Your home should be your safe haven -- the place where you feel relaxed, happy, and at peace. But when bad energy is lingering around, your home can quickly become the complete opposite -- a place of hostility and negativity. And when you have this negative energy in your home, it can affect every other aspect of your life. That’s why house cleansing can be an important part in your personal well-being. 

If you’ve just moved into a new space, you should cleanse your home of any negative energies that might still be there from the previous owners. Or, if you’ve just gone through a breakup, had a big life transition, or you’re just in a funk -- clearing bad energy from your home can help. But how do you know if you have negative energy in your home, and how do you clear it out? 

Signs you have bad energy in your home

Knowing how to detect negative energy in your house can actually be quite simple. You can tell whether the energy in your home is good or bad – or neutral – based on the way you feel inside while you’re inside it. A house filled with good energy feels fresh and vibrant -- it’s full of life and you feel good being there. Some may say it has good qi or feng shui. On the other end of the spectrum, a home drowning in bad energy will make you feel like you’re being stifled, smothered, or even crushed. You can feel the tension in the air, and there are a thousand places you’d rather be.

Negative energy and stress go hand-in-hand, so if you’re constantly frazzled or at the end of your rope, your home could be partly to blame. If you’re not sure whether your home has bad energy of its own, check out these red flags:

• Excessive complaining. If you or your family members catch yourselves complaining, even when things are okay (or worse, when they’re actually pretty good), you may have negative energy in your home. The same is true if you’re struggling to find positivity in life.
• Negative relationships. When the people around you – spouses, children, family, and friends – are negative, it’s worth taking a look at the kind of energy you’re putting out there. Negative energy attracts more negative energy, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
• The blame game. Household members always pointing the finger? Negative energy in the home could be preventing them (and you) from looking inward to place responsibility where it really belongs.
• Criticism. If there’s a lot of criticizing going along with all the blame, your home could be swamped with bad energy. When you or others in your house send out negative vibrations, you’re increasing the bad energy in your home.
• Clutter. One of the biggest signs of negative energy in a home is clutter. Clutter blocks the way energy flows through a home, so it could be keeping bad energy in and making things worse.

Even if you aren’t picking up on any of these warning signs that you’re dealing with bad energy, it’s a good idea to cleanse your house when someone has had an argument, been sick, or is experiencing stress at work. Negative energy can seep into your house over time, so it’s okay to clear it whenever you feel like doing so.

Your home is the one place you should feel safe and secure, but if you open the door and you’re practically swimming in a pool of bad energy, you need to cleanse it – and this checklist will help.

Clearing bad energy from your home: the ultimate checklist 

Unless you’re living in the former house of an accused witch in Salem, MA, removing negative energies from your home is fairly easy. All you need to do is follow this straightforward checklist for an all-over house cleansing. 

1. First thing’s first: clean and declutter your house

Get rid of all the clutter by putting things away or disposing of them, and make sure you clean every corner. Open all the blinds, and, weather-permitting, open your windows. Let in as much light and fresh air as you can while cleaning. Don’t forget to dust, vacuum, and check for cobwebs – you don’t want the negative energy to have any reason to stick around.  

As you clean your home, know that keeping broken items in your house is bad feng shui – and items that don’t bring you joy can only drag you down. If you have an item that’s irreparably broken, it’s time to get rid of it and move on.

When you’ve cleared away the clutter and removed broken items from your home, you can finish removing negative energies with this naturopathic remedy. You’ll need the following for this house cleansing solution:

• 5 lemons
• ¼ c. ammonia or white vinegar
• Sage, frankincense, or copal (or all three)
• A fireproof dish for catching embers and ash 
• Sea salt
• A bell
• Selenite

2. Begin house cleansing with doors and windows

The doors and windows are where outside energy enters your home. Keep them purified by mixing a bucket of water with the juice from five lemons, one cup of sea salt, and ¼ cup of ammonia or white vinegar. Clean the doorknobs, doors, and frames, and windows in your home with the solution to keep them purified.

3. Continue removing negative energies throughout your home 

The ancient Native American technique of smudging can help remove bad energy in your home. The Native Americans used it for millennia because they knew it worked – and fortunately, the same materials they used are readily available in health food stores and online.

Burning sage – particularly white sage – is a simple and fast way to clear out bad spirits and negative energy. Add frankincense (which you can use alone, too, if you don’t like sage) and copal incense to chase out all the negative vibes so there’s plenty of room for good ones. You can also use patchouli, palo santo, or other herbs recommended by healers for house cleansing.

Follow this step-by-step guide to smudge your home with sage (or other herbs):

1. Stand in the center or at the front door of the room you want to cleanse. Most people begin in the kitchen, as it’s the heart of the home.
2. Light the sage bundle like you’d light incense, and let the flames die out (they will, very quickly).
3. Fan the sage carefully to encourage a steady stream of smoke. Envision the smoke absorbing bad energy and carrying it away.
4. Cleanse yourself first by lightly fanning the smoke around your body, beginning at your feet and working up toward your head.
5. Walk clockwise around the room, swirling the sage bundle in circular motions. Pay special attention to the walls, corners and floor, and don’t forget the ceiling.

This process will help manifest positive energy in your home. Some people choose to recite incantations or make positive affirmations as they’re smudging. If you’re comfortable, saying a prayer or appealing to a higher power for positive energy can help with house cleansing.

After you’ve smudged each room, you can now cleanse your house with salt. Pour salt into each corner and let it sit for 48 hours (the salt can absorb negative energy). Ring a bell three times in each corner to break up any stagnant energy, which the salt can then absorb. In two days, vacuum the salt away. Many people choose to use salt lamps to continue clearing bad energy, as well.

You can further protect your home from negative energy by putting selenite on your windowsills. Selenite can cleanse energy and raise the vibration in your home to a higher level. Many healers recommend using other healing crystals, as well. For instance, black tourmaline is a protective crystal that absorbs depression and negative energy. Rose quartz opens the heart chakra, while amethyst helps with intention setting, and citrine allows you to manifest your dreams. If you have a favorite that works for you, place it in rooms where the bad energy seems to collect.

What to do after you’ve finished house cleansing and removing negative energies

Now that you’ve cleared the bad energy from your home, you can focus on attracting positive energy to your space. Having salt lamps in various rooms is a great place to start. Revamping your interior design to make you happier at home and creating good feng shui throughout can also help bring in those positive vibes.

It’s important to be aware of the energy your home continues to bring you - good or bad. If you notice a shift in the energy as time goes on, consider clearing bad energy from your house again. After all, your home should bring you joy and be a source of positivity.

Originally published by Redfin