Moving into a new apartment is an exciting process – you get to explore your new neighborhood, check out the local food scene, and, most importantly, start a brand new chapter in your life. But, once the excitement of moving into your new space wears off, and the unpacking begins, how do you reclaim the space to make it your own? Whether you’re trying to figure out the source of that uncomfortable feeling when you’re in a particular room or looking to energetically cleanse your new home to make room for the good, we’ve got you covered. We reached out to experts for their tips on how to cleanse an apartment so you can start fresh with a lighter, clearer space. So whether you’re living in an apartment in Boston, MA, or a rental home in Tucson, AZ, here’s how to get started.
First thing’s first: identify signs of negative energy
The truth is that negative energy is lower vibrational energy and emotions, such as jealousy, deception, insecurity, and fear. Yet, many people tend to identify negative energy as evil spirits, ghosts, curses, and witchcraft. In today’s world, people tend to lack awareness of the source of their emotions and behaviors. So, what ends up happening is that we are all walking around in our generational wounding and patterns and exchanging that negative energy with others around us. Sometimes, we even end up taking on other people’s negative emotions. Having negative energy in your home is not always the old myth or story that a dark spirit is attached to you because you spent too much time at the cemetery. Instead, you could carry negative energy wherever you go because you’re still attached to fear and old traumas from the past that need healing. –Felicia Evans Healing
When you walk into your home, take notice of how you feel. If it doesn’t feel calm or peaceful, you need to do some energetic and possibly physical cleansing. Open your windows, and sage each room, including all corners, closets, and cabinets. Finally, say positive affirmations throughout your home and make this a regular part of your cleansing routine to maintain harmony. –Phoenix Rising Acupuncture
Spaces (houses, buildings, land) often carry energetic imprints of the people who have previously inhabited them, which can include angry arguments, grief, sorrow, and even abuse. If your new home feels stagnant or heavy, it’s probably not your imagination, and you can do something about it. There are many ways to clear this energy, but I like to work with the “3 S’s”:
- Sound (high-frequency music, crystal bowls, even clapping)
- Smoke (sage, Palo Santo, and sweet grass are my personal favorites)
- Salt (Himalayan Salt lamps or a shallow bowl of salt)
Try one or all three to clear your space and make it your own. –Sacred Soul Alignment
Opt for a cleansing ritual that works for you
There’s no right or wrong way to clear space. My clients find methods that work best for them, such as burning sage, praying, cracking bells or bowls, or lighting a candle with the intention of clearing the space. Remember that everything in a room holds energy, not just the space itself. So it can also be as easy as decluttering, rearranging, opening the windows, playing great music, and dancing to cut all the energy cords to whatever no longer serves you. And remember to intentionally clear yourself and any tools used like rocks or talismans – my favorite for this is spraying Florida Water. –Suzanne Worthley
Recalibrate your apartment’s energy
Start by imagining a protective ball of light surrounding your body, and then picture that light expanding and moving throughout the apartment, sweeping out any energetic “dust” and recycling it into positive energy. Finally, imagine protective light surrounding the whole building and everyone in it. Anyone can do this visualization to cleanse and protect their apartment, and it will work even if you’re not a meditator or energy worker. –Soul’s Mission Energy Healing
If you feel an area in your apartment brings up negative feelings, consider energetic clearing to invite fresh energy. Open the windows, and use palo santo or sage to clear the energy of every area of your space with mindful intention (great to do monthly) of what you’re removing and what you want the place to be. You can also place black obsidian or selenite in the room(s) to protect and hold the charge you’re creating. Place a bell on the doorknob to clear energy in and out, situate mirrors facing a window, and freshen up all areas of your home with a reorganization to cycle out old energy. These can all increase the vibrations of your home and your mind, bringing protection and creating a lovely heaven in which you reside. –Mary Ann, The Ignited Soul
Cleanse with sound, salt, and herbs
Approaching a space respectfully is just as important as clearing it. Because space is its own entity and holds emotional vibrations without judgment, I first humbly honor the space as I would a wise elder and then ask if I may clear it so that the space might hold, support, and protect me in all the ways I need. Then, aside from sending the space Reiki, I call on the magical resonance of sound (via tuning forks, bells, and even my own singing voice) to transform the vibrations within a space into fresh new energy. –Reiki with Olivea
