A Fresh Start for Your Home

Now we turn our attention to the fresh New Year stretching out before us, and all the curiosity, hope, and anticipation that inspires. How wonderful to have this yearly chance to clear the deck for all the happenings and pleasures that the future will bring.

As we get ready for New Year’s, we can clear away the stale energies from our homes and bring in a lively fresh sense of newness to help ourselves feel ready for change. Here are our ideas, from simple decorating tips to scents and sights that will inspire and refresh your spirits. You can make your home a beacon for joy, pleasure, abundance, and more:

1. Pare down. Try getting rid of at least one thing from every room that no longer feels right or appropriate for you. That crocheted throw from the aunt you never really liked, the toss pillow that doesn’t quite go with your color scheme, the kitchen gadget taking up precious counter space that you never use: when we clear out the things that don’t work for us, we make room for the things that do. Have a swap with friends, or donate items to a shelter or charity. Enjoy the refreshing sense of openness this creates.

2. Clear the air. Try opening a window (briefly, if it’s cold where you are) and imagine all the old “stuff” from the old year–the angers, disappointments and problems–to float away outdoors where the energies of nature will neutralize it. If you are holding a grudge against someone in your home, this may be a good time to clear the air emotionally: with love and compassion, and trying to keep yourself within the bounds of “I” statements, state your feelings and your wish for healing.

3. Clear the energy. Smudging is a time-honored way to neutralize negative “vibes” and bring in protection and clear, clean energies. Find out how to smudge your home, here.

4. Bring in sweet fresh scents. Here are a few scents that people have associated with clean, lively, fresh energies for millennia:
Lemon
Peppermint
Evergreen
Eucalyptus
Rosemary

You can put a few drops of essential oil on a cool light bulb, or in a dish, or mix them with water and spray into the center of the room.

Try simmering a sliced lemon in a pan of water on the stove. Add some peppermint candies for a minty freshness.

Cut fresh evergreen boughs (unless you are allergic to them) to replace the holiday greens that may be getting dry and scentless by now.

You can often buy sprays of eucalyptus at your local florist or craft shop to place in a pitcher or vase.

Many grocery stores sell large sprigs of fresh rosemary that will add a lovely scent and appearance to holiday arrangements.

5. More light. Light a candle in front of a mirror, float candles in a bowl of water, bring in more reflective materials–such as gold or silver metallics–to increase the amount of light in your home at this dark time of year.

6. Rearrange. Sometimes something as simple as moving a picture to a different wall, or changing the position of an armchair, can give the energy of the room a whole new liveliness.

7. Bring in the new. This is the perfect time to try something you’ve never done before: a different color-scheme, a creative approach to something familiar (putting your greenery in a galvanized steel bucket next to the front door, using a terra cotta flowerpot to hold rolled napkins tied with brocaded ribbon instead of napkin rings). When we loosen up enough to get out of our old habits and ruts, we feel encouraged and open to possibility.

May your New Year be filled with peace, pleasure, and joy!