Ah, fall. Time for cooler temps, warmer clothes, and gearing up for all the upcoming holidays! Showing a home for sale, or shopping for one, during the fall often evokes memories of family gatherings and allows buyers to really see themselves in the home. But what if a holiday falls during your time on the market that invokes less of the warm-and-fuzzy feelings and more of the heebie-jeebies? Yep, we’re talking about Halloween.
Whether or not you have a resident ghoul in your home (or believe in them in the first place), you never know what your potential buyer might be “tuned into” or picking up on. So, for all of you who think you may have a spirit in your home, or want to be sure you’re not buying one with an extra inhabitant, here’s a fun list of measures you can take to cleanse your abode and keep good vibes only.
Deep Clean
If you’re preparing your space for listing it, or just getting settled in, you’re going to spend some time cleaning all the floors, cupboards, baseboards, and corners. This is a fantastic time to just toss in an extra step to energetically cleanse the space. Pick up a bundle of dried sage and burn the ends, wafting the smoke throughout the house. This ancient practice performed by some indigenous peoples is believed to capture bad spirits and carry them to the heavens with the smoke. Can’t hurt, right? Plus, it smells fantastic!
Another beneficial byproduct of a good cleaning is having the opportunity to rule out toxins. If you discover mold while cleaning, you might be able to prevent or explain environmental and physiological abnormalities you might have written off as unexplained phenomenon. Just a thought.
Double-Duty Decor
October is the perfect time of year to try out all the trinkets, charms, and talismans without drawing too much attention to your intentions. There is no shortage of objects you can incorporate into your decor to help ward off evil spirits and/or bring good luck, but here’s just a few:
- Evil eyes
- Horseshoes
- Dream catchers
- Gargoyles
- Jack-o’-lanterns
- Wind chimes
- Crystals
- Salt (poured on thresholds)
Take advantage of the optics that you’re just really into Halloween and see if you sense a difference in the creepy-crawly feelings.
Design Choices
There are some good luck and evil-shunning practices that have become so commonplace that they have been incorporated into everyday design aesthetic. Take advantage of that! In the southeast United States, porch ceilings and floors are often painted a light blue color called “Haint Blue.” It was thought that evil spirits won’t cross water, so the light blue color tricked them into thinking the porch or breezeway was a stream. It’s also thought to repel bugs, but for the sake of this article we’re going with haint/haunt repellent.
The ancient Chinese practice of feng shui allows for the positive flow of energy and was incorporated into architecture and furniture placement. Turns out, it\’s also a pretty beautiful and functional way to orient a space, which means you’ve likely adapted some feng shui techniques without even knowing it!
So whether you’re all about apotropaic magic (we had to Google it too), mildly superstitious, or just really festive, give some of these ideas a try and let us know how it goes!
