Star Made Witch: 13 Steps for the Witch Decluttering Spell

I am getting into spring cleaning this month in a witchy way. Most of the declutter plans out there are not for witches. They say things like get rid of everything that does not bring you joy…well what about hex items? They tell you to get rid of books you have already read and books you have had for a while and not read yet. Uh a lot of a witch’s books are reference books so they get read as needed. The lists tell you to get rid of all paperwork, what about all your book of shadows/grimoire binders/folders? I figured a cluttered witch needs a different declutter plan . . . . .

Step 1: Begin by committing to organization with a spell or charm at the full moon. For example, you might make a sigil or a charm based off of the latin and english word “organize.” In my situation I would use my wand and point it around my house and intone “or-gan-ize”

Step 2: Determine generally what kind of witchcraft you do. Are you wiccan? ceremonial? country? city? Celtic? Kemetic?

Figure the same kind of styles out for your kitchen items, wardrobe, bathing and hair products/make up, art supplies, bedding and library. Are you a cook from scratch maven or more of a microwave george forman grill kinda cook? Do you use all organic products in the bath or all about the neon bath bombs? Goth make up or minimalist? do you read sci-fi, classics, romance? Don’t get too stressed about this labelling its just one key to helping you prioritize later.

Step 3: Make a schedule for decluttering and find a support website or app. Flylady, 40 days 40 bags, Brightnest, Unflith your Habitat, etc. It helps to be accountable.

Step 4: Get together stuff you will need to declutter. If you don’t have 40 bags together for 40 days 40 bags you aren’t gonna get very far. So get any containers like bags and boxes you will need. But do not buy furniture and storage bins for keeping more things and organizing your space yet. Figure out where you can donate locally that fits your values, I like Gaia Movement for clothes and shoes, Scrap for art and craft supplies, and Paws and Claws for household items, and friends of the library for books (most charities are mainstream religious and I have never seen pagan books on their shelves, but I have seen them at the friends of library sales and I saw something sort of new age once at Paws and Claws).

Step 5: Make a hierarchy of decisions about item, like a flow chart that suits you for each category of item.

For witchcraft mine will look like this: is this (tool, herb, item, loose paper, book) pertinent and useful to traditional witchcraft and fairy faith? is it something I need and use? Is it high enough quality for my standards? then if it doesn’t fit any of those then donate, compost, gift, sell, recycle/re-purpose, use it up right away or throw away.

For clothes: I will start by setting aside two casual outfits for each season, two formal out fits for each season, and then I will go through all my clothes and decide if I can wear them to work, if not they go in a discard pile to divide up donate/rags. If I get anxious about tossing something special I will get a few save items at the end.

Bathroom stuff: To be honest I am very minimalist here. I am no-poo so I don’t need many hair products besides my henna, natural conditioner, and my hair oil. I need a few combs, a boars bristle brush and hair ties. Make up I have a blemish stick, mascara and eyeliner, powder and a couple lip glosses and one lipstick to even keep. A few nail polishes for fun. Really its time I trash the rest I never wear it.

For library: I already got pretty minimal here but I am going to go through again and reduce again. I am going to do another pagan faire table in the fall so I will cut my library down to what I honestly really truly think I will read and sell or donate the rest.

For art supplies: this is honestly the most difficult area for me. I am still in the midst of my five year plan to make art and craft more of my income. As I get more successful I will have more time to use the supplies I need and less disposable income to buy more supplies. I am going to cut here based on quality. Get rid of art supplies I don’t consider high quality and donate them.

Step 6: After making your flow charts on how to determine what to cut from your possessions, divide everything up very strictly based on those charts. Have an area for each category where even stuff you are having reservations about getting rid of goes–but don’t get rid of anything permanently yet.

Step 7: Cleanse and banish attachment to the piles of to get rid of items. I suggest using a spray of alcohol with cooking sage and/or salt infused in it. Spray this in the air above and around your items while instructing the items to be cleansed of possessive ties.

Step 8: Now sleep on it. As you go to sleep do a divination with your favorite form and ask for any items that your true intuition knows you will need to appear in your dreams. In the morning if you had any special gut feelings from the divination or dreams to keep a few things go through the piles and remove those few items and put them back to keep. Likewise if you dreamt of items you should dispose of and haven’t add them to the dispose piles.

Step 9:Take the cut stuff to their new homes (recycling, donation, trash, gifting, or listing for sale) and do a final banishment and cleansing perhaps this time if possible with smoke, I suggest using a dried herb like juniper and bundling and smoking around the items outdoors or in your car as you take them away.

Step 10: After your first cut of things wait a month til the next time the moon is full. Take inventory of how you have done. If everything you have left has a place to go then you can call it all a success and stop however, if your home is still too crowded its time to go through again with new strategies for cutting items. If truly one or two pieces of storage furniture would solve your problem its okay at this point to get them, but this is really only if you don’t have enough places to put things that are reasonable for you to keep.

Step 11: Truly cleanse your home. Do floor washes with cleansing herbs in the soap and sprinkle salt and herbs in areas that can’t get wet and sweep them up. Dust. Organize your books in order (this is one last chance to get rid of excess items as you are cleaning them.)

Step 12: Commit at this point to not buying anything new for a month. Enjoy what you have and go through and read books you already have, wear things you already own, and use things around the house you already have. Now of course if you run out of toothpaste go get some, but I mean don’t go and buy twenty new books this month. Take a break from adding to your clutter and find a center in your clean home the way it is now so you can make it a habit to keep it that way.

Step 13: Celebrate! Have a little party for yourself celebrating and blessing all your items (well of course except curse items) and your home. This is a great time to make new house blessing and protection charms and fill the home up with your joy and magic.