Last week I shared that I brought home that *little* cabinet in the dining room. I am enjoying it bare even as we speak- it is not filled with all things pretty yet but somehow looks just as wonderful. I mentioned that when I bring home anything antique – my daughter will ‘cleanse’ it for me – basically to clear the piece of any attached not so great energy- and I got a lot of requests to share more about how to do that.
Clearing negative energy in any sense brings balance and harmony to your environment. People have been ‘cleaning’ energy in their homes for many many years in many cultures and there are many ways to bring clean energy to your home- from traditional ways you hav e heard of to using essential oils and sprays. You don’t have to delve too deeply into it or be someone who is more ‘in tune’ to enjoy the benefits of cleaning negative energy. To me, I feel it is like opening the windows and letting fresh air in the house when it feels a bit stale- and I will admit that I have walked away from antique pieces that I absolutely loved – because of the ‘feeling’ and anxiety I would get around it.
At its heart, the act of energy cleansing is for everybody, just like yoga or meditation- and many people use simple aromatherapy to help bring balance and clean their environment. Using diffusers filled with essential oils is quite popular and is a simple way to do that.
That said- my daughter is far more knowledgable with natural ways to bring harmony to your environment. So I have asked her to chat a bit more about this & the idea behind it when bringing antiques home.
Why should you energetically cleanse antique items?
To many, it is believed that everything we touch or spend time around leaves behind an imprint of energy from our person, which can be absorbed into the environment and everything in it. That means if negative things happen in a home- such as a collection of stress, or a passing of a loved one, the energy from those events can become absorbed into the items in the surrounding atmosphere and linger with them. Since it is an antique- you never really know where items have been, who they’ve been owned by, or the energy from people’s personal lives that these items may have been exposed to.
For example, if you were to find a piece at an antique shop that lived through an intense emotional period full of fear and uncertainty, such as war, even if not directly involved in such a tragic event, the item may have collected a lot of energy from the people of this time surrounding it. And when you bring that piece home- it can leave your atmosphere feeling heavy and uncomfortable and leave us feeling groggy, irritable, and anxious without knowing why.
How to cleanse items in your home
The most important part of any aspect of cleansing is to make sure you set a calm, clear, and positive intention before beginning. Since we’re working with energy, it only makes sense to emit positive energy of our own to cancel out the negative energy we’re trying to get rid of, right? In meditation, they teach you to go within yourself to a place of peace and focus with intentional thought. For balancing energy in the items in your home, the thought is the same.
“I set the intention to release any unwanted energy from this space.”
It’s simple, clear, and connects directly with what I’m aiming to do. Of course, you can change this intention to whatever you’d like the important thing to remember is that your intention doesn’t have to be complex; it just has to resonate and make sense for you personally. For that reason, a simple positive thought of what you’re aiming to release from your environment is perfect.
Now that we’ve gone over how to set your intention, let’s move on to a few different ways you can cleanse your space.
1. Smoke cleanse with an herb bundle
To start, the most common way people cleanse items in their homes today is to smoke cleanse with an herb bundle. In many cultures, smoke cleansing in its many forms has long been done to help detox and purify and smoke cleansing is also believed to help ground the energy in your environment and welcome a positive, calming energy to your atmosphere in general. While sage is the most common choice for smoke cleansing, you can also use alternatives that are more eco-friendly such as cedar, pine, lavender, or rosemary, just to name a few.
To start your cleansing with your herb bundle- take a moment to set your intention before you begin. Remember to keep this intention simple & positive. You can then carefully light your cleansing stick and once the smoke begins to rise, allow the smoke to encompass the item you’re cleansing inside and out. That means, if you’re cleansing a piece of furniture that has drawers or cabinets, be sure to open these too as you cleanse and go to each and every corner (however, please be careful of breathing in or stepping into the smoke cloud directly as this could cause irritation to your eyes and lungs). As you move past each area, remember to keep that positive intention you set in your mind.
Open the window to usher out and refresh the air and of course, please remember to always be careful when working with flames and wait until the herb bundle has been completely extinguished before leaving the space. Never leave a burning smudge bundle unattended.
2. Use a cleansing spray
Another great option for cleansing is to use a simple cleansing spray. Cleansing with a spray is great for individuals who don’t do well around smoke, prefer gentler scents, or cannot burn herb bundles in their homes. While you can DIY your own spray pretty easily, there are also wonderful inexpensive options you can find online that are also available.
