It is important to prepare for the New Year with hope, clarity and positive energy. This positive energy can set the tone for the New Year and help you stay on track with your goals. As we continue the holiday season, it is a good practice to review and celebrate our successes and challenges of the year. What worked, what did we learn, what can we carry forward to next year?

To prepare for the New Year, you want to bid farewell to those things that are no longer needed. The “out with the old and in with the new” is not just a practice, but also a symbol of things to come. Look through your closet, the laundry room, the medicine cabinet, the extra dishes, magazines, dvd’s and cd’s and donate items that can be reused. Discard items that cannot be reused.

This activity does not need to be lengthy. It can be as little as 5 minutes, and it can be as small as clearing items in one drawer. From the Feng Shui perspective, it would be interesting to see what “Gua” or area of the home, or space, is being cleared.

Clean up the refrigerator of half eaten food and old jars of condiments and left overs. Scan your home for visual clutter. Finish doing the laundry so you may start the New Year with clean clothes and linens. Finally, clean your home inside and out as your guest, Mr. New Year, is arriving to greet you!

Bring in the new.  Hang up and display new calendars. Break in a new item for the New Year – is it clothing? A new game, book, bill in your wallet or a bottle of some fine bubbly? Stock up the pantry and refrigerator to celebrate the occasion, no matter how small of a celebration it is.

Oranges and tangerines are very popular gifts in the Asian community.  A bowl of oranges and tangerines displayed in your home or kitchen symbolizes abundance.  The color orange is appreciated because of it’s yang color. As you eat it you infuse yang energy into your body and your home with its undeniable scent.  Homemade orange spritz is a natural way to energize and clean the air around you. Try mixing and squeezing the orange or tangerine peels in a bowl and then placing it in a spray bottle. Start spraying at your front door and around your environment in a clockwise fashion. Feel the effects of a clean and energized room. Watch for positive comments and happy interactions.

Yang activities are favored this time of the year. Yang activities involve action, movement, focus and determination. Have you made an action list for the New Year?  A form of an action list is to make a vision board or a dream board. The seeds that you plant now, with the proper care, will yield results when the time is right. Best of all, this season and time of the year calls for celebration. Celebrate who you are and what you are surrounded with.