Diwali cleanliness always hits the same wall. Somewhere around the third cupboard, every object starts looking either priceless or pointless. There’s Dadi’s brass lota. A wall clock that died in 2019. A shoebox full of wedding cards from cousins of cousins. Vastu Shastra makes the sorting simpler than it feels. Things that are stuck or broken hold heavy energy and should leave before Lakshmi comes in. Things that carry blessings stay. Dhanteras is on Friday, 6 November, which leaves a few days to get through the pile.
How Vastu Looks at a Cluttered Home
Vastu treats the house almost like a body, with prana moving through it. Open, clean corners let that energy flow. Junk stops it, especially junk nobody uses.So the Diwali scrub has a second purpose beyond dust. Lakshmi favours homes that are bright and orderly. A house stuffed with dead things gives her little room to settle.
Clear These Out
Clocks that have stopped. A frozen clock is linked with progress coming to a halt at home. Get it repaired this week or let it go.Cracked mirrors. A crack distorts the reflection and brings friction between family members. Don’t keep it “till next month”. Replace it.Clothes nobody wears. If something hasn’t come out of the almirah in over a year, its energy has gone stale. Give the decent ones to a needy family, and send the rest for recycling.Old shoes near the door. This one matters more than most. The main door is Lakshmi’s way in, and a heap of worn-out chappals there blocks it. Keep only the pairs people actually wear.Expired medicines. Old strips and half-used syrups are tied to illness that drags on. Empty the medicine box, and dispose of anything past its date safely.Dried flowers and dead plants. Last month’s withered bouquet and the money plant that died in the balcony both stand for decay. Green, living plants are welcome. Dry stems are not.Scrap and dead electronics. The mixer that stopped working, the rusted cycle and the drawer full of chargers with no phone all hold energy down. Call the kabadiwala.Raddi and empty cartons. Newspapers and bottles pile up quietly under beds and behind doors. Kept in the north-east, they weigh down the most sacred corner of the house.Last year’s calendar. It ties the home to time already gone. Put up a fresh one, since the new year traditionally begins with Diwali.
Hold On to These
Heirlooms in good shape. A great-grandfather’s brass thali or an old wooden jewellery box carries the blessings of earlier generations. Polish and keep them. Brass and copper both count as auspicious metals.Inherited coins and jewellery. Coins passed down in the family belong in the locker or the puja corner, as a sign that prosperity continues.Photos of ancestors. Hang them with respect on the south-west wall. Never place them in the puja room or above the idols.Religious books. Wrap them in clean cloth. If pages are badly torn, don’t put them in the dustbin. Give them to a temple.Shankh and puja vessels. Anything intact that is used in worship stays. Clean it carefully before Dhanteras.
Broken Idols Need Care
A chipped murti or a torn picture of a deity should never go out with the household garbage. Leave it at a temple that accepts such items, or place it respectfully under a peepal tree. Many municipal areas now set up visarjan collection points during the festival season, and these are kinder to rivers than immersing things yourself.
When You Just Can’t Decide
Hold the item and ask two things. Does it still work? And does looking at it feel good? Two no’s mean it goes. One yes earns it a cleaned, proper spot on a shelf.
