When you think of your childhood home, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it family meals? Do you recall the smell of your favorite dishes? Often times, the typical gathering place in our homes is the kitchen. Our kitchens are places where we store, prepare and eat our food, providing us with the energy and nourishment to live. Kitchens are also a place of community, where we can come together with family and friends to prepare and eat meals together.
Consider your current kitchen area. How do you feel when you enter the room? Do you feel that it is a place of honor where you will prepare healthy and delicious food, or do you dread walking into the space? Is it cluttered and dreary? Does it represent more work that needs to be done, or a place of joy and creativity?
While there are many things you can shift to enhance your kitchen, let’s take a look at just five ways to create a kitchen that supports aspects of wellness in our lives.
- Remove the Clutter
No matter what aspect of feng shui we are looking at, or what room in our home we begin with, the first step in creating a supportive space is to get rid of the clutter. Imagine walking into a kitchen where the counters are clear of unnecessary objects, where everything is in order, and you can easily find what you need when you need it. Take an inventory of your kitchen. Remove objects that are duplicates, things that you don’t use, or that no longer work.
Then, take a deeper look at what is taking up space in your kitchen. Do you have a juicer, pasta maker, or other kitchen appliance that you brought into your space because you had good intentions, but you’ve never used it? Are there things in the space that constantly remind you (even if subconsciously) about what you think you “should” be doing, or that all the “good” mothers, or healthy eaters use? Be realistic about what you want in your life and will prioritize. Let go of the rest. Removing those “shoulds” from your physical and mental space is just as important, if not even more important, in the clutter clearing process!
In removing the clutter, you are creating a space where the energy is uplifting and one that honors you and those whom you love. Consider how much time you will spend in the kitchen preparing meals, eating, socializing, and cleaning. How would you like to feel when you are in the kitchen? Do you want to feel uplifted, energized, healthy, or joyful? Focus on those emotions when deciding what will remain in this very important space. If there is an object, photograph, or other image that does not support your vision for the kitchen, remove it.
- Infusing Our Food with Love
In addition to keeping our kitchens physically clean and clutter free, it is also imperative that we are mindful of what we nourish our bodies with. Keep in mind how much time you have to prepare meals. Focus on what you can do with the time you have. If cooking and preparing meals becomes drudgery, you will infuse that energy into your food. Make food preparation as mindful and joyful as possible! Realistically assess how much time you have to prepare meals (without judging yourself) and buy foods that will assist you in that preparation. Set your intentions when cooking that the food you are preparing will nourish and sustain you and the ones you love. Bring joy into your cooking, whether through listening to music, using essential oil diffusers, or in setting the table. The more love and blessings that you infuse into your food, the more joy and health you will bring into your life.
- Design Your Table Settings to Honor Yourself and Your Food
In our busy lives, it is refreshing to sit and enjoy a meal, either by yourself or with those whom you share a home. Make each meal a sacred time to reflect, enjoy each other’s company, and enjoy your meal. One way to do this is to be creative with your table settings. Adjust your table settings to reflect the seasons and even the time of day that you eat. Do you want to have inspiring and uplifting colors in the morning to set intentions for the day? Do you want a more nurturing, safe feeling at home in the evening? Consider the table a mini-altar for setting intentions and creating a sense of community. If you have others in the home who can set the table, make it a community event. Create a centerpiece, either directly from nature, like flowers, pinecones, stones, or other objects found in nature, or create your own. You may even consider putting a gratitude or intention jar in the center of the table, where you can write what you are grateful for that day or an intention and place it in the jar to be infused with loving energy during the meal.
- Uplifting Kitchen Images
When you are eating, what images do you see? Do you see image that reinforce and uplift your emotions? If the images in and around your kitchen are not uplifting, consider removing them from the area. Replace them with images that represent health and vitality. Use colors that are warm and reflect nature. Consider keeping a bowl of fresh fruit or flowers in the room to enhance the feeling of warmth, vitality and health. Make the kitchen feel light and airy by ensuring there is adequate lighting in the room. Think about how you feel when you are in a restaurant and can’t really see your food. How does that make you feel? A well-lit, clutter free area with inspirational images will support your emotions and sense of belonging as you prepare and eat your meals.
- Abundance in the Kitchen
The kitchen, especially the stove, relates to the energy of abundance, bringing both health and wealth into your life. The kitchen is also a place of community, bringing family and friends together. Keep your stove clean and in regular use. Use all the burners on your stove. If you want to reflect the energy of abundance represented by the burners, place a mirrored backsplash behind the stove to reflect and multiply the energy of abundance. Create an area where you can eat without standing and without watching TV (and without checking your phone during meals). Make it a true place of community where you can uplift the energy of health, wealth, and family.
By honoring the kitchen as the true heart of our home, we can enhance our physical, mental and emotional wellness. Reflect on what emotions and feelings you want to experience when preparing meals and eating. Determine what objects and images will best support you, remove what doesn’t support you, and arrange what remains to allow for easy flow and clarity in your space. By creating a safe and sacred space to nourish our bodies, a place that uplifts our emotions and bring us together in community, we can truly create more joy in our lives during meal preparation and eating time. By doing this, we honor ourselves and what we use to fuel our bodies.
