I’ll just come out and say it: I don’t like to cook.

(And, subsequently,  I’m not all that good at it.)

I simply don’t thrive in the realm of the domestic arts. I keep a tidy house, but I don’t scrub all that often. There are certain regions that seem to repel organization and I have surrendered to them. I do enjoy folding clothes and vacuuming, and I make a divine zucchini muffin, but the list of arbitrary to-do’s that I don’t enjoy is far more vast.

And then there is cooking.

Our kitchen is four feet by six feet (the table is in the adjacent space), scarcely big enough for me to get my tea while Jesse makes his morning smoothie without bumping hips and having to execute a wordless do-si-do. Cupboard space is incredibly limited, and mostly used for plates, bowls and cups. We store food in one hard-to-reach corner cupboard and, well, on top of the fridge in a pile.

In short, our kitchen is an interior designer/ space organizer’s wet dream. Great material for the “before” picture.

In terms of feng shui: My assumption, without having done any research, is that this corner of the house is energetically congested, bound and yet stagnant. If our house were a body, this would be a sore spot, a questionable growth, a contusion that’s been ignored for far too long.

A row of mis-matched spices are lined along the back of the oven, like misfits in a single-file line against the brick wall at recess. Gorgeous art is totally hidden by tall appliances and a bowl of long spoons. The faux-tiles on the floor have inexplicably separated, like faults in the earth’s crust. So we covered it with a rug. The only thing we use our toaster oven for is to toast, taking three times as long as the average toaster (I have learned to walk away from it as it cooks, like rice.).

In terms of actual feng shui: A five-minute research session uncovered some interesting (and disturbing) findings:

Good feng shui in your kitchen is very important for obvious reasons. The state of your kitchen is not only connected to the state of your health, but also to the flow of prosperity and abundance in your life. Plus, in feng shui, as well as in most old cultures around the globe, the kitchen is considered to be the heart of the home.  (For more and source, click here.)

Prosperity?  Hmmm.  The heart?  Uh-oh.

I read on…

There is a powerful energy connection between three feng shui areas in your home that are related to your well-being: your bedroom, your bathroom and your kitchen. This feng shui trinity needs to be treated right, because your health is connected to it on a very deep level.

Think about how you start and how you end your day, and how many times you walk this pathway: wake up in the bedroom, off to the bathroom, breakfast in the kitchen, leave home. The same pathway, but in a different order, happens at the end of the day. In a subtle, but powerful feng shui-way, the first things you see and experience as you wake up set the energy of the day for you.  (Click here for source.)

Wow.

My intention was to write a piece about my challenges with cooking and my unspoken ambivalence toward the kitchen-arts. But it seems the state of my kitchen has cut in line as a conversation topic.

And while we are at it, a few simple tips to enhance kitchen feng shui:

• Any shade of yellow is excellent for the kitchen because it’s a good color for digestion. Red, brown, and white are also good choices for the kitchen. Try to avoid a strong presence of water colors such as blue or black because they put down the fire feng shui element.
• Keeping your kitchen clean and clutter-free is a necessary step for good feng shui. This applies both to areas that you can see right away, such as your countertops, as well as the ones that are usually hidden.
• Place a bowl of fruit or a vase of flowers on your kitchen table. Display some of your utensils, plates, or cookbooks to create a nourishing and welcoming feeling in your body.
• The kitchen was considered to be the heart of the home for thousands of years. Use feng shui to make it a clean, light and happy heart for you and your family.

(These tips are sourced from the video below:)

Well friends, it looks like I’ve got some work to do before I can get to my original mission, which was to solicit the company of others while I aim to befriend the acts of roasting and dicing.

First things first, I suppose.

 

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Ed: Bryonie Wise