That can start with making sure your bedroom isn’t contributing to the reasons why you find yourself laying awake at night.

In the era of 500-square-foot condos and bachelor apartments, bedrooms can have the tendency to be a collecting ground for articles people don’t know where else to put such as exercise bikes and unfolded laundry.

“Bedrooms are tough. People tend to say, `Oh no, we have people coming over’ and then throw everything into their bedrooms and close the door,” says Linda Chu, president of the Professional Organizers In Canada. “If you believe in the concept of clear space, clear mind, it has some merit.”

Chu references the Chinese art of feng shui, which considers the careful placement of furniture and centres around a movement of energy.

“If there is clutter in the room, that’s not very restful,” says Chu. “When you’re sleeping that’s the time the body is decompressing, but if you have things getting in your way on the way to bed – if you have to clear the bed off and there is laundry on the floor or the exercise bike is there nagging you it’s not conducive to restful sleep. You may be going into a cluttered room that reminds you of all the things you once again failed to do that day.”

That means living leaner, finding solutions to store articles in appropriate containers under the bed or in storage boxes in the closet or off-site storage units and labelling so you know what is in the container.

“At the end of the day, my theory is keep everything you want, provided it doesn’t stress you out,” says Chu. “If you can’t find it or don’t use it regularly, what’s the point?”

Be sure you have separate laundry hampers for dirty clothes, dry cleaning and mending. Buy good hangers that function well and keep your clothes in good shape so you are more inclined to hang things up when you are done with them. If you aren’t wearing it and haven’t worn it for a year, get rid of it.

The ability to block out light and noise can also translate into a better night’s sleep. Experts say people can be broken down into those who want a “cave” or a “cloud” type bedroom environment. A “cave” type of person wants their room pitch black in the morning, while a “cloud” person wants natural light to seep in gradually in the morning but not in a harsh way.

“We are told that the darkness enhances our natural production of melatonin, which restores the body,” says Dayle Laing, a Toronto-based designer. “Therefore, window treatments should be room darkening, especially if the window faces a street light or other artificial light.”

You can achieve this with blinds that have a blackout layer or heavy draperies. Products such as honeycomb shades from Hunter Douglas feature a honeycomb-within-a-honeycomb design that serves as a light-blocking tool, especially in opaque fabric to ensure a restful night’s sleep and significantly reduces heat transfer at the window.

“They are also energy-efficient. The honeycomb construction traps air in the pockets so the cold air doesn’t get in during winter and hot air is trapped in summer,” says Sue Rainville, marketing manager with Hunter Douglas in Brampton.

Custom window treatments can be highly effective, but also expensive. The most inexpensive option is a simple coated roller shade. For best results, mount the shade outside the window frame, just above the window moulding, says Laing.

Measure the width so that the blind will extend beyond the window on both sides by 7.6 centimetres. This will allow less exterior light to escape into the room.

Another option is to have draperies that are pulled each night. They should be lined with blackout or at least dim-out lining or by adding another layer of flannelette fabric between the outer fabric and the lining which also cuts the light and makes the drapery treatment more luxurious.

“If budget is no object, the drapery could be motorized and timed to open at dawn when natural wakening occurs,” says Laing.

Opting for draperies also has the additional advantage of dampening sound, which creates a better environment for sleeping.

For wall colours, be sure to keep paint tones subtle to make the bedroom an oasis of calm for going to sleep and for waking refreshed.

“A dark paint may delay the natural light for waking,” says Laing.

Have you considered that your Chi might be out of whack? (yes, Chi says Chu…).

According to my Feng Shui practitioner Tien Wee of Lucky Monkey Home, Feng Shui is the Chinese Art of Placement. Chi is energy.

By strategically placing items in your home, the ancient Chinese believe this to enhance the flow of energy that surrounds you. This enhanced energy helps to support you in your relationships, health, wealth, business, amongst many other aspects of your life.

Perhaps that heavy feeling around you is really more about blocked energy than you realize.

Physically, you see it in the form of the clutter and piles that surround and suffocate you. It is almost tangible, how paralyzing it feels. Feng Shui is simply learning how to unblock this energy and intentionally placing objects in each corner of your home to support you in achieving wellness, love, prosperity and transformation in your life.

I talk about a 5 step process of creating S.P.A.C.E., using Sort, Purge, and Assign as measures of taking inventory of all your possessions before concentrating your time and money on finding ways to Contain your precious goods and information for ease of access and retrieval. Evaluate your space in terms of creating function and form – getting your space to work for you before you bring in the pretty.

Feng Shui is an option you can look at to enhance your space for function and form, by improving its energy flow for better productivity. Enhanced energy – better energy flow – will create love, growth, wealth, and good health in your life.

Before you can enhance the flow of energy in your space, it is necessary to clear your space for the energy (chi) to flow.

Earth’s natural elements are:

• Water – North
• Wood – East & South East
• Fire – South
• Earth – South West, Centre, & North East
• Metal – West & North West

Water gives birth to wood, wood to fire, fire to earth, earth to metal, metal to water, and the cycle of life continues.

1. Find true magnetic north in your home.
2. Enhance each corner with the element appropriate to that direction and the direction before it.
3. Face a positive direction when doing important things like sleeping, eating, cooking, and working.
4. Sharp edges, like the corners of book shelves, exposed beams, corners in your room are ‘Sa Chi’ – killing breath.
5. Soften sharp edges with plants, chimes, crystals or even draping a cloth.

By clearing your piles and enhancing the four corners in your home the flow of energy will come alive, shifting your life in positive directions.

Please contact me for a more detailed handout about Feng Shui directions and elements or for help to clear your space before enhancing the energy around you.

Whom we choose to love is a reflection of who we are. If we want someone to love us, we have to fall in love with ourselves first!!

Take time to enjoy and love every little quirky thing you do, whether it is the way you giggle at little dogs, how you appreciate the gorgeous mountains or how you have curious mannerisms when no one is watching. Take pride and joy in your unique spirit and write down these elements that you cherish about you! The more you practice self love, the more you get to know and love yourself. You become happier and lovelier and in no time someone else will love that in you too!

Tonight when you put your head on your pillow, say ‘(your name), Thank you for being myself and I love you!’.