Winter cleaning purge.

Last year my purge got off to a very late start. Literally, the week of Yule I started the purge, just because I need to make sure the house was cleaned, for our celebration. I usually start it long before then.

So what happened. I made an oops when I planned the purges for this year and scheduled them in my calendar. You see, my purges are set to start 2 weeks before the solstices or equinoxes so that I have ample time to rest and prepare for the celebrations that happen around them.

 How do my purges work?

I purge with every season. The purge can last 2-4 weeks; usually, they take  3.
I originally started these purges because as a college student I ended up having a lot of papers and no time to sort them. This allowed me times to go through my notes/and tests, and condense the first half of the semester into study guides, then get rid of the excess; and at the end of the semester to get rid of the everything that wouldn’t be beneficial the next semester. By taking 30 mins to 1 hour a day or more if I can make time, I was able to go through the house and deep clean everything.

I still do this because I have the capacity to hoard. I know this because I was a messy child and that didn’t stop till college.

The stages of the purge are as follows:
1. Preliminary cleaning This stage is just my regular weekly cleaning of each room. During this stage, I make notes of the special things that need to be done and add them to my household to do list.

2.I purge each room based on the room.
Kitchen – I clean out the pantry, under the sink, fridge and freezer, and drawers –  including the snack, spices, etc drawers.
Bedroom-  I clean out the clothes, closet, desk, book shelves, and papers.
(Unfortunately, I don’t have an office and we have not set up an office space in the family area yet. That is this Spring’s project along with redecorating.)
Bathroom-  I clean out my makeup, cleaners, hair and body products, and towels
The other rooms are really rooms that have my husbands things and after years of trying, I don’t touch that for the purge. I just ask that he attempts to organize it until I find a way that is cost effective and easy for him to keep up.

3. Re-clean. This is the deep clean. I will move furniture, maybe reorganize the room for better flow. I do a serious dusting, getting all the corners and everything. This is literally a room every few days. Everything needs to have a home by the end, or one that is planned for purchase within the next few weeks.
4. Cleansing. I rarely want to talk about my spiritual path on here , and this is one of the few posts I will allude to it.

I cleanse in multiple ways.

I prefer using natural products. I love vinegar for cleaning, so if I didn’t already do that during the deep clean, I wipe everything down with a vinegar mix, vinegar oil mix, or an oil mix depending on the type of furniture. Natural products help me to ground my home and me.

I also purify the air by boiling a mixture based on the season with some vinegar. Depending on the season, I also air out the house. In Texas, I’m lucky because sometimes I can open the windows and balcony doors during winter, so usually, all the seasons can have a lovely air-out. Then I smudge using a smudge stick or sage and/or rosemary or another mix in a censer and walk it all around the house.

And that’s it.

xox,

Shalyse

P.S. Maybe consider doing a chemical purge as well.
My favored cleaners are:

• homemade orange cleaners
• vinegar
• baking soda
• salt
• Seventh Generation updated to Methoda (2016)