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How To Prepare Your Home For Holi

By Shatavisha Chakravorty

With the festival of colours just round the corner, it is evident that everyone wants to wrap him or herself in an air of festivity. The preparation for the same begins with buying new clothes, preparation of delicious food items and, of course, with the making of plans to meet up near and dear ones.

All of this sets up the mood of festivity way before the actual festival kicks in. This not only makes matters more interesting but also gives us something to look forward to for days together.

preparing your home for holi

Now an interesting point to be noted here is the fact that usually it is taken for granted that Holi is when one plays with colours and that it is okay to be messy around this time. However, this is far from being true. This indigenous festival heralds the beginning of spring after the long and tiring winter months.

Hence, it is obvious that things cannot be dirty and a considerable amount of effort goes into cleaning and preparing the home for Holi. Here are some tips that will help you to prepare your home for this festival of colours.

Clean Up

Clean Up

The first and foremost thing that one should do before starting anything new, is to let go of all things old and stale. That is why it is all the way more important that one cleans up the home before the beginning of the optimistic season of spring. In this case cleaning up includes everything from dusting of rugs to cleaning the curtains at home.

White It Up

White It Up

One is well aware that often Holi dress is white in colour. This symbolizes purity. On a similar note it is a good idea to change the drapes of the house to that of white. That way we will be able to remove all things dirty and bad and welcome all the hues of life. Hence keeping cushion covers and table clothes white is a good practice.

Design A Rangoli

Design A Rangoli

Since it is the festival of colours, it is evident that there will be a lot of coloured powders all around. Try to make the most out of it and use it for the rangoli that you plan to make. If you want to try something new while sticking on to age old customs and rituals, what you can do is that you can go for white (rice flour based) rangoli.

Use Aroma Candles

Use Aroma Candles

After all that festivity and smearing of colours on one another, all that you would want to do is to freshen up and settle down for a quiet tea or coffee with your loved one. In such a situation, it is a good idea to go for some aroma candles to lighten the mood of the evening. Make sure that the room is lit appropriately. This will make both of you be in peace with the surrounding and make you enjoy it all the more.

Go For Wind Chimes

Go For Wind Chimes

With all the decorations of the house going in the direction of a traditional Indian look, this piece of decorative will give your house the contemporary look that it deserves. You can choose to place this either in the living room, the bedroom or even in the pooja room. As per traditions, the wind chime is supposed to bring good luck, and what better time to bring in all that goodness if not for the festival of Holi.

Go For Flowers

Go For Flowers

It is a practice in many Indian households to decorate the pooja area with a lot of fresh flowers and petals. However, you may well extend this to beyond the Pooja room and come up with some intricate designs with flower petals for your living room. You can also try out the same at the entrance of your house.

Glass Art

Glass Art

Since this is the festival of colours, it is a good idea to dab some colour in some of the glass that's lying around in the house. This may be old drinking glass, or a window pane. Using of glass colours on window panes makes the room very colourful when sunlight passes through the same. This lends an ambience of festivity to all that is around.

Choose The Right Music

Choose The Right Music

Everyone has a different way of celebrating a festival. Decide on whether you want a loud and bold day or a quiet and homely one and select your music. Based on the choice of music that you intend to play, you can go for the colour of bed sheets and bed covers. Doing so will not just make you feel good about yourself, but it will also ensure that your house is the envy of friends and neighbours alike.

Choose Appropriate Cutlery

Choose Appropriate Cutlery

Since it is expected that the festival may get a little rowdy with members of the house and friends consuming intoxicating substances like bhang, it is important that you choose your cutlery appropriately. Try to avoid bone china and other sensitive items. Rather go for things that do not break easily.

Keep Toys Away

Keep Toys Away

If you have kids at home make it a point to keep their toys away during Holi. You do not want these to get spoilt with colours falling on them. Most of the toys tend to lose their shine and glaze if they are subjected to washing. To avoid all of that make sure that they are stacked safely during this festive season.

Deck Up With Diyas

Deck Up With Diyas

Although some people may argue that this is the festival of colours and not that of light, the fact remains that having a diya in the room can improve the ambience of the room by leaps and bounds. This is all the way truer if we are talking of putting the diya as a part of the rangoli that we are going to design for Holi.

Story first published: Tuesday, February 27, 2018, 15:58 [IST]
Read more about: holi cleaning house