Q & A: do I sage my space before I begin organizing, or wait until I finish?

Q: Is it beneficial to sage / salt / cleanse my space before I begin organizing, or is it best to wait until I finish?

A: if you can only muster one good cleanse, do it after you’ve organized.

why?

so much of the time, we clear clutter, clean the space, get it organized, and call it a day without acknowledging the energetic residue left behind. so, any time you’ve cleaned and cleared, you want to sage / spritz / salt the space down to remove any lingering energy that HOLDS THE PATTERN OF CLUTTER IN PLACE. this is one of the reasons (I think) the re-accumulation happens so easily, almost stealthily. anytime you clear a space – whether it is a physical cleaning or energetic cleansing – you want to be mindful and DELIBERATE with what you’re replacing that energy with.

now, if you’re like, “I LOVE clearing energy and I don’t care if you tell me to do it 100 times!”, here’s what I recommend:

do a “loosening” up round first to break up any stagnant chi. you could use a smoke wand for this, but don’t overlook super simple strategies like shaking a rattle, leaving a bowl of salt out, spritzing something super clarifying – like peppermint or rosemary or lemon or cypress. and then when you’re done, do a cleanse to mop up and remove any of the patterns that settled in with the accumulation of the things. I LOVE Palo Santo for this! you could also ring a bell with a high note – as in clearing the air and “leaving things on a high note.” xo