A quick and easy way to get heavy energy out is to purchase small, shot glasses, fill them ¾ full with Epsom salt, and then add 11 drops of rosemary essential oil to the salt. Do this for every window in your space. Then, before placing the cup on the sill, ask this mixture to remove any negative energy from the room and your energy field. Before long, you’ll feel that wonderful positive energy enter the room and lighten things up. Replace the mixture twice a month for continued protection. –The Health Hut
In these challenging times, a daily smudging ritual can help transform feelings of heaviness and anxiety into calm while supporting healing, sleep, and positive growth. Smudging is an ancient indigenous way to clear heavy energy in the home by calling on a sacred plant ally. And keeping our spaces and energy fields clear also benefits our animal companions, especially when they are elderly or ill. But you don’t have to smudge the entire space every day. Instead, focus on your energy field and where you and your animals spend the most time, such as sleeping and work areas. This way, you only have to smudge everywhere once a week. –Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing
Don’t forget to clear out the physical clutter
An essential part of maintaining a happy and peaceful vibe in your space is to address any physical disruptions to a healthy energy flow. Dust and clutter can cause energy to stagnate, making the room feel heavy and chaotic. Make it a daily ritual to spend 15 minutes blessing your home as you wipe away dust and clear out the clutter. It may sound mundane, but the uplifting impact feels magical. –Spirit of Lotus Healing Arts
One of my favorite ways to cleanse an apartment is giving away, throwing, or removing anything that no longer brings me peace. We spend so much time saging our rooms, buying the most beautiful crystals, and lighting candles. But, if we keep a sweater from an ex-partner that reminds us of a problematic relationship, it’s as if we’re inviting these negative energies to live rent-free in our home. Remember that we can manipulate energy, so by deciding to keep these objects, you are telling these energies you want to keep them in your life. Letting go of physical items is the beginning of clearing away negative energy. –Titipoza
Clutter represents stuck energy, and eliminating the piles of paper, clothing, and random stuff will release the energy accumulating and lurking beneath the surface. Setting up a crystal protection grid of black tourmaline and clear quartz around the inside corners of your space will absorb negative energy and provide powerful protection from energy drainers. When smudging with white sage, set an intention for clearing any negative energy not in alignment with the mood of the space. If you’re seeking a Zen tone, state it out loud and then end with, “and so it is!” –Latitude Wellness
Maintain and attract positive energy by strategically placing crystals around your apartment
Hanging round faceted crystals in your windows can help block negative energy in the neighborhood. The crystals also reflect the sunlight with beautiful colored rays upon the floor and walls of your apartment, creating a happy glow to raise your vibration. Burn Palo Santo sticks to repel any emotional trauma that has occurred during the day. Palo santo is a sacred wood from South America. Smudge your house or apartment in tiny figure-eight patterns, up high in the rafters, down low under coffee tables, and all around. This creates more peace and harmony after a major argument. –Titanya Dahlin
Raise the energy of a space with crystals. Crystals hold a high vibration, and when placed in the four corners of a building or room, they create a grid of energy that helps the space to feel calm and peaceful. We also use essential oil sprays with sage and Palo Santo throughout our space to clear stagnant energy and make space for what’s coming next. You’ll know your home needs support when you feel tired in the space or if the residents suddenly have difficulty getting along. –Sagewood Center for Healing and Wellness
Uplift your space
A home is an energetic reflection of the people that spend time in it, so keeping a home energetically clean involves viewing yourself as the authority in and custodian of your home. Keeping toxic people out of your life, working on personal growth and healing, maintaining a clean and tidy space, and enforcing solid personal boundaries are essential to keeping the negative energy out. When we create positive and uplifting conditions for ourselves personally, we create the same for our space, which makes all the difference in making your home feel good to you and others. –Anya Goode
Keep your space minimal and clear. Open windows to create fresh air flow daily. Clap your hands and walk around the space – above, below, to the left and the right, in front and behind. This helps place high vibrational energy into the room. And visualize the entire space in a bubble or sphere of protection energy. –Tracy Marshall Healing
Set the right intentions from the get-go
