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Tackling all the laundry before the New Year just wasn't going to happen but for the three full bags of linens and clothes that did get washed, we managed to fold and put them away. Moving all the bins down to storage wasn't accomplished either but we successfully purged our closets, donated items from every room and started to re-organize drawers, shelves and cabinets. What I did not want was to stress cleaning the house top to bottom before the start of the year, we took care of what we could and enjoyed our time playing tourists in the city with out-of-town family from the West coast. One thing we knew was an absolute must do for the start of 2018 was to cleanse our home spiritually by Smudging as a family for the first time. It had been a purification process that quite a few people had recommended to us & I thought it would be perfect to use wellness & lifestyle expert and author Latham Thomas's new book "Own Your Glow" as a guide.
The energy within our apartment was off, and there was no denying it because the four of us could feel the weird vibe. I wouldn't be surprised if the dogs were feeling it too. We'd be moody, arguments would start from a short fused conversation, as parents we were tired of repeating ourselves "put away your shoes, fold your clothes, take out the trash" and the kids were tired - maybe even burnt out. All of the events we went to over the months were fun but the downtime to just chill out in front of the t.v. play a board game, clean up a bit or read was essential.
It was rare for me to turn down a fun invitation because I preferred going out over being stuck in our apartment.Our schedules were abnormal, with Mike working nights during the week {mornings on the weekend in kitchen #2} and not getting in until next morning he was drained. I was trying to find a balance between working from home and juggling the everyday stuff: budgeting, the two pets too many, pages of 2nd grade homework and raging teen hormones. Not to mention there had been such back to back obstacles and heartbreak with unexpected deaths in the family, surgeries, school bullying. Honestly, I thought whatever funky vibe was looming through our place was partly the reason why we were always on the go, I just couldn’t stand being home so I'd fill our calendars.
Looking back though, I realize I was avoiding the realness happening around us. Plus,since October we've had my sister and 20 month old nephew staying with us 2-3 days a week since my thirty year old brother in law passed away suddenly. Don't get me wrong, we have so much fun having them here: Binge watching Moana and 80's movies, constant laughing.............. noise........ and mess. Some days feel crazy overwhelming, which is to be expected with three adults, three silly kids {across three age groups} and two dogs in a tiny NYC apartment, wouldn't you think? I'd look at the bathroom toilet, the mounds of laundry, the piles of dishes and mail on the counter and say to myself "Damn didn't I just clean that yesterday?"
It was hours after the drop of the ball in Times Square and I was pretty dang bummed that we didn’t get to cleanse our space on New Year's Eve. The boys dozed around 1am and I peeled Tristan off my lap to great the hubby at the door with our trio of smooches {we tap kiss in three's to say hey hey and bye, lol}. We really wanted to smudge our apartment with our two monsters by our sides, so having never done it before I text my sister friend Latham the @glowmaven to seek advise on the best time to - as she calls it "spiritually disinfect" our home. Luckily, she knew that the first day of January was also the first full moon of the year so it was perfect to do with kids when they woke up, which was great because we were so ready to say peace out to the crappy energy that we couldn't seem to shake off.
Bad JuJu Be Gone!
As advised in her illuminating book “Own Your Glow” We swirled the sage all around us from head to toe and through the entrance of our home and every corner of each room and it felt refreshing to do as a family before heading out to hang with friends. Tristan really loved the experience - funny he's also the one we feel has the strongest connection to loved ones that have passed on. He diligently made sure to cover any area that was below our waists because they were the easiest for him to reach.
Smudging Yourself " Fan the swirls of smoke around your body from head to toe. You may want to focus on areas where you feel there are energetic blocks or where there has been physical, emotional, or psychic pain. Imagine the smoke lifting away all the negative thoughts, emotions and energies that have attached to you." Chapter 3 // Excavation
Hopefully cleanses will become a part of our monthly routine and the next time we'll try burning palo santo and placing the crystals we were gifted as well. With the craziness of the holidays behind us and the frigid temperatures and underestimated bomb cyclones shutting down the city, we're looking forward to spending more time at home to reflect and prepare for our family Glow Up.
2018 we have no idea what you have in store for us, but we’re excited and we’re ready so Bring it on!
How did you kick off day one of the New Year?
Now this is up my alley! I love sage and using it to cleanse the home. I also love crystals! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great way to kick off the New Year. I started my New Year by watching football and relaxing.
ReplyDeleteI grew up with the same laundry tradition. No dirty clothes in the New Year... LOL
ReplyDeleteI was raised with the laundry tradition as well. This year I made sure the house was clean and all of that. I didn’t notice a difference in my years.
ReplyDeleteI need to incorporate a laundry tradition every week haha! So far I’ve accomplished 1 goal and am hoping to accomplish the next soon so I’d say my new year is starting out strong
ReplyDeleteSounds like your year was kicked off to a great start! I started it by relaxing and I helped a friend out that day as well.
ReplyDeleteMy new tradition is to celebrate it out of the country because NYE is my favorite holiday. I was gone for two weeks and made sure to have to apartment clean (like I do for every trip) prior to my departure. I've never smudged though.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really had a new years tradition and never heard of smudging. I'm now hearing more people using crystals as a way to balance themselves. Sometimes you just have to stop accepting invites and just focus on you.
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