my office.

I have a huge library of classic personal development cassette tapes that made many miles with me in older cars with tape players. It is priceless material (Tony Robbins, Denis Waitley, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, and others) that I’m reluctant to give away, yet can’t afford to replace with new technology. For now they’ve gone into storage downstairs.

My sincere hope is that this revamp, reorganization, and rededication of what remains brings renewed interest and enthusiasm to me and the projects I undertake in this space. My goal is to find the right balance between having the things I love surrounding me and having enough space to allow clarity of thought, ease of locating things, and room for more abundance and blessings to enter. I hope That’s not too much to ask for, from where I sit.