feng shui garage tips: is your garage holding you back?

Let’s tackle one of the areas of your home that most people want to forget about in feng shui: your garage!

Most people fall into one of two categories when it comes to the garage: You either want the garage to count in feng shui or you don’t.

If you don’t want to worry about the feng shui garage energy, it’s usually because it’s an area of your home that you hate and don’t want to have to worry about.

If you do want the garage to count in feng shui, it’s usually because it’s already pretty organized and not something you think about too often.

But whether you want to think about your garage or not, when it comes to feng shui, your garage might be holding you back.

This is because if the garage is a sore spot for you, it can affect the energy of your entire home.

feng shui garage tips: is your garage holding you back?

So, does the garage count in feng shui?

Yes, the garage counts in feng shui. EVERYTHING in your home counts in feng shui!

But feng shui and your garage have a special relationship.

That’s because, for most people in western countries, the garage is the place where things go to hide.

It’s the place you store the things you don’t want to deal with. It’s the place where your belongings go to live indefinitely when you can’t get rid of them.

But the truth is, in feng shui nothing is hidden. Everything counts. Everything affects your energy.

One of the number one rules in western feng shui is that whatever is closest to you has the most effect on your energy.

That means if your garage is attached to your home, the items in your garage will affect you more than a garage that’s not attached to your home.

BUT, a detached garage will still affect the energy of your entire home and life, because the bagua also applies to your entire lot line.

And in fact, the energy that enters your home has to pass through your yard, so if the garage is towards the front of your lot, the energy is going to have to flow past it to get to your house.

How do you feng shui your garage?

The same way you feng shui the inside of your home!

The difference is that you might not want to place specific feng shui cures in your garage, especially if it’s not climate-controlled or insulated.

But everything you do inside your home can be done in your garage.

Where does the garage fall in the feng shui bagua?

This will tell you what area of your life is being affected by the garage. (Click here to see a picture of the feng shui bagua map and how to apply it to your home.)

The bagua map can also give you some clues about how to organize your garage for the best feng shui.

Some basic feng shui tips for your garage are:

One: The clearer and cleaner the space, the better the energy flow = better feng shui.

Feng shui is all about how the energy flows throughout your home, and the easier it is for the energy to move, the better the feng shui!

For your garage, this means clearing the clutter, organizing what you store in there, and keeping it swept clean.

Think about how you feel about your garage.

Do you hate it? Do you love it? Is it organized? Is it the place where everything you don’t want to deal with goes to stay forever?

How you feel about your garage is a clue to how the energy is in that space.

If you hate your garage, and every time you think about it you feel frustrated and annoyed, then that is the energy that is affecting you, your home, and your life!

You might even find that how you feel about the garage relates to the area of the bagua it’s in.

If your garage is full of unwanted, dusty, grimy things you have stored there and it’s in your home’s wealth area — how are your finances and wealth?

Do you have lots of unwanted bills or unexpected money problems popping up constantly?

Do you have “hidden” money problems?

Does money flow in the way you’d like it to?

Does it feel like you’re constantly waiting on money to come? If so, it’s time to clear out the garage.

ESPECIALLY if you’ve tried other feng shui cures for wealth and they didn’t work or problems continue to pop up.

Two: Do you have a lot of broken items, unfinished projects, or burnt-out light bulbs in your garage?

Do you tend to store broken items there so you can “get to them later?”

Do you feel like the broken things are piling up and you don’t have the time or energy to fix them?

All of those things represent broken and frustrated energy.

It’s time to get honest with yourself and decide whether or not keeping those things or fixing those things are worth the energy and space they’re taking up.

Either set aside time to deal with them or get rid of them and let someone else fix them!

You’ll be surprised at how much mental energy they are taking up, not to mention physical space!

Plus, as we discussed above, those broken items are carrying the broken energy into whatever area of the bagua your garage falls into.

If that area is something you really want to work on, freeing up that energy can allow what you want to flow more easily into your life.

Three: Light and bright is where it’s at.

Any time you want to bring fresh energy into a space, adding light and opening the windows (or garage door!) will help refresh the energy.

Light is fire and activating energy in feng shui.

A really simple way to activate that area of your home is to open the doors, windows, and make sure all light bulbs work.

You can even up the wattage of the light bulbs in the garage or add more lighting so that it’s nice and bright.

Fire energy burns off the stagnant, stuck energy so it can help you feel more like tackling cleaning and organizing!

Try opening the doors and windows whenever you’re in your garage and see how much different you feel!

How to feng shui your garage door:

The outside and inside of your garage door are very important for the overall energy of your home.

Chi (life force energy) enters your home through all of the doors and windows (this is why the front door is so important in feng shui!)

So the garage door is ALSO important!

How do you feng shui your garage door?

One: Keep it clean.

Wash it down like you would your front door.

If you don’t want to power wash it, you can hose it off or just scrub it really quickly with some dish soap, water, and a little bit of salt.

This will cleanse the energy and refresh your whole home.

Make sure you sweep or wash down the inside too! If you have windows on your garage door, clean them as well (windows represent how you see the world!)

Two: Keep it in good working order.

Oil the hinges and make sure the track works.

Make sure it’s easy to open and shut.

Fix any chipped paint or broken windows.

Three: Keep it clear.

Make sure you can easily enter and the path isn’t obstructed.

This goes for your driveway too – can you easily get to your garage from the street or alley?

Do you have lots of storage or trash outside of your garage obstructing the entry?

Are there things hanging over your garage that you hate or that feel dangerous?

Four: As far as feng shui for outside your garage door goes – you just want to keep it neat and tidy.

You can enhance the outside of your garage door with decor, plants, or colors depending on your personal style and preference.

