Feng Shui Your Faculty Room

I've written a book and many articles about the value of Feng Shui in classrooms.  But how about adding this spiritually uplifting concept to the faculty room?  Typically, those dens are havens for discarded newsletters, yesterday's newspapers, and inedible leftovers in the faculty fridge.  Some, as in the first school I ever taught, don't even have windows to allow fresh air to filter through the mess and odors.  The picture I chose for today's blog is of a faculty room at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.  WOW!   Is that a fireplace???

Here then, are some suggestions for Feng Shui-ing the faculty room if you don't work at Westminster College!

1. Reduce clutter by adding a paper recycling bin near the door.  Make sure someone empties it frequently.  Also, at the end of the day, all lose papers should be placed in that recycling bin.  If they were so unimportant that they were left on the table, they can certainly be easily recycled.
2. Clean out the fridge once a week.  Discourage faculty from leaving anything except a lunch bag or box in the fridge.  Old bottles of catsup, half-full bottles of soda, and leftover hoagies begin to grow a personality all their own after a while.
3. Add a touch of the natural like round-leafed plants near the window.  No windows? No problem.  Most plants tolerate flourescent lights just find.  Remember to avoid pointy-leafed plants and cactus, as they bring in the "poison arrows."  Use those Glass Plant Watering Bulbs so the plants get enough moisture.  Plants also replace the oxygen and remove carbon dioxide in a stuffy faculty room.
4. For a different touch of the natural, and a calming influence, add a fish tank near the door.  Remember to assign someone to feed the fish daily or get an Everyday Fish Feeder Programmable Automatic Food Dispenser and refill it as needed.  This also solves the problem of who's going to feed the fish over vacation or on snow days. 
5. Follow the Bagua when you plan the areas in the faculty room.  For example, if you have wooden mail boxes, they should be on the left side of the room as you enter.  Metal mailboxes should be on the right side of the room.
6. When your district indicates that they are upgrading the walls and floors, make this suggestion:  Pale green is a calming color that works well in an eating area.  Floors should be linoleum or other similar material that is easy to clean.  I've been in faculty rooms where the carpet smells like yesterday's spill... for the rest of the year.
7. If you don't have any windows, create one.  No, I don't mean you should knock out the brick wall.  Simply place an interesting, scenic poster on the wall and attach curtains around it to give the illusion of space.  That's what I did forty years ago in my first school before I even knew about the value of Feng Shui!
8. Finally, consider the needs of your faculty.  If they like to chat all together, arrange the tables in a square or U-shape.  If you find that they prefer to sit with their departmentalized buddies, then use separate tables place far enough apart to avoid bumping into each other when they get up. 

All of the Feng Shui suggestions I have in my book, Feng Shui for the Classroom, also work for faculty rooms!

And now to make you teachers out there really jealous.... here is a video of a faculty room makeover: http://www.5min.com/Video/How-to-Makeover-a-High-School-Teachers-Lounge-93890400

Happy Teaching!