Can negative energy transfer to objects in your home? Find out how energetic resonances stay attached to items and how to clear them.
Have you ever bought or received an item, such as a piece of furniture and just felt something was off about it? Is there something about it that you just dislike or avoid? It is possible that the object is carrying some of the prior owners past energy and it has stayed with the object. In a past article, I wrote about If the walls could talk, what stories your home could tell? In addition to the home itself, objects within the property can carry energetic resonances from past and current owners.
You wouldn’t necessarily think that an inanimate object could absorb and attract human energy, but like other people, if you are around something a lot, energy can transfer. If it is positive, you might find yourself attracted to a specific home or item. If it is negative, you can feel like you want to stay far away from it.
When there are situations that involve strong emotions such as rage, anger, jealousy, and fear, those emotions can attach themselves to items in the home, as well as the home itself. These resonances can be present for years.
How Can Negative Energy Transfer To Objects In Your Home?
Excess energy collects in areas where you spend a lot of time and engage in repetitious patterns. If someone sits on the couch in the same spot night after night and complains about life, that piece of furniture can absorb the energy of that person. It can get to the point where you can feel as though a person is in the room, even if he or she is not actually in the house at all.
Also, the books we read can invoke certain emotions and when you read a book you have your hands on it for a long period of time. These emotions can transfer to the book itself and leave a resonance.
Flea Market Items
Perhaps you bought an item, such as a piece of furniture at a flea market or garage sale and brought it into the house. Emotions and patterns from the past owners of that item can remain with the object, even after ownership has transferred. You take the item home with you and the energy from that object comes into your home as well. This is not something that you may notice right away, but multiple items, brought in over time all add together to add to the heavy feel and aura of the home.
This is also why some of you can’t stand going to antique stores. The musty smell and residual resonance attached to some furniture or home items can be a lot to handle. You may find yourself particularly sensitive to being in such a place.
Inherited Items
Sometimes objects we inherit can even feel like the person we received them from. These can be hard to part with because of feelings of guilt or obligation. So, do you have to get rid of that item? No, you actually just need to clear it using some of the tips below.
I do find these types of things occasionally within the context of one of my property clearing readings. We do clearing work around that and anything else going on in your home. In addition to that, here are a few ways you can clear your property and objects yourself.
Property Clearing
Note: You do not have to do all of these suggestions. Just choose one that you are intuitively guided to start with and see what happens.
- Opening the windows on a nice day is a great way to get the air flow circulating and remove many of the stagnant energies that have accumulated – do it at least once a week for 30 minutes.
- If an item is washable just clean it with soap and water. It can do wonders.
- Dusting and cleaning the items with a natural lemon cleaner can also have a positive effect on removing the old stale feelings.
- Place crystals around an area to absorb the negative energy.
- Use energy healing to raise the vibration of the item or surround it with white light.
- Try smudging the area or entire home with white sage.
- Say a prayer request with intent and ask that the stagnant energy or your environment be replaced with positive joyful laughter.
- Some small items can be cleared with sea salt (but be careful about using this method with certain types of stones).
So, what about you? Have you wondered how can negative energy transfer to objects in your home? Are there areas in your home or office that just seem off? I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.
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Further Reading
Heal Negative Emotions Through Love and Acceptance
Energetic Property Clearing Reading
Clearing Negative Energy From Your Home
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Hi Laura, Oh definitely, we have had our issues here! There was one particular room (the office) where my newborn would just stare and babble at the wood wall, and as he got older he got scared of whatever was “living” in the wall. I had the house cleared – twice. We also got a chandelier from an antiques place so creepy that the only reason I brought it home was because it had just been brought into the place – but some of the rooms there were so energy-intense that even my husband noticed and said something about it. I am a big fan of sea salt 🙂
Hi Julie,
I used to go to antique shops with my Mom, but these days don’t have much interest in them. Some are okay, but the heaviness is something I just don’t like much anymore. I also went around my house and cleared a bunch of my antiques and inherited items with smudging. I even do it now with new items, just to give it a good neutral base. I love sea salt for clearing crystals and stones. It works like a charm.
