Clearing your Home

    There's the door that was slammed too many times to count. There is room where voices were always too loud. There is the table were we used to eat as a family. There it is and here we are. When parents separate and families go through a painful transition, the house can feel like it's weighted down by a hostility hangover. This can be especially painful for the spouse and children who remain in the residence. Taking action steps to clear your house of negative energy can be an effective way to mark a fresh beginning in a familiar residence.

Cleansing your home means rebalancing the energy so it feels like it's working with us, not against us. If you want to shake the uncomfortable feeling in your home and get everyone on track, you can try some simple things as a family. Children who are feeling anxious and angry at the inability to control the changes happening to them can feel empowered by these simple activities which focus on turning a page and moving forward.

Weather permitting, open all of the windows and doors and let the wind whip through and the sun shone in. Nothing helps clear the air like fresh air. Walk with your children to the center of each room, firmly plant your feet in the middle of the floor, raise your arms above your head and sway back and forth like a tree in the breeze. "Push" the old air (and arguments) out the window and welcome in some much needed fresh air.

Salt has long been considered an excellent cleaning and detoxifying agent. Make a salt sachet by filling mismatched socks with table salt. "Scrub" the table, chairs, furniture and fixtures that were at the center of arguments. When you are finished with this clarifying treatment, keep socks in the corner of the troublesome rooms over night to "soak up" the bad energy. In the morning, flush the salt down the toilet and bid farewell to bad vibes.

After cleansing the house, cleanse its inhabitants by having each member take a warm bath and soak in a two tablespoon of salt or take a shower and gently wash skin with salt crystals. Afterwards, enjoy a soothing cup of tea together with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a sprinkle of dried sage – both of which can help clear away toxic energy.

Cleansing personal spaces of negative energy is just as important to our health as cleaning our home of germs; doing so with our children acknowledges that a difficult time has passed and its time to turn a corner and move in a new, more optimistic direction. Rid your living spaces of stale stress and begin to make your house the home you all want it to be.

As an author, educator and full-time mother, Helen's work appears in numerous parenting publications, including Mothering Magazine, Family Circle, and ParentGuide. Her most recent book is "Eco-Friendly Families." Contact her at helencoronato@yahoo.com or read more about her at http://www.helencoronato.com/ecofriendly.html.