Think of your garage door as you would your front door:

Is there room for plants on either side?
Do you have a pergola over your garage door that you could grow vines or other plants?
Do you want to hang some sort of decoration over the top of the door?
Does the light outside of your garage door work (and do you like it?)
Little things make a big difference in feng shui, so keeping it clean and tidy is enough.
You don’t have to go any further with decor outside if you don’t want to!

wooden garage door with flowers climbing around it

What color should you paint your garage door?

When it comes to feng shui garage door colors, Western feng shui says to make sure you love the paint color.

You want your garage door to make you smile (or at least you don’t hate it!)

So don’t paint your garage door a feng shui color just because someone told you to.

Whatever goes with the overall color theme of your home is fine.

Or if you want to paint your garage door with a pop of color – do it!

What’s the best feng shui garage color for inside your garage? Should you paint it?

If you WANT to paint the inside of your garage, then go for it!

If you don’t, I recommend just keeping it light and bright.

If you want to add a color to enhance the area of the bagua the garage falls in, you can hang a few pieces of colored paper or add it underneath other objects in your garage.

Color doesn’t have to be displayed in order for it to enhance the energy.

If you have cabinets in the garage you can just line the drawers with the color! (Click here to see the colors of the bagua and find out which color corresponds with your garage area!)

Do you use your garage to enter your home?

If the answer is yes, the garage is even more important to the energy of your home.

This goes for the interior garage door as well!

So make sure to apply all of the above feng shui tips to the home entry door too!

Also, think about the entrance of your home inside the garage door.

Can you enhance that garage entryway?

Some feng shui tips for the garage entrance are:

Create a welcoming spot as you enter.

In my home, the garage entry is very small, so I just make sure to keep it clean and tidy.

I also have a rug directly inside the garage door to catch dirt and grime.

But if you have more room, then treat the garage entryway like you would the front door entryway!

Create a welcoming space that helps you feel relaxed and organized.

(Click here for more feng shui tips for your entryway.)

Is it bad feng shui to have a bedroom over the garage?

I believe that there’s no such thing as “bad feng shui.”

This is because your home is an extension of you and your energy (and your family’s energy too, of course) so nothing is “bad!”

If there are things you don’t like about your home and you can change them or optimize them, then definitely do so.

But don’t think about things in your home as bad feng shui or good feng shui.

Everything in your home is ultimately good!

blue garage with white garage doors and windows

Are there specific feng shui tips for a bedroom over the garage?

Our main bedroom is over the garage and it doesn’t bother us.

But if your bedroom over the garage DOES bother you, there are definitely feng shui cures you can use to minimize the garage energy.

If you are a very sensitive sleeper and the bedroom over the garage bothers you, three feng shui bedroom over garage cures are:

Keep it clean and tidy. Especially if the garage is directly under your bed and you’re basically sleeping over it.
Place a mirror under the bed, with the mirror side down so that it’s facing the garage. This bounces the garage energy back into the garage and away from the bed.
Place a smoky quartz, black tourmaline, selenite, or clear quartz crystal under the bed. This will ground the bed and absorb any active energy from the garage so that it doesn’t affect you while you’re sleeping.

Feng shui for a detached garage:

As we discussed above, a detached garage can also affect the energy of your home.

Everything associated with your home, including the land around it, affects your energy.

The rule is that whatever you spend the most time around will affect you the most.

If you barely use your garage and it is detached, it’s not going to affect your energy as much as a garage you use on a daily basis that is attached to your home.

BUT, the garage still counts! (For that matter, a storage unit full of your belongings that isn’t close to your home ALSO counts! All of your belongings either add to or drain your energy.)

Feng shui tips for a detached garage are the same for an attached garage.

You want it to be clean, clear, organized, light, and bright.

You want everything in it to be things you use that contribute to boosting your energy, not draining your energy.

Anything in your garage that’s broken, needs to be repaired, or is associated with negative energy should be fixed or gotten rid of.

Don’t hang onto things that you don’t love, need, or use.

Anything you keep just because you “might need it some day” is associated with lack mentality and the idea that you can’t get rid of something because you won’t be able to replace it.

Save that kind of energy for things that you actually CAN’T replace – things that have meaning to you!

The more discerning you are with your energy, the more room you have for things you actually love.

And that means the Universe will bring you MORE things you love, not less!

So use your energy accordingly and only keep things in your garage that have meaning to your life and where you want it to go (not where it’s been.)

gray house with gray garage door and flowers out front

How does a detached garage work with the feng shui bagua map?

The feng shui bagua map applies to the land you own and have responsibility for. (If you live in an apartment and have a detached garage, you are responsible for that garage but not necessarily the land around it! Only worry about the things you can change and have control over.)

If you have a yard and the detached garage is inside your yard or land boundary, you can apply the bagua map to your entire piece of land.

Wherever your garage falls in the bagua map of your land is the energy that will be affected the most by your garage. (Click here to see a picture of the bagua map and learn how to use it!)

A detached garage will also have its own Chi since it’s not connected to your home’s bagua map.

You can apply the bagua to your garage as if it were its own room (because it is!)

That means your detached garage will have it’s own entryway, money area, love area, career area, etc.

You can use feng shui cures in your detached garage the same way you would your home!

One important point, however, is that unless the garage is a glaring sore spot in your energy, it’s better to start with the areas in your actual home.

If your garage is full of clutter and things you really don’t want to deal with but you know that you SHOULD, then your garage is affecting your energy.

But if your garage is relatively clean and clear, don’t worry so much about it.

Start with the feng shui of your home and don’t worry about the garage until later!

Once you’ve worked through the things that are bothering you in your home and the areas of your life that you want to change, then look at the garage.

Especially if you intuitively feel like the garage is holding you back. Listen to your intuition!