Feng shui maven lists 3 decor drags

With the turn of the season fast approaching, our minds have turned to the nesting months ahead (and how we can prepare our homes accordingly). Enter Anjie Cho, an architect, registered feng shui expert and Amazon best-selling author of 108 Ways to Create Holistic Spaces. Cho recently took to MindBodyGreen.com to discuss the ways “the spaces around us directly affect the amount of stress and ease we feel in our day-to-day,” and how adding or removing certain items can change that. Listed below are items that don’t deserve a place in your home (and why).

Dried flowers. “Dried and decaying flowers, branches, and leaves are a big feng shui no-no,” Cho writes. “At one point these living things held vibrant energy, but as they dried and decayed, they began to represent death and decline.” She adds that a dried flower or bouquet with a positive meaning associated with it is an exception.

Unwanted gifts. Despite the most positive intentions, many of us have received a gift we don’t want (or doesn’t fit into our lives in some way). “We can appreciate the gesture of a gift, but holding onto something unwanted affects our peace and happiness,” she explains. “Give yourself permission to donate those objects. There is someone out there who will love it.”

Broken objects. “I find broken items in need of repair in most of my client’s homes,” she says. “Often, the item is taking up a lot of room, and fixing it has been on the todo list for months — if not years.” She adds that, while it’s normal to let these odd jobs slip through the cracks, broken items “indicate stagnant energy,” which can “wear you down on a subconscious level.” In other words, “every time you see that item you have been meaning to repair, it weighs on you.”