I have always been the opposite way… I love antiques stores, the must and the dust and the story and the energies of the things abiding inside. Recently I have fallen in love with another home… other than the one I just bought a little over a year ago. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but I seriously would buy this house in an instant and move without batting an eye. There is something about the large stones that jut from the land, the view on the water and the way the light hits it that speaks to me on a soul level. On the inside… it is the stone fireplace and the tiny set of stairs off to the left of it to the upstairs that absolutely tells me I am meant to be there. Crazy??
Hi T.A.
No, not crazy at all! It sounds like you have found exactly what you need. Although it might be tough convincing your husband to move only after a year. Does he feel the same way as you? It sounds like this home has a bunch of positive energy in it and that is what is attracting you to it at this time. No harm in getting a realtor to give you a tour of the place. 🙂
Hi Laura! My parents gave me an old vanity table that belonged to my great aunt and uncle. The first night it was in my bedroom, I could not sleep. I felt this intense negative energy coming from it that I never noticed when it was in my parents house. My aunt and uncle had a tumultuous marriage and really disliked each other. A friend suggested I sage it and say a prayer to release the negative energy, and after a few times, it worked! I no longer felt the negative energy from this beautiful piece of furniture and was finally able to sleep!!
Hi Karyn,
That is great to hear! That is exactly the type of thing I was referring to. Sometimes when furniture is moved out of its original element, we start noticing the negativity attached. It may have been just fine in its original home, but now doesn’t match your vibrational level in your home. That is when you start noticing the energy attached to the item. Thank you for sharing!
Could negative energies from objects cause nightmares? My children have frequent nightmares and there is no reason for it (like a major change or watching scary movies). Also could you please tell me exactly how I can use sage or sea salt to clear object or places. Is white sage different from regular sage and where can I find some. Thank you so much for your help!
Hi Genny i see you did not get a response so i hope nobody minds if i answer. Yes negative energies can cause your kids to have nightmares , what it helped for my little boy and all went better … put a little drop of lavender under pillows , maybe burn some lavander candles . Put a dreamcatcher above the bed . Use smudge that you find it in some health shops , search for those weird shops hippy style there must be some in your area if not white sage if you burn it around every corner of the house every spot saying a prayer , i say the Durga mantra for protection while doing it , you get some help with protection from her . or call for Archangel Michael . Burn some incense sticks preferably sage ones too they dont smell best but pleasent enough and put ur intention when you light it up that it will be for cleansing . Put a circle of salt throw it around ur house outdoors for cleansing . While you go out just let your computer play loud music with mantras , protection mantras negative energies really dont like mantras . You must take steps to protect your children there are alot of energies we cant see that harm us more then we think if we dont take the power in our hands . Put some ring or some bracelet on ur kids body or necklace put ur intention that it will be for protection and have them allways wear it if possible . In years that item will become more and more powerful. Other things that really help maybe decreade the amount of porc meat and red meats that you and ur kids are eating the odor of this also atracts bad energies . Decrease sugar , i eliminated sugar completly for my child and no more nightmares . I give him honey and agave syrop instead . You try out whatever feels comfortable for you it wont hurt to try but doing nothing might hurt. Look for other ways for cleansing on the internet there are tons . I wish you all the best to ur family and ur kids .
Hi, my name is Sway, for what seems like my whole life I have been going through a patter, the same pattern every time always ending in a negative matter. No matter what i change or do differently it seems the cycle always ends the same. I had a friend bring up to me that when she was talking to an energy specialist she asked her if I had anything that Ive kept for my whole life weirdly enough I do. A stuffed animal as old as I am, the best friend I had all my life that I went to when I was upset. Could it be that this object is now a manifestation of all the bad and negative things I confided with it? I’m eager to hear your response.
Hi, I just find your post and it is very helpful. However, I still have questions about something. A friend of mine, who this year had struggle with a lot of problems just gave me yesterday a little lovely buddha statue (in fact, with research I found that this was Budai, not the real Buddha).
She gave me this as a Christmas gift. I really had a bad feeling when she put in my hands this object. I really believe in power of stones and that object can absorb all the negatives energies. So, I was afraid to disappoint her to refuse her present, she’s such a lovely person and I know that her intention was good.
