The spring cleanse is what I call the annual tradition of magically spring-cleaning my home. I clean, cleanse and bless my home as a ritual every day between March 1st and the Spring equinox. Southern hemispheres, alter the date however suits you.
The spring cleanse is an intensive practice that requires some degree of time, freedom and dedication. Most of the acts during the spring cleanse are things I only do once a year; it’s a DEEP clean. I began sharing it a few years back and each year a group of us work on it together. Everyone modifies it as needed, treating it like a guideline and not a rulebook. I frame it based upon my home, family and needs. Each home is different. For example: I do not have a garage, dining room or basement (that I utilize) but I do have a food pantry room, a playroom and a yard. Please modify it to fit your needs.
Let’s also define clean, cleanse and bless before we begin. In terms of this guide, cleaning is the act of physically cleaning away clutter, debris and dirt. Cleansing is energetically clearing away ALL energy — think of it as antibiotics. Blessing is refreshing the type of energy you want in space. I do all three in various spaces each day for three weeks. I also add in one day each week for rest or catching up. I encourage everyone to put in planned rest, even if it’s a different day each week.
Day 1: Saturday March 1 — Remove everything from the walls
This is the hardest part for people to do for three weeks, having bare walls. Take everything down from all the walls in your living space. I do keep up my wall calendar, clocks and altar items. These items stay down until the day before the equinox. Yes, it's echoey. Yes it's dull and bare. That is the point, strip the home bare. You don't take a shower with your clothes. I also remove the curtains from the windows and wash them. Those get put back up for privacy reasons.
Benefits: We get used to what we are regularly exposed to. We put up a photo from something we really want to cherish. A month later, we seldom notice it. Taking everything down and leaving them down for that long will reset our brains' version of normal to dull blandness. Let the stimulation reset. Objects also hold energy and since we are clearing out energy, the energetic dust bunnies can be cleaned with the objects put away for a while. I keep a couple laundry baskets with them until it’s time to put them back up. Physically, it also lets us see if wall repairs need done or if a paint job is realistically going to happen. I’ve been needing to repaint my home since I’ve moved in, but haven’t done it yet.
Day 2: Sunday March 2nd — Wash entrances to home/doors, reset ward and maybe wash the windows
I have two primary entrances to my home, front/back doors. Wash them inside and out, wash the door frame, door jam. Check to see if the hinges or jam need repairs or if you have filling to prevent a draft, if it needs replaced. You can use a magic wash if you wish or a regular one, follow your heart. After it’s washed and repairs are made (if quick ones) reset wards guarding the entrance(s) to your home.
Day 3: Monday March 3rd — Clean stairways, banisters, gates and doorways. Set wards as needed
Do you know how gross banisters get? They get real funky. Give them a good scrubbing, if you have any. Clean stairways, gates (inside or out) and the doorways between rooms. Today we focus on the liminal spaces, the transition from one spot in the home to another. Just like with the main door, clean the door frames and check for damages. We also have a focus on safety so you may want to add blessings for your family's safety — really good on my steep stairs. Some traditions lace wards at every doorway, it's a good time to see if they need checked, repaired or replaced.
Day 3: Tuesday March 4th — Bathroom!
I am blessed/cursed with one bathroom to clean but five people and three cats to use it. Deep-clean your bathroom today. Clean out the medicine cabinet, toss away expired medications, wipe down shelves. Scrub the tub. This is a great time to bless your family with health and ward off sickness. Two rooms are typically associated with health: kitchen and bathroom. We clean our bodies, we use the toilet, brush teeth, all those typically occur in the bathroom. May our bodies function in good health. I also like to go through my bath towels and if any are too raggy, they get rehomed or trashed.
Day 4: Wednesday March 5th — Reflect & rest
If you need to catch up, catch up. And then reflect on what you’ve already accomplished. About now the blandness should start to stop feeling so stark and a deeper appreciation for decor may be sinking in. Think about your home and how you're feeling.
Day 5: Thursday March 6th — Storage spaces day
I dislike this one. If today is a day you don't have time, swap it with a day where you do. Today I will be reorganizing my storage room. It’s a laundry room and pantry room combined with storage space. Camping gear, cleaning supplies, gardening tools, coats…. Food… so much. Today my husband and I will fully reorganize and clean it. Because it’s an area where we store excess food, I will add a blessing for prosperity. Organize a storage space in your home and be realistic: if you haven't used it in a year and wont use it in the next year — rehome it. This includes going through our food pantry and donating usable things we won't use and trashing expired things we won't use.
Day 6: Friday March 7th — Organize and clean half/some of your kitchen drawers + cupboards
I have lived in homes with no kitchen drawers and some with dozens, this one needs adaptation. We’re not tackling the whole kitchen at once — unless you can — I’m doing portions. Today I am going to take everything out of half of my kitchen cupboards, drawers and shelves. Clean them out really well and decide what goes back in. I know I have powdered sugar in my baking cabinet that I've used twice all year, I might get rid of it. That is the level of decision making. Anytime we work with a health-related tool. Add in a blessing for health. Since some of the kitchen utensils will be worked with, they directly impact my health and I'll thank them and ask their favor for my and my family's health.
Day 7: Saturday March 8th — Go through clothing, closets and dressers
My kids hate that Saturdays mean they need to deep clean their bedrooms. Today they'll get some help. We will take everything out of all of our dressers, wipe down the inside of the drawers, go through the clothes — are we really gonna wear this? Does it fit? Does it need mending? Do we like how we feel wearing it? Same for all, in season, clothing storage. And a general bedroom cleaning. Bless ourselves with confidence and self love.
Day 8: Sunday March 9th — Rest and reflect
Catch up if needed. And then reflect on what you’ve already accomplished… Think about your home and how you're feeling.
Day 9: Monday March 10th — Bookshelves, toy storage
In my living room we have many bookshelves with books, board games, puzzles etc. Take this time to clean out however you store books, puzzles, games. The entertainment stand that the TV is on, the shelves holding gaming systems. All that stuff, wipe it off. I also like to declutter. Does the puzzle have all its pieces? IS the game box destroyed beyond repair? With little kids, I go through the books and decide if they are outgrown and I donate good conditioned books below their reading level (keeping cherished ones!). What today looks like may be different for everyone as we store these things very differently.
Day 10: Tuesday March 11th — Living Room furniture
I have kids and pets, and my couch is always gross. It's also where we’ve spent the past three months snuggling, reading books, watching movies, napping, crying and feeling our feels. I'm gonna clean AND cleanse this one for sure. If your couch cushions come off, wash them. If not, do your best. I'm going to also clean our reclining chair which is a total pain in the butt but it needs it, badly. To cleanse it, I toss salt into the water when I wash it. I also thank the couch for all the times we had on it and will continue to have. The couch holds a lot of energy for those that use it. In the winter, our couch is heavily used.
Day 11: Wednesday March 12th — Clean out the fridge!
I go grocery shopping on Wednesdays so I'll have to do this one early. Take everything out, wipe it down, put everything that's not expired back. Food is nutrition, that's health. Thank the items and ask for health as you put them back.
Day 12: Thursday March 13th — Scrub kitchen furniture
Our kitchen chairs are wooden, as is our table. They'll need a good scrubbing. We also have a water tank which will get thoroughly cleaned out with vinegar. Think of the meal times you've had at the table. Kitchen is a health room, mental and physical; add in blessings where appropriate (Thank you water tank! Our tap water is not good quality).
Day 13: Friday March 14th — Strip bedding
Stripping bedding has been popular on social media off and on, basically you're deep-cleaning fabric because we can’t actually see all the dirt. You can do this the popular way of using boiling hot water in a bathtub but I can't be bothered with that. I soak them in the washing machine with vinegar and it's one of the rare times I use hot water; I’m a cold water washer. I will clean my washing machine first to get rid of gunk and energetic build up — yes your appliances hold energy too!
Day 14 Saturday March 15th — Clean and organize your bedroom in a way that suits your newest season of life.
If you're a move-the-furniture kind of person, this could be a big day. If you're a dust everything kind of person, this is a lighter day. Sit in your room for 10 minutes or so and just be still and quiet. Feel it out. Then evaluate if everything in there is where it best suits you given your season of life. Adjust as needed. And yes, clean under the bed.
Day 15: Sunday March 16th — Rest & Reflect
Catch up if needed. You’re almost done! This is your final reflection before the reset when things go back up on the walls. I use this time to look at decorations and pictures and decide if I want to replace any pictures.
Day 16: Monday March 17 — Go through the rest of your kitchen cupboards!
Finish up the kitchen and do a final big thank you for your health. No matter what status your health is, it could be worse. Your kitchen plays a role in that, thank it for the role it’s played. I like to have my kitchen full-cleaned and light a simple, jarred candle on the stove as thanks.
Day 17: Tuesday March 18 — Clean a space you didn't think of
I’m sure while going through this, we all went “ya know, i haven't touched that spot in years. Give attention cleaning and tending to a space you've neglected —and yes we’ve all neglected spaces. I don't know which space this will be for me yet, watch the FB page for details.
Day 18: Wednesday March 19th — Cleanse the home and decorate
Tomorrow is the spring equinox, Ostara. For me this means smoke-cleansing the entire house. I use sage and or mugwart. I have the kids do their own rooms with adult supervision. Not everyone can smoke cleanse, you can use water, salt, sound, crystals — use what you feel called to. I smoke-cleanse from bottom to top because smoke rises and no matter the weather, at least one window on each floor of my house is open. After I cleanse the home, I redecorate the walls and I bring out some spring decorations. We always make cake for Ostara and leave a slice in our garden to wake it up for spring.
Day 19: Thursday March 20 — Spring Equinox
My kids will wake up to a return of spring and plastic eggs filled with candy around the house and garden. Baskets of toys and treats. This year it's a school day and my non-homeschooled kid will still go to school. Yes it's a holiday but… we live in this world and it is what it is. We welcome the spring with song, special food and enjoying the freshly-decorated home. Thanking the home, thanking the season and thanking one another.
No matter your tradition or path, may you have a beautiful spring of joy and abundance.