The holidays are almost upon us, stretching from Samhain through Twelfth Night. Before you start all that holiday cooking, it’s time to clean the kitchen!

Light some jar candles and put on some music. Invoke Hestia, Rosmerta, and the Kitchen God. Use your favorite green cleaners and floor washes, or a mixture of vinegar and baking soda (don’t lean over it; it bubbles), and get to work. Sing at the top of your lungs as you scrub your heart out.

Clean the oven, wash the stove and the countertops, clean out the cupboards, toss expired food, wash the floors, change the curtains, polish the fixtures, dust the cookbooks, and polish silverware, candlesticks, and copper pots.

Maybe even set up a shelf altar for a hearth spirit, and remember to say thanks each time you prepare a meal!