She told me she used to rub the Budai’s belly when feeling bad. She also told me that was her mother’s friend (who is medium) who gave to her offering to choose among all buddhas in front of her and told her to give it to an other person when happiness finally arrives. This is my first time feeling such bad emotions with an object.
The night that she gave to me, I smudged it with sage incense. (this is an habit when I buy new stones.) I guess to that she has past long moment with this Budai. My friend struggle every day with bipolarity so I guess that negative energy was absorbed by object.
The next day, I had tension in all my back, mainly in my shoulders. So I thought that letting the Buda sit on sea salt for a period of 8 hours to ged rid of negative energy would be great. I also burn Nag Champa incense, but still be afraid of it. I feel a tension in me, like a guilt or like someone threat me.
What can I do to get rid of this tension. Should I just giving it back to her and say to purify it with good intentions, incense or sea salt. (I doubt that she did it). Should I burn it (it’s in wood I think) ? Will I be cursed doing this thing? I just want to make this feeling disappear ’cause I’m an anxious person in everyday life and don’t want such emotions in my life. I do a lot of work with stone in my searching of happiness and think that I will be happy if this statue is far far away from me.
If I send you a photo of the Budai, can you feel if it’s cursed or charged in negative energy? I really hope that you can help me. Thanks a lot for your answer.
Gabrielle
Hi Gabrielle,
Thank you for your comment and question. You know, although there is energy clearing we can do on an object within the context of a reading, I think perhaps the best thing to do is to give it back to the person that originally gave it to you. If you felt uneasy with this object right away I think you already know your answer. You might feel uncomfortable giving it back as it was a gift, but I think you will feel a lot better after it is out of your hands. A simple explanation is all that is necessary, as in “I truly appreciate the thought you put into my gift, but it is just not working for me.” I wish you the best!
Thanks a lot Laura !
I’ll give it to the person the next time I see her if I feel bad again.
I’ll try before to sit him next to a black tibetan quartz for one day.
Thanks ! I really appreciate your advice.
Gabrielle
I believe in this very much. My entire life, I never like antiques, something about them freaked me out – like worrying whether or not they belonged to someone who died or had bad karma.
And then when I became an adult and was house hunting – I once again was sensitive to the history of the house, what happened to the former owners etc.
My marriage came to an end and I shortly moved out. I took some stuff with me and didn’t think anything of it til a few years later when I did a complete purge.
I was shocked by stuff that I found in my closet that had SUCH bad energy attached to it. I tossed them out immediately.
I’m now going thru my living room, etc tossing anything that gives bad vibes. And FINALLY cleaning up the clutter and filth that accumulated due to the depression that followed the end of a 14 year union, estrangment from immediate family members, having problems finding stable work, health problems, dog died, etc.
Amazingly I noticed that slowly good things started to appear in my life as I removed the clutter. My plan is to do a thorough cleaning, sage thoroughly, spread Cascarilla around the house, take a cleansing bath and restart my job search with the best intentions.
I came upon your website searching for information regarding whether inanimate objects can carry negative energy. The house I currently live in was bought in 2011. I never had a good feeling about the lawn chairs left by the previous owners that sit in the backyard. But today, I went to sit on them, and the negative energy was so strong – my head was tingling and I had to get off of them. I came back into the house and decided they need to go. I do not care to cleanse them…in this case the energy is so strong I need to replace them. I felt like a crazy person feeling this…and I glad others also feel the energies of inanimate objects.
Hi Alisa,
No, you are not crazy, you can just pick up those energies easily. It sounds like you made the right choice to get rid of the lawn chairs.
I purchased a grandfather clock from a family that was exactly what I had always dreamed of owning. Since I got the clock, my dogs refuse to go into the room and negative things have happened in my life. I know the people who owned it previously were not necessarily “nice” people, but I wanted it very badly. I’ve sprinkled sea salt on and around it but it still seems to have negative energy attached to it. Can I do anything short of getting rid of it?
I just came to find out if I was right about something and this helped confirm what I believed was going on.
