Guidelines for Decluttering
- Recycle or Freecycle any items that you haven't referred to, or used in the past two years. (Unless the item has sentimental significance.)
- Ask yourself if you love or need the item? If the answer is no to either of these questions, discard it.
- Plan to reward yourself after clearing a space with fresh flowers for the room, a new plant, or by hanging a photograph or artwork.
- Keep the energy flowing while you work by playing harmonious music, whether it be Mozart or the Beatles.
- Take frequent breaks. Organize your time into one-hour blocks, working for 45 minutes and then refreshing yourself by changing your focus and doing something else for 15 minutes.
- Visualize the space as you'd like it to appear. Form follows thought.
Use Eco-Friendly Natural Products to Clean
A simple mix of baking soda and fresh lemon can effectively clean many surfaces. A good all purpose solution is: ½ cup white vinegar, ¼ cup baking soda plus a few drops of lemon juice or essential oil to ½ gallon warm water. .
White vinegar and water cleans glass effectively. Add two teaspoons of white vinegar to1/2 gallon warm water and fill spray bottle. Use old newspapers instead of paper towels.
To freshen and deodorize carpets and rugs, sprinkle baking soda and let it remain on for a few hours before vacuuming. For stains, use equal parts white vinegar and warm water and let it sit for several minutes before removing with soapy water and rinsing.
Space Clearing Recommendations
After a room is decluttered, cleaned and freshened, work to remove negative or stagnant energies. Rooms that are especially vulnerable are rooms that aren't lived in, and places where there have been arguments, illness, or death.
Sprinkle sea salt around the room, walking in a counterclockwise direction. (then vacuum). Leave small bowls of salt in corners of the room for a few days.
To break up negative or stagnant energy, use a bell, or clap your hands while walking around the edges of the room. Reach toward the ceiling as you work.
Use incense and/or smudge the room with cedar sticks. Sandalwood incense is also traditionally used in Buddhist and Taoit temples for space clearing purposes. Be sure to open windows.
Sound helps to break up negative energy and does more than freshen the atmosphere. By voicing certain sounds we can become attuned to, and aligned with higher realms. Mantra is used in all spiritual traditions to establish protective force fields of energy.
Use Mantra, chanting, Tibetan singing bowls, or other spiritually elevating music. Try this suggested space clearing Mantra: “Om Ma Ni Pad Me Hum.” which translates as “Hail to the Lotus, the God Within.”
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