Like a Virgo: How to Deep-Clean For Spring

by Lish McSweeney

Happy Spring! The Equinox has arrived, the sun is shining, and it’s time to start fresh in your space! This is truly such a magickal time of year. I celebrate the spring by doing a ritual cleaning of my space to make sure I can welcome in the fruitful and abundant energy of the season, so I’ve written this article to show you how to DIY! 

Some notes before starting this journey: 

1. There is no rule that all cleaning has to be done in one day. If you need to, spread this ritual across a couple of days, especially if your space needs a little more TLC or you need to take breaks for your body. It’s not a ritual if you’re stressed about it! Take your time, you’ve got this. If you prefer to do it all in one day, go for it, but know your limits! 
2. Cleaning can be intimidating to some people. The goal for this ritual is just to make you feel good about your space, so you don’t have to do every single step. If you need to take this little by little, I welcome you to do one small thing. 
3. On the other hand, if you find even more ways to deep clean your space that are not on this list, you can apply a lot of these techniques to other areas of your home!
4. If you’re reading this post-Spring Cleaning season, try doing this cleaning ritual around the Full Moon and during the Moon’s waning period. These phases can aid with banishing stuck or stale energy and helps welcome in the fresh start of the New Moon.

Okay! Let’s get started. The first step to a deep clean is to gather your cleaning products. Basic things you’ll need for this ritual are: 

-All-Purpose Cleaner (I’ll be using Sanctuary) 

-Floor Cleaner (I’ll be using Threshold) 

-Glass Cleaner (I’ll be using Gaze) 

-Duster 

-Vacuum

-Mop & Bucket (or Swiffer, whatever works best for you!) 

-Broom

-Cleaning cloths

-Reusable lint roller

-Baking Soda

-Cleaning gloves

To make your cleaning products a bit more magickal, you can add a gem or flower essence that connects to your cleaning intentions. Sanctuary, Counter Magick’s all purpose cleaner, is already charged up with essence of Bay and Black Tourmaline that will help release any unwanted energy, so you don’t need to add anything! If you’re not using Sanctuary, I recommend adding Selenite essence to your cleaner. It’s great for clearing, purity, and a fresh start!

This is also the time to put on your favorite tunes or a podcast to help your mind get set up for cleaning. This can be your favorite album, your favorite storytelling podcast, or even some low fi beats. I do suggest one playlist that is bound to have you grooving while you're cleaning which you can find here.

Now that you’re all set up, it’s time to start cleaning! Divide your space, room by room, from the front to the back of your home. Leave your bathroom(s) for last as they tend to be the dirtiest. Complete each of the following steps in each room, cleaning from ceiling to floor. 

• Take everything that does not belong in the room you’re working on and put it by the entrance. Once you're done with the rest of the room, find its home and put it there. If you feel like you get distracted easily, you can use a dedicated bin, basket, or bag that you bring from room to room to store all of the miscellaneous treasures. Then at the end of your cleaning, you can tackle these items all at once.

• Pull all the linens from your furniture and throw them into a laundry basket. Make sure you take off your pillow cases, even on your throw pillows. Throw them into the wash and add a few drops of Selenite essence to flush any unwanted energy down the drain! 

• Grab your duster and start dusting! Begin with the cobwebs in the top corners near the ceilings and any light fixtures. Then, work your way down the walls, paying attention to any dusty wall decor, and finally tackle the baseboards.

• Wipe down photo frames with a glass cleaner like Gaze and thank the art for adorning your space. Wall decor can hold a lot of energy and they bless your space with so much beauty! Cleansing them of unwanted or unnecessary energy can help them live up to their fullest potential. 

• While you have the glass cleaner out, use it on your mirrors and windows. Gaze comes with a ritual for polishing these surfaces specifically, which you can find right here!

• Focusing on one surface at a time, remove items from any flat surfaces. Grab your all purpose cleaner and a cloth to wipe the surface down. To make the process even more magickal, you can use a specific color cleaning cloth: Green is great for inviting abundant new energy in, black for protecting your space, or white for purifying your space. With each swipe, imagine the cloth picking up any stagnant energy on the surface. Throw any used cloths into the wash with the rest of your linens. 

• Before placing items back onto the surface you just cleaned, evaluate whether or not they need to be wiped down with a cloth too. This is also where you can take out any hidden crystals or spell jars, and give them a quick cleanse.

• Repeat the previous step on doors, cabinets, and appliances.

Extra Virgo Tip: Take this time to clear everything out of the drawers and vacuum out any crumbs/dust that were left behind. Spray your cloth with some all purpose cleaner and wipe down the insides. You don’t have to evaluate every item in this step, just a simple surface clean will do! 

