Cut The Clutter: Meet Feng Shui Consultant Katie Rogers

BIRMINGHAM, AL - January is the busiest month of the year for Birmingham's Katie Rogers. As she diligently works in the corner of a local coffee shop putting together plans for the onslaught of clients that the month brings, Rogers shifts into her professional mode as one of Birmingham's premier Feng Shui consultants.

Why January? It is the new year, and with a new year comes new goals for people and changes that her clients look to her to facilitate. Yes, the new calendar year is one reason she is busy, but Rogers' work also relies heavily on the Chinese New Year, February 5. And since Feng Shui is rooted in Chinese culture, January is the prime time to work her craft. Plus, getting rid of clutter is a significant part of what Rogers does for clients, and the end of a year seems to be synonymous with clutter - literally and figuratively.

Rogers, a Vanderbilt graduate, is a writer, a film maker (completed a documentary on the “Feng Shui of cities,” titled CarLess in LA), a Reiki Master, an arborist, a mother and somewhat of a Renaissance woman. Her travels have taken her to Austin, Los Angeles, the Bahamas, Europe and now to Birmingham. She has

Rogers received her certification in Feng Shui in 2003 through the Feng Shui Training Center in Utah where she studied under author Sharon Stasney in the Tibetan Black Hat tradition through the line of Grandmaster Lin Yun. She is currently a member of the International Feng Shui Guild with Professional Red Ribbon status.

Patch was able to catch up with Rogers to discuss this unique philosophy and how everyone can benefit from Feng Shui.

How did you discover Feng Shui?

I worked at a publishing company in Austin and I saw in this office what I describe as just a "sea of grey cubicles." This was having such an effect on the morale and the energy of every employee there. The negative effects of the environment and energy of the office itself made me want to change the way the office was decorated, so that led me to a bookstore to look for books on interior decorating. That is when I discovered a book on Feng Shui and realized this was actually a career. I started by helping friends with their living spaces and it took off from there.

I found a teacher in Los Angeles when I moved there, and met someone with the International Feng Shui Guild who taught a different school of Feng Shui, and it was a great way to learn, but some of the stuff she was teaching me was more superstitious, and I had done so much research on my own, but I needed to learn. I got certified in 2003.

How do you start a consultation with a client?

I ask people what they want to improve in their lives. For instance, if one says 'I want to get married' well, I look at the way they have their house set up, and there might be tons of pictures of people who are single, and I point out that there needs to be more things in pairs in the home. Or maybe someone wants a different career, I look at ways we can arrange their home to make those goals attainable. I use colors and organization that can help make the energy in the home more conducive to achieving the goals of each client.

How much do you have to know about your clients personally in order to effectively consult them?

I have them fill out a pretty extensive questionnaire, and I learn their goals, their plan, and with those answers, I can use intuition to add to that, and start my sessions off with letting the client know my intentions, and how that matches with how they want to achieve those goals. A little bit goes a long way. There can even be just one thing in a client's home that can set everything on the right path. And the more we do together, the more I learn about the client. I know it is a cliche, but it is like 'peeling away the onion' - the more layers of the onion you peel away the more you discover.

Feng Shui is different with each person. What works for one client does not work for another. We have a term called a "cure." Any change you make in your home is a "cure." I can give a client a "cure" and if they do not resonate with it, we try another plan. It is about tailoring to each client.

You deal with clutter. That is a big part of your job. Is it a metaphorical clutter as much as literal clutter?

Anything untidy or messy is clutter. Anything unfinished is clutter. It can be books on a shelf, an unfinished decorating project, too many things in a small space. To de-clutter a home or work space means also de-cluttering a client's life. There is so much more to clutter in a person';s life than just items being out of place. But it starts there. It is an easy way for people to improve their lives. If you can get your home to a place where you feel good when you walk in the door, it is amazing how it can shift a person's life.

We all have clutter in one way or another and it can be anywhere. And often, the client doesn't even realize how much they have. It becomes something you get used to, unfortunately, and because if that, the negative effects of that clutter are rarely recognized until someone from the outside - me, in this instance - identifies it. Feng Shui is a method by which you can de-clutter your home, your office, your life. And it is one of those things you may not even realize how much you need until you do it.

This may be jumping the gun, but with your background in writing, film making and producing, how would you feel about maybe doing a television show on Feng Shui?

I have thrown that out there. But yes, I think that would be a lot of fun. Being able to show what Feng Shui really is - getting rid of some of the stigma - and showing that there is so much more to it. I would like to take people through what the process involves, introduce some history of Feng Shui to an audience. I think there is a lot more about the philosophy than anyone realizes. It would be fun to have a focus on not only what I do for a living and how it can relate to anyone, but also what the term means, what it can do for your life. It would be a fun project to work on.

NOTE: Rogers' e-course, Declutter Your Way to Clarity, begins January 10, and can be accessed here.

Photo courtesy of Katie Rogers