Ever feel like you’re carrying around unwanted energetic junk? Or maybe everyone in your home has been cranky or in a bad mood? You may need to create a sage cleansing kit to clear negative energy and raise the vibration in and around your home.

Using sage to cleanse the energy in your home is known as “smudging,” a practice of burning sacred plants that dates back centuries.

(Note: If you’re sensitive to smoke, try my simple smoke-free smudging method.)

Smudging rituals help clear low vibrations and stagnant energy in your sacred space. It’s also important to smudge yourself whenever you are feeling low or in a funk. I often smudge my ritual tools — like my crystals and tarot cards — on a regular basis, as well.

Making a Sage Cleansing Kit

This post contains affiliate links. I may be compensated (at no additional cost to you) if you click one of the links below and make a purchase. Please read my disclosure for more information. 

Although it’s easy to purchase ready-made smudge sets from merchants like Sage Goddess, Etsy and even Amazon, there’s something extremely satisfying about creating your own custom sage cleansing kit.

Materials Needed

Sage smudge stick

Ash receptacle

Lighter or matches

Smudging prayer

Small hand fan (optional)

Selenite wand or stick (optional)

Stow box (optional)

Sage smudge stick

There are different types of smudge materials, but when we’re talking about cleansing with sage… well, we need sage!

Any sage cleansing kit needs at least one smudge stick made of white sage.

White sage is a plant that’s valued for both its medicinal properties and uses in the kitchen.

Another popular option is mixing white sage with other herbs, like juniper or yerba santa, to create a smudge stick.

Whatever calls to you… go with it!

Ash receptacle

To keep you and your sacred space safe during your sage cleansing, any kit should contain a receptacle to catch ash… like an astray, abalone shell or even an empty/clean tin can.

PLEASE: Always ALWAYS catch ash from a smudge stick in an ashtray, shell or fireproof bowl. If you must set down a lit or smoking smudge stick, always place it in an ashtray, shell or other fireproof container. Be sure to place it away from anything that could burn. And it should go without saying, but never leave a smoldering smudge stick unattended!

There are a number of gorgeous gemstone-carved ashtrays on the market that would make a beautiful addition to any sage cleansing kit.

Abalone shells are a popular choice among many who perform sacred smudging rituals. These can be purchased at local or online witchcraft shops or at mainstream merchants like Amazon.

Budget-conscious solutions include using a dollar-store ashtray, an empty but clean tin food can, or even a clay pot saucer left over from last year’s gardening endeavors.

Lighter or matches

Every sage cleansing kit should include a tool for igniting the smudge stick. What kind of tool? That’s really a personal preference. I tend to use candle lighters because I always have one in each room anyway. Some may prefer traditional lighters. Other can’t resist the allure of decorative matchbooks or boxes for their cleansing rituals. Again, whatever calls to YOU. What’s important is that your tools are just that… your tools!

Smudging prayer

A smudging prayer is an invocation or incantation that you say while actually performing the smudge ritual. There is no right or wrong here. The prayer can be very personal and written by you, or it can be purchased or found online. Any mantra that resonates with you and clears your aura and the space around you will work.

If you wish to create your own prayer, write a poem about letting go and releasing negativity, fears, limits and other toxic things that hold you back and keep you from living your highest good.

If you wish to purchase a prayer, you can sometimes find them on Etsy. One of my favorite online shops, Sage Goddess, includes a free smudging prayer with every smudge tool purchase. There are even entire books written about smudging prayers and blessings.

Small hand fan (optional)

An efficient sage cleansing kit includes a small hand fan, which is used to distribute the sage smoke. Fans help direct the smoke to certain areas, like corners of a room if smudging a house. If the space to cleanse is small, you may be able to do without a fan and simply use your hands, which are powerful tools themselves!

Those that prefer fans often use ones made from animal feathers, like that of a peacock, turkey or macaw, and some of them can be quite ornate and detailed.

If you’d rather not use animal feathers, a pretty decorative hand fan gets the job done, too! It’s what I currently use to distribute smoke during my smudging rituals.

Selenite wand (optional)

Selenite is a healing crystal known for its energetic cleansing properties. Many who perform rituals, whether it’s a smudging ritual or other type of magick, will use a selenite wand or stick of selenite to open and close their protective sacred space.

Whether or not you include selenite in your sage cleansing kit is entirely up to you. I’ve performed rituals both using selenite and not using it. It’s a personal preference as to how you’d like to work your rituals.

You may wish to wear a piece of selenite instead, and energetically cleanse and protect that way during your ritual.

Stow box (optional)

Finally to complete your sage cleansing kit, you may want a box to stow all the pieces in. I’ve found that some jewelry boxes make great storage boxes, especially with any inserts removed. Just be sure to find one that will fit your entire sage cleansing kit inside!

You may wish to try keeping your tools in a pretty basket instead.

Personally, I display my smudging materials on a shelf in my sacred space. I use them so frequently that unloading them from a box all the time would be cumbersome for me.

As always, do what YOU feel is best as to how you store your magick tools.

What’s in YOUR kit?

Putting together your own sage cleansing kit is easy and affordable once you know what materials to include. What tools do you like to keep in your kit? I’d love to hear from you in the comments, or chat me up on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.