Dorm Room Feng Shui

“Dorm Room Feng Shui” is a new book written by Katherine Olaksen that helps utilize feng shui for a college room setting in an easy and affordable way. It is written in a simplistic style which sometimes borders on obnoxiousness, but nevertheless, it is easy to read and fun. The advice Olaksen gives is a hearty blend of the obvious and the enlightening.

One key advice she has is that once you move into your dorm, always bring less, as she believes clutter holds you to your place. She says that, “If you want new experiences to come into your life, you have to create the space for them.” This being said, is the basis of her book and an explanation into why the best thing you can do to liven up your room is to clean it.

Olaksen boils down feng shui to “taking things lightly.” She breaks down feng shui into three areas: chi, the elements and ying and yang. Chi is described as a natural energy, while the elements and ying and yang correspond with balance. Ying and yang, which are polar opposites like light and dark, are essential because they’re measured in relation to each other.

Olaksen is able to provide ideas to increase these areas in your life with easy tasks. For example, to bring out your chi you can do any of the following: meditate, surround yourself with your favorite colors, jump in a pool or hang out with friends.

The next aspect of feng shui involves the concept of bagua. “Ba” means eight and “gua” means section. Olaksen writes that bagua is a “way to divide any space into separate pieces that are held together by a ninth ­- the center.”

She takes a drawing of a room and separate it into nine boxes and labels them as such: one is career, two is relationships, three is family, four is prosperity, five is center, six is helpful people and travel, seven is creativity and children, eight is knowledge and nine is fame.

She offers additional advice on how to make cheap and creative enhancements to each individualized section of a college dorm. For the first gua, she suggests tearing some cardboard and trying to form a shape, covering it with aluminum foil and using that for spare change. For the third gua she suggest growing a small plant or flower.

In the last section of her book, Olaksen goes into problem areas such as doors, windows, dressers, storage bins, trash cans, bookshelves, closets, desks and beds. Olaksen offers an explanation into how these become problem areas and what we can do to prevent clutter before it becomes overwhelming. The key word is balance, she states, and that task becomes easier if the room is maintained each day.

Olaksen’s book is a nice attempt at opening the average college student’s eyes to how easy it can be to maintain your dorm room and give it a comfortable aura without a hole in your budget. Some of the advice she offers is basic knowledge but she is also able to provide great insight and ideas into enhancing the feel of your room.

The final result is balance in your life through harmony in your dorm room. All students need that type of peace.­