• Use your lint roller to get pet hair and debris off soft surfaces before vacuuming. Imagine all of the leftover energy from each piece of furniture being sucked up into the vacuum. Make sure you’re taking cushions off of couches, and don't forget your mattress! After all the furniture in the room has been completed, I’ll mist Ember, our room spray for calming, over each piece. It helps with scent of course, but also helps to invite calming energy into the space. You can also use Banish for complete cleansing, or Astral on your bed!

Extra Virgo Tip: If you feel like your couch may need a deeper clean, you can remove all of the outer parts of the cushions and put them in the wash with your pillowcases + used cleaning cloths. Let them air dry, and put them back on. I try to do this twice a year but it all depends on your lifestyle. 

• If you have area rugs or carpets in the space, this is your time to vacuum those as well! We’re actually vacuuming twice in this step: do one pass over to get rid of any dust, pet hair, and dander. Then secure pets elsewhere, sprinkle some baking soda on the carpet. After about 15 minutes, vacuum it up and get all of the stagnant energy out of there! The baking soda helps deodorize your carpet, so this isn’t a clean clean, but I find it good for maintenance and it works! You can also do this on your furniture if you feel like they need some deodorizing! 

Extra Virgo Tip: You can also have your carpets professionally cleaned or you can rent a carpet cleaner. Stay in your budgeting comfort zone, but if it saves you time it's no less magical to hire help. 

• For non-carpeted floors, you can do a ritual sweep! Starting from the back of the room to the front, imagine all the dirt drawing unwanted energy out of the nooks and crannies. Empty the dustpan outside of your home. 

• Finally up your mop bucket with warm water and add your floor cleaner. We have a ritual for mopping on our Counter Magick website which you can find here!

Tips for Cleaning Specific Rooms: 

• Kitchen:
• Use gloves while cleaning this space. 
• You may need some degreaser for your cabinets, but test the area first with your all-purpose cleaner. That way you’re not purchasing something you don’t need! 
• If you have a garbage disposal, boil some water and pour it down the drain. Follow by turning on the hot water and run the disposal, adding a couple of drops of dish soap. It will foam up and get into all of the nooks and crannies! 
• Make sure you’re also wiping down soap dispensers, the outside of your fridge (and the inside if you’re up to it), containers that may be holding cooking utensils etc., and trash cans. 
• Bathroom:
• Use gloves while cleaning this space. I have a designated pair for my bathroom as well as specific sponges for this area as well. 
• Use a bleach based cleaner to clean your shower/bathtub and your toilet. I’ve tried MULTIPLE different types of natural cleaners, and they just don’t work for getting rid of mold or soap scum and killing germies around or in your toilet. Use the bleach correctly by reading the ingredients on the back of the bottle and save some time scrubbing ;)
• If you hate cleaning your shower, wash you and your shower at the same time! I keep a brush in my shower and it helps me to remember to wipe away gunk right away while I’m looking at it! 
• Make sure you’re wiping down and cleaning your toothbrush holder, soap dispensers, product containers, and trash cans.
• Bedroom: 
• Every Equinox, you should flip your mattress. If you have a double sided mattress, you can flip the whole thing over. If it's one sided, you can just spin the mattress around. I definitely suggest taking the time to cleanse your mattress a little extra after this step as it’s in a new position. Also, say thank you for supporting you while you sleep!
• Make sure you’re also taking the time to wipe down your bed frame- I always miss this step!

After a good cleanse, your space may feel a bit different - you’ve done A LOT of work and you may have cleared some other energy out that your spirit was hanging onto, and that’s okay! Replacing that energy that you cleared out is really simple. You can burn a candle, use one of our simmer spells, or do a good old fashioned dance party to one of your favorite songs. 

Still feeling like there’s something lingering? You are more than welcome to energetically cleanse your space a little more. There are a couple of options for this: 

• Use an herb bundle or incense to smoke cleanse your space. Float the smoke into every corner of your space, and make sure you have a fireproof safe dish to burn whatever you're using to cleanse. 
• Use Banish, our room spray for clearing, and starting in the farthest corner of your space, spray, and walk towards the front of your space. Speaking out loud, tell the lingering energy to please move on from this space. Open your front door when you come to the end of your cleansing to let it leave. You can do this method with a bell as well if you’d prefer to not use anything that has a scent. 
• For cases that may need some extra help, grab one of our spell kits. North Wind is really for that deep, deep clean, and will welcome positivity and protection into your space. Open Window will help aid in your cleaning ritual, as it’s meant to feel like opening your windows after a long winter. 

At the end of the day, your space is your sanctuary, and it deserves a lot of love. Cleaning your home is almost like self care for your space, and it will thank you for your efforts. Enjoy what you’ve done! And take a nice long break now that you’re finished.