Our life begins in our minds; therefore, it’s important to set an intention for the space before starting the clearing process. The intention could be as simple as clearing out stagnant, old, or negative energy to make room for high vibrational energy. Whatever your goal, carry it in your heart and mind during the clearing process. Sound can also be used to shift and clear energy out. Begin by opening windows and doors and setting intentions. Use bells, tuning forks, singing bowls, or even a bag of loose change. Sound from instruments such as these vibrates at a frequency palpable to our bodies and living spaces. These waves dispel heavy and negative energies and open the space to welcome harmony and peace. Experiment with different instruments until you find the one that connects best with you. –White Lotus Spiritual Healing
Keeping your thoughts and intentions positive, powerful, and pure is your best protection from others’ energies (even when “they” are long gone). It’s a “rule” of science and energy that what you think, creates. Talk to your body and your space and tell it what you want it to do for you. Create a sanctuary, replenish your energies, and express your perfection. When you enter your space, touch the door frame, greet it, and tell it you’re “home.” Also, remember another rule: nothing and no one can take your power, so, hold on to it. –Energy Medicine Specialists
Be mindful of your thoughts and mood every time you enter your apartment. As you touch your door handle, think, “I am entering my space of comfort, peace, and contentment. I am grateful to be here.” The energy of our thoughts and emotions goes before us, and it’s never too late to check in with yourself and let go of any stress and chaos of your day. Don’t bring it home with you. Leave it at your doorstep. –Jill Kline Reiki
Implement mindfulness in your space
You take your energy wherever you go, and positive imagery can help you and clear your space of negativity. Have you ever tried to eliminate negative energy from your space with sage, lighting incense, aromatherapy candles, and even decluttering, and it still doesn’t feel right? Place your hand on your heart and see, sense, and feel your heart filled with a beautiful warm golden light that you allow to spread to all of the corners of your apartment with the intention to spread love, light, and positivity in your space. -Sabrina Bennardo, LCSW, MyHealthAngel | Tuesday Talks Host
It’s important to be intentional about your space by nurturing and adoring it with things that make you smile and bring peace and calmness. Whatever brings you peace can be used as a tool and reminder that your space is protected. You can burn your favorite candles, incense, and essential oils, put on your favorite music, laugh, sing dance, or cook your favorite meals. Protecting the energy in your home starts with maintaining your inner peace. Everything around you will become a reflection of your practice. –Reiki Reset Energy Healing
Visualize a spotlight and imagine the light spreading in all rooms and cleaning the rooms of any heavy toxic energies. Then, imagine a white or a golden light around your body in your apartment and hold it with beautiful energy. This is the best and most accessible way to cleanse an apartment since it’s only a thought away and acts as a shield against any negative vibes. Also, energy flows where intentions lead us, so write a list of intentions for your home and light a candle. –Srimanju Katragadda
Finish off by protecting your apartment after cleansing to ward off lingering negative energy
The most common oversight I come across is people not cleansing their space before protecting it. Protection is pointless if you haven’t cleansed away negative energy first because all you’re going to do is trap in that negativity. The best and simplest way is to open all windows and doors to allow the stagnant air to leave, sweep around the corners and tricky spaces either with your hands (which you can also turn into a little dance to lift the energy) or walk around the apartment with a sage smudge stick (remembering all those tricky corners). Once the space is nicely cleansed, place crystals like obsidian to ward off negative energy. I also make a pretty wreath of seasonal dried herbs like sage, fennel, and eucalyptus on a willow base which I hang above my door. The great thing about a wreath is that the herbs protect your home, and you can seasonally change the herbs and flowers to suit you. –Chi-quilibrium
Shed negative energy and create more positive openings naturally by focusing on protecting your space. Easy ways to protect your space after cleansing include placing protective crystals, such as blue lace agate, at each entry or exit of your space. Write an intentional love blessing and set it at your home’s doorways. Speak aloud that blessing as you enter or exit your home. –The Holistic Soul Healer
Evoke the protective and purifying purple fire of Archangel Saint Germaine. Visualize this burning through you, your home, your workplace, and ahead of you as you journey through the day. It will help melt away negative energy and bring peace and harmony to you and others you interact with. You could keep a purple flame symbol on your phone or in your purse to amplify this power. The more you use the purple flame, the more powerful it becomes. –Natural Healing & Biomagnetism
United States
Canada