What is Imbolc and why would you do Spring Cleaning in January/February? I am here to tell you just that! First, Imbolc is a sabbat on the pagan calendar. It falls in the very middle between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It's celebrated to mark the turning to spring. Even though it may still be cold outside, the earth is beginning to awaken. Very early spring flowers may just be breaking ground. Gardeners are beginning to make plans for their gardens. We are enjoying longer days. (Although not necessarily warmer ones.) During this time, pagans celebrate renewal, rejuvenation, and growth. It is a time to reset, cleanse, work on the plans we had created during our slower winter months, and prepare for the busier months of spring. A great way to accomplish this (for any religion) is give your home a bit of refreshing in preparation for the spring. However, it's important to not burden yourself with too much all at once. This isn't a time of year to become too busy, but just a preparation to help when spring comes.
Some people are all about decluttering every single space when they get started, but I find that we all need to be a little honest and more lenient with ourselves. It's okay to not want to do everything and only tackle a few tasks. Also, with social media, I've noticed that we have a lot of influences that show how perfect and clean their homes are. When in reality, this just isn't realistic. We live in our homes daily. It's imporant to be comfortable and not compare you and your home to someone else. Some people do not want any clutter in their home and view decorations as unnecessary. However, some people like to be surrounded by items (me included!) and that is OKAY. It's okay to have a modern home with no decorations, a farmhouse home with a few decorations, or a boho home covered with things. There is no wrong or right way to keep YOUR home. Do not apologize for the amount of things in your home (or lack there of). Do not have unrealistic expectations of what your home should look like. Be YOU. And be okay being you!
So, here are some Spring Cleaning tips to just rejuvenate and refresh. First, go through your rooms and look for items that you don't feel a connection to anymore. This can be as simple as taking a box room to room and spending 5-10 minutes grabbing items you just don't want or use anymore. A lot of people hold on to items because they spent money on them and they don't want to get rid of it now. The truth is, it did it's purpose for the time... now it's okay to let go. You don't need to hold on to things to sell because other wise you feel wasteful (and keep them in a box in the garage or attic for years), just throw them away or better yet, donate them. There are a lot of social media pages for people giving away items or looking for items! Why not help someone out that could use it?
Second, clean out the main entry points of your home. Wipe away the winters dirt and grime. (Even though there's a good chance it will just come back before spring hits!) Clean the welcome mats. Knock down the spider webs. Put away old coats and jackets that you may have gotten out but just haven't worn this season. Wipe your door down with peppermint essential oil and warm water (or peppermint tea if you don't have it!) to refresh your home and bring in abundance and good luck this season. (It also repels spiders and bugs so win, win!) Or if you have any of our All Purpose Cleaner from our studio that works wonderful as well because it contains cinnamon oil which is also used for abundance! At this time, you could also use the peppermint water or all purpose cleaner to wipe around your windows and your baseboards to bring in positivity and also keep out the spiders.
Next, refresh your kitchen using a few different methods. First, use lemon in the garbage disposal and in the microwave (with water) to clean and deodorize. Clean out your fridge, wipe down the shelves and clean out the freezer. Reorganize your kitchen towels and rags. Discard of any that you haven't been using because they're too stained. Rewash and refresh the ones you're keeping. Go through some of your kitchen appliances, tools and utensils, and pots/pans. Get rid of things that you haven't been using. You can even reach out to your friends and see if they have any need for items and do a swap/trade for something you may need. This would be a great event to host with others in your home! During your kitchen refresh would also be a nice time to put on a simmer pot.
Lastly, go through your wardrobe. Sometimes doing all of it at once is too much and causes us to have more stress and more mess in the long run, so just go through your winter items. Get rid of sweaters, jackets, jeans/pants, boots, and even hats and scarves. If you didn't wear it this year, let it go! I highly recommend taking to the thrift store. Leave the Summer items alone and in the fall, get rid of the things that you just didn't wear over the Spring and Summer. This keeps you from being overwhelmed in the closet.
Your challenge is to write down three things you want to accomplish for your Imbolc Spring Cleaning. This could be as simple or as complex as you want. Just remember this challenge is not to cause you more stress though so DO NOT overwhelm yourself! Even journal about some things that you find refreshing and try and do those things as well. (For us, I LOVE fresh clean sheets so I change them out every Sunday and sometimes middle of the week if I need a refresh!)
I hope you found these ideas useful and are able to incorporate them into your home! I appreciate you taking this journey with me. Until next week my friends. Blessed Be!
-Jacelyn
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