I am in a long distance relationship and I met him for the first time August 1st. He gave me a sweatshirt of his to keep and I sleep with it every night.
He went through a deep depression last year and wore the sweatshirt a lot while going through it. So, it was very sentimental for him to give it to me.
However, I started to notice I was getting nightmares when I slept with it. At times, I’d find it on the floor after falling asleep with it. (obviously from me tossing it in my sleep or it falling) I was wondering if there was any way of getting the bad energy out of it without washing it? (Still smells like him;silly, I know)
I went to a family dollar store yesterday at the last minute before heading home and was searching endlessly it seems for an item. I went from aisle to aisle just rechecking and ended up near the cashier area. I looked down and there was a small red rolling duffle bag near the cashier station and I immediately thought it was one of the items.
I picked it up and immediately wanted to buy it because I’ve been wanting a roll away small duffle bag for work to alleviate the pain from carrying my heavy packed purse. I called out to an available associate and asked can I buy this? It was seating on the floor and no tag/label on it. She said, “Oh you can HAVE it!” I’m like “Really?”. She said, “Yeah. We took it away from a guy who was stealing.” And I said, “oh great I’ll take it!”.
So I happily role out with it with jubilation. But thought as I went home, “Oh wow the previous owner who was a thief could have left some negative evil spiritual energy on this bag.” So when I went home I prayed over it with intent to take away the evil spirits and energy around this bag and put my positive energy around it. So you think this would help?
I know as I went about my day my dress for an event didn’t fit but I found a cute outfit anyway and as I was going home I found out my favorite team lost the gae that night.
Silly I know it sounds but I want to now get the bag out and put it in my car until after the game series and take it to a church were I can really pray over it and it will be surrounded by positive loving spiritual people. What do you think?
A sweet, little old lady, who was my neighbor for years passed. She had 1 child. A boy. She was always giving me little things.
When she passed, her son took most of the antique furniture & valuables. H knew how much his mom had enjoyed my friendship, so he had told me to go through the garage & take anything I wanted. He had already gone through it & taken what he wanted & said he was gonna trash what was left.
I’ve always loved old things. I feel the history in each item I touch. I’ve never felt anything negative.
Being a mother, I saw so many memories in the old family photos, old clothing, nick nacks, etc.
I just couldn’t see trashing things I knew she had saved so long. Woman tend to have a harder time letting things go.
So I ended up with photos & letters & misc things that I didn’t want, but the thought of him trashing them just broke my heart.
Now I have this box full of these things. What is a respectful way of disposing of them?
Should they be burned & ashes spread somewhere nice? I hate being so sentimental, but my family has been having such bad luck! I just have to wonder.
Hi I just found your site. I would appreciate your opinion. (I apologize this may be a very silly question.)I just purchased an old roll top desk and I purchased a sage kit to cleanse my house (needs it🐹) and I was going to sage the desk Before bringing it into my home,but my daughter said I could just bring it in and then sage the whole house the desk would get cleansed that way. Which do you feel would be best? Again I’m sorry for my question, I’m beginning to learn more about this subject. I hope you get this and reply, I really would appreciate it.
Thank you for your time.
Lisa.D
Hi Lisa,
I think you could do it either way. If you choose to move the desk and then clear the house along with the desk, you might want to pause longer around the desk until you feel it has been cleared. I have found when I smudge my home that I will linger longer in some rooms vs others. Trust your intuition on how much smudging/sage is needed. You can also tune into the energy of the desk before hand and see what comes through. Ask the desk what it needs. Ask what word would depict the new energy for the desk and the new space. You can then incorporate that into your sage/smudging ritual. I hope that helps you out.
Hi,my husband brought home a used sofa and that same night i had a nightmare.So i told him to get rid of it the next day.My neighbor took it without knowing what i felt,but she never had any complain. Now my husband doesn’t believe me and i felt hurt about it.Is it possible i can detect the negative energy while others don’t? Why am i like this? Pls help me.
