Stupid question, I know...
 

so in the room I have my orchids is two windows on opposite sides of the room (3 windows really 2 on 1 side) & I really don't know how to tell the direction the windows are facing (not good at that) while I think neither is east nor west, one gets a little bit of morning light, the other 2 gets the afternoon light, the orchids I have are on shelves slightly away from either window. I'm running out of room. I do have a shelf near the window that gets morning light, If I get more orchids would this window be bad? It's either a southeast/northeast window? or should I find new shelving for the between areas?

I bought myself a compass for next to nothing on eBay. Tells me my window is North/West facing.

Don't actually know what good that piece of info is to me as it's my only window so I don't have a choice.

Lornie
x x x

If you have a smart phone, there are compass apps... the one I have was free, and came with a flashlight app. Or buy one off eBay, as Lorna suggested, or buy one at Walmart, any sporting goods stores... etc. not hard to come by :) Good Luck!

The run rises in the east, and sets in the west.

Using that as a guide, you can look up the four points compass on the Internet, and then tell which way is also south and north.

Morning light is excellent for orchids. Even my phalaenopsis get a couple hours of direct light in the morning. As long as you can protect the orchids from the harsh mid-day sun, you should be fine.

Open Google Maps (or some other online map), zoom onto your house, find your window. Make sure the map is oriented correctly (North is straight up, I don't know what that is called-0,0,0,0?). The angle your window faces is what you are after. This stuff really just helps you communicate your situation. What is important is the intensity and duration of light (how many hours is the sun shining through the window).

Most Cattleya alliances can take hours of direct hit sunlight. Phals can take short exposure from low sun angle.

Its not an exact science, sometimes you just have to try.

If you can find West (where the sun sets), and face it straight-on, North is to your right, and South is to your left. (This is how I figured out what windows would work when I was first starting out) East, behind

If u can find East (Sun rise) easier, facing East, North is to your left, and South to your right. :)

so what I think I can conclude by north being to the right of a setting sun, then the side that has two windows is northwest, & the side that has 1 window is southeast.

Its not stupid; in fact it is a very intelligent question....to know the exact position of your light source.....will guide you as to what kind of orchids you can grow in your environment.

I was going to suggest finding where the sun rises and sets and also looking at your house on a map and finding the direction of your window based on that, assuming the map is oriented so that north is actually north. :)