The process itself is easy and follows the same basic steps. This includes setting a positive intention, surrounding the item you’re cleansing with the spray, and then opening a window to let the energy be carried away. However, for sprays, it’s good to not spray directly on the item you’re cleansing if it contains essential oils, as this could damage the piece, depending on the material it’s made from. Instead, simply spray it lightly around the item so that the mist still cleanses the energy in the space but doesn’t leave the item wet or saturated in oils.
As before, the most important part of this is being mindful of your practice and doing it with clear thought and intention with each spray.
3. Wipe down your pieces physically and energetically
If you don’t have any cleansing tools on hand, another great way to cleanse is by simply wiping an item down with a cleaning solution. Not only does this physically clean the dirt and grime off of an item, but when set with an intention, this can also help to wipe away any residual energy lingering on the piece.
Always follow with opening windows to usher out energy and bring in fresh air.
Fresh Air & Fresh Energy
Overall, cleansing your home and antique items is a great practice for maintaining a positive energy in your home. It is something that many cultures for many years include right along with their regular house cleaning like mopping floors and cleaning windows. Whether that is like above or using a diffuser to add essential oils to your home to help.
While these tools hold their own energy that can help clear these energies away, the biggest part of the cleansing comes from you. You are the curator of intent, the center of it all, and have the ability to change the feeling in your environment.
I hope this helps answer some questions! Happy Tuesday everyone!
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This was grEat! I Smoke cLeanse often and i COULDN’T agree with you more! ThAnk you for sharing!
I love your article, i have done this many times
Oh MY
Interesting article. I must say in all the antiques my husband and i have purChased, we have Never felt any negative energy. I May not be as THOROUGH with cleaning Our antiques. I do wash THEM DOWN with a lil soap and warm water. I have put MM hemp oil on a few PIECES, AND BOY DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I LOVE YOUR BIG LONG WHITE BEAUTIFUL CABINET! You have found the perfect spot!
Thank you so much For sharing this infoRmation😊
First I don’t mean to be rude but I have my phone on lower case and no matter how many times I switch it back and forth it doesn’t change so let me apologize in advance.
I respect everyone’s beliefs in this area but the article is a bit “new agey” for me. I do believe items and houses have energy and prior occupants leave their mark – how else can I explain the family room in my 1940’s house smells of pipe smoke sometimes when for the past 30 years of our ownership no one has ever smoked even a cigarette in the entire house! Or the battery operated mantle clock that was my mother’s chiming as I walked past when I was really upset – thought it might have been a corroded battery but after checking there were NO batteries in it – and I was not the only one who heard it !
Happy Hunting for your next great addition to your home – I hope you find exactly what your heart❤ desires!
I understand how you can feel it can seem new age- it is actually something people have done for many many years in many cultures in different ways. I think there has been maybe a bit of a new interest in it again recently with cleaning energy in general the past couple of years. And have experienced things like you have as well- there is energy all around all the time.
I thought I was the only one who felt this way about old pieces!! I have a little oil painting that i bought at a yard sale 10 years ago and Every time i try to hanG it in my House it lasts about a day because i get sUch strange vibes from it!!
Also, I walk by things at the antique store and say “no, that’s haunted!!” and keep on going…
YES!! Thank you for bringing this to the mainstream audience. Age old traditions are so welcome and needed. I appreciate all your posts. Carry on in love!
YES!! Thank you for bringing this to the mainstream audience. Age old traditions are so welcome and needed.
I appreciate all your posts.
Carry on in love!
A very INTERESTING Post reg CLEANing antiques. Thank you Jean
I love seeing the marks and mars of useage and age on any antique. Thinking about the hands that may have held it,..worked hard on it. the various gatherings around tables, seating, benches; tilled the soi,.. stirred the soup pot, Every antique thrills and awakens memories of the senses, whether it reeks of old oil, barn smells, soil…whatever jhistory it may have. Personally, I do not want to cleanse anything away. My opinion only.
Hi, as the post explains- this is about energy not about removing any patina or anything from the age, wear, smells, marks, etc. I love the old patina too and wouldn’t want to get rid of that!
I am in my 70’s-i have always cleared anything before it came into my house! Three crosses on the piece and Say “any SPIRITS in this piEce be gone—i will take care of it SpIrits should go!” i feel better and the furniture works beautifully, nice and clear and Happy home!