From a feng shui perspective, disorder isn’t merely about things being scattered or about not knowing what lies inside cupboards, but about the painful emotional relationship we maintain with clothes, gifts and all kinds of objects.
Different feng shui or organising experts, such as María Alma, Liliana Becerra Ro, Montserrat Beltrán or Teresa Fernández, agree on a common idea: what stays in the home and that we don’t use often tends to represent stages, decisions and ties that are no longer active in our present life.
The past occupying space in the present
For María Alma, the creator of the Yin Feng Shui Method, disorder is often a form of emotional resistance. It isn’t merely that we keep old or broken things, but objects that remain there, even though they no longer fit with the person we are today.
Clothes we no longer wear, inherited furniture that does not represent us or memories we keep without questioning them, keep a past version of ourselves alive.
From her approach, everything we save “just in case” occupies both physical and mental space. That accumulation creates a home that leans more toward yesterday than toward the present and the future.
When the surroundings are full of items without purpose, energy stagnates, and new opportunities can become harder to come by. María Alma sums up this idea with a brilliant line: “much of what we call disorder is, in fact, the past invading the present”.
Shoes as symbols of the paths we’ve walked
Liliana Becerra Ro, an architect and feng shui expert, focuses on a everyday object steeped in symbolism: shoes. For the eastern wisdom, shoes represent movement, the paths travelled and the decisions taken.
Accumulating shoes you no longer wear is, from this viewpoint, a way of clinging to stages that have already closed. “The shoes you no longer wear sap energy from your home,” the expert concludes decisively.
Mantener calzado viejo, roto o asociado a momentos pasados puede bloquear la energía del progreso. Por eso, insiste en la importancia de revisar especialmente los zapatos almacenados en la entrada o bajo la cama, zonas clave para el flujo energético del hogar.
Liberar estos objetos no solo mejora el orden visual, sino que envía un mensaje de disposición para avanzar. Según Becerra Ro, despejar lo innecesario ayuda a que la energía vital circule con mayor fluidez y favorece la claridad mental, la toma de decisiones y la apertura a nuevas experiencias.
Las fotografías y la energía emocional del hogar
Montserrat Beltrán, a feng shui consultant, focuses on an aspect often taken as positive: family photographs. For her, it isn’t about erasing memories, but placing them with awareness and in line with current life.
In areas such as the hallway, she recommends that only images of the people who live in the house currently should appear. Placing photos of children who are already independent, former partners or deceased people in passageways can create an unconscious sense of anchoring to the past.
The bedroom, according to Beltrán, should be reserved exclusively for those who sleep in it. It is a private space, intended for rest and emotional recovery, and any image from outside can alter that energy. She is also firm about the bathroom, a space associated with elimination, where personal photographs should not be placed.
Order as a reflection of inner life
Teresa Fernández, an expert in order and organisation, offers a practical complementary view. To her, disorder has a clear cause: the accumulation of things we do not use. And this accumulation reflects an internal disorder, for “the order in our life and the order in our home go hand in hand”, she maintains.
From her experience, exterior and interior order are closely linked. It’s not about achieving a perfect house, but a functional and coherent one with daily life. The just in case habit and the reluctance to let go of something are the greatest enemies of real order.
Moreover, having more than what is needed makes organising harder and can be demotivating, because the effort never seems enough.
Fernández proposes a gradual approach, reviewing wardrobe by wardrobe, sorting honestly and accepting that not choosing is also a decision.
Where all agree: letting go is moving forward
Although they come from different disciplines, all the experts agree on one essential point: disorder is not neutral. Every object that remains without purpose continues to occupy mental, emotional and energetic space. The home becomes, thus, a file of the past, rather than a support for the present.
The feng shui and mindful organising do not seek to impose rigid rules, but to invite you to review honestly what you are holding onto and why. When the surroundings align with who we are today, the sense of lightness and clarity naturally appears.
Start unlocking your home and energy
Pick one tiny area, a drawer, a shelf or a shoe rack. Empty it completely and examine every item, asking yourself three clear questions: Do I use it now?, does it represent me today?, does it truly contribute something real? Anything that does not pass these questions can leave the house and your life.
Mentally thank what was useful at its time and decide consciously whether to donate, recycle or discard. You don’t need to do it all in one day. The important thing is to start. Each space you free up is a way of telling yourself that your present deserves space.