Hi there,
Thank you for sharing your experience. Yes, I do think it it possible for one person to react and another to not react. You may just be more sensitive to energy than others. Think about how you felt about the couch when it was brought home. Was it just an inner knowing or gut feel and did you have that feeling before you had the nightmare?
I totally get the part about no one believing you and how hurt that can make you feel, but do trust your intuition. Used furniture can be particularly problematic which is why anymore I tend to shy away from antiques and used items.
We just removed a dining room table from our that was my Grandma’s and had been owned by her deceased sister before that. It made a night and day difference. The thing is when you have old or used items in your home for a long period of time – in some cases years, you get used to the particular energy. Remove a piece or two and you will be amazed at the difference.
HI –
I have been feeling low energy and been tired a lot. No medical reason for it. I decided to purchase dowsing rods to see what energy I have in my house.
I dowsed every corner and I had three bad areas. I looked at what was in the area and just focused on the item or items in that area. I moved the item to a positive energy place and dowsed it again. Three items came up with negative energy, my couch, my daughters Mac computer she left on a table at my house and a statue of an angel I received as a gift, she had been dropped and glued back together. I had two other smaller angels I had received from my deceased mother next to the large angel so I experimented by moving them to a positive corner and dowsing them separately, they were positive. I moved the angel to a different place , once again she was negative, like severely. I am going to try smudging and total house clearing. This is real as I had an antique settee and it was giving off bad vibes. I sold it and my room changed.
Hi Laura,
Last month for my birthday, I got this nice blue jacket with a soft and warm interior from my grandmother. When I received the jacket, it still had it’s tags on it and looked brand new. To me, there was nothing wrong with it,I also wore it around everywhere. But then about two weeks ago, I felt very sad and stressed. For days, I went to bed early to get rid of the stress but nothing worked, and the next morning, I would be tired all day and just be in my bed napping. Sometimes at night, I would hear strange noises in my room like footsteps and things being dragged around. Then the noises would stop as they reach my bed. I would even find my closet door being wide open when I wake up every morning, I also keep my jacket in there on a hook. Maybe that all this activity and stress might be coming from my jacket. I might have to ask my grandma where she got it at. Then maybe try washing it in my washing machine in hot water to get rid of the energy. Otherwise, if you have any suggestions to give me I would love to hear them.
Hi Ian,
What I am getting as I read your comment is to bless the jacket. Thank it for its warmth and service. You may wish to wash it first, but watch the hot water as it may ruin or shrink the fabric. You may want to ask your Grandmother where she got the jacket. That could provide you with some additional clues.
I’ve felt some things that are off in my home as well. I never noticed much about it but recent things have been happening lately that is making me question them. For example I have these Batman Arkham Asylum action figures that I bought 7 years ago at the mall in an FYE store, ones of Batman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, and Penguin. I also have some statues of Spider-man and his villains like Vulture, Mysterio, Kraven, and The Lizard. The first 4 characters I bought at a comic book store in 2009 and the last one I bought online from Amazon. I also have an action figure of The Lizard that I bought at a fan convention 2 years ago. I of course bought them because I’m a big Superhero fan and comic book reader and thought they’d be a nice collection. Ever since things have been getting better for me, I seem to be getting some occasional nightmares based on them either attacking or trying to avoid me. Especially once learning the truth of them potentially being the cause of quite some bad luck that I’ve had for the last 15 years. I got rid of most of my horror related stuff in my room as well which I feel negative energies were feeding off of as well so that’s not a problem now. I guess what I’d like to know is which figures are giving off the bad energy and how they can be stopped. I was also told by a spirit guide that there’s a picture or 2 I made when I was in high school that’s giving bad vibes as well, 1 is of Spider-man villain Carnage and the other Spider-man Anti-hero Venom. Are 1 or both of them really intoxicated? I’m trying to add more positivity in my life and I want to get rid of whatever’s preventing me from doing so. However if there are some things I can save and keep that’d be great. Otherwise I’ll understand and take care of them anyway.
Hi Tyler,
Start tuning in to specific objects and ask it what it needs. Often by tuning into the energy of an object you can get a sense of the emotions and thoughts attached to each piece and then determine if it should stay or go.
Hello!
I just moved from