The Post-Holiday Cleanse: Clearing Energy After All the Chaos

Listen, I love the holidays as much as the next witch, but let’s be real - by January, your home probably feels like an energy dumpster fire. You’ve had relatives with opinions, kids hopped up on sugar, maybe some family drama (or a LOT of family drama), and enough emotional residue to fuel a haunted house for a year. It’s time to energetically scrub this place down and start fresh.

Why Your Space Feels Weird Right Now

Here’s the thing about the holiday season - it’s basically an energy soup. You’ve got:

∙ Stressed-out shopping energy tracked in on everyone’s shoes

∙ Family members bringing their baggage (literal and metaphorical)

∙ Exhaustion from trying to make everything “perfect”

∙ The energetic hangover from too much of everything

∙ Possibly some actual arguments or tension still lingering in the corners

Even if your holidays were lovely, all that activity leaves behind energetic clutter. Think of it like dust - it accumulates whether you want it to or not.

The No-BS Post-Holiday Energy Cleanse

You don’t need fancy supplies or a three-day ritual. You need practical magic that actually works. Here’s what I do every January:

Step 1: Physical Cleaning Comes First

I know, I know - you wanted magic, not chores. But here’s a secret: cleaning IS magic when you do it with intention. You can’t energetically cleanse a space that’s physically dirty. It doesn’t work that way.

So put on music that makes you feel powerful, pour yourself something delicious, and tackle the physical mess first. As you clean, visualize yourself clearing away the old year’s energy along with the dust bunnies.

Step 2: Smoke Cleansing (Or Don’t - I’m Not Your Boss)

If you can safely burn things and you want to smoke cleanse, go for it. Rosemary from your kitchen works just as well as fancy white sage. So does cedar, lavender, or mugwort if you’ve got it.

Can’t burn things in your space? No problem. Make a simmer pot with herbs and let the steam do the work. Or skip this entirely and move to the next step. This isn’t mandatory.

Walk through each room with your smoke or steam, paying special attention to corners, doorways, and anywhere people congregated during the holidays.

Step 3: Sound Cleansing (The Underrated MVP)

This is my favorite method because it’s free, effective, and you can be as loud as you want (assuming your neighbors don’t hate you). Clap in the corners of each room. Ring bells. Bang pots and pans. Blast music and sing along. The vibration breaks up stagnant energy like nothing else.

Bonus: This also scares the crap out of any spiders, which is either a pro or a con depending on your relationship with eight-legged roommates.

Step 4: Floor Wash Magic

Mix up some salt water (fancy Moon Water if you’ve got it, tap water if you don’t - the water doesn’t care about your Instagram aesthetic). Add a drop of dish soap if you want actual cleaning power.

Mop or wipe down your floors and doorways while setting the intention that you’re washing away the old and making space for the new. Pay special attention to your front door - that’s where energy enters your home.

If you don’t have floors you can wash (looking at you, carpet people), sprinkle salt along doorways and vacuum it up after a few hours.

Step 5: Reset Your Wards and Protections

If you had wards or protections up before the holidays, they probably got trampled by Aunt Karen’s opinions about your life choices. Time to reset them.

This can be as simple as:

∙ Redrawing protection symbols on doorways (even just with your finger and intention)

∙ Placing salt at entry points

∙ Stating aloud that this space is protected and only positive energy is welcome

∙ Visualizing a bubble of protection around your home

Do what feels right for your practice. There’s no wrong way to do this.

Step 6: Reclaim Your Space

Now that you’ve cleared everything out, it’s time to make the space feel like YOURS again.

Light your favorite candles. Put on music you love. Rearrange furniture if you want. Cook something that makes your house smell amazing. Do whatever makes you feel at home in your own space.

This is the fun part - you’re not just clearing away the old, you’re actively calling in the energy you want for 2025.

Special Situations

“My family is still here and won’t leave until next week” - Do a mini-cleanse of just your bedroom or personal space. At least you’ll have one sanctuary.

“I live with people who think this is weird” - Most of this can be done under the guise of “deep cleaning” or “New Year organization.” They don’t need to know you’re being witchy about it.

“I don’t have energy for any of this” - Then open all your windows for 10 minutes (yes, even if it’s freezing), play some music you love, and call it good. Something is better than nothing.

The Real Magic

Here’s what nobody tells you about energy cleansing: the magic isn’t in the tools or the herbs or the perfect technique. The magic is in your decision to take control of your space and your energy. It’s in choosing to not carry forward the chaos of the holidays into your new year.

You’re drawing a line in the sand (or salt, as it were) and saying “this is where the old year ends and my fresh start begins.”

That’s powerful as hell, and it doesn’t require a single expensive tool or years of training.

Your Action Plan

Don’t overthink this. Pick ONE thing from this post and do it today:

∙ Physically clean one room with intention

∙ Do a sound cleanse of your bedroom

∙ Wash your front doorstep

∙ Light a candle and reclaim your space

Just one thing. Then tomorrow, if you feel like it, do another thing. Build momentum slowly instead of burning yourself out trying to cleanse your entire house in one day.

You’ve survived the holidays. You’ve made it to January. Now give yourself the gift of a clean energetic slate and see what magic unfolds.

Your space is waiting to feel like home again. Let’s make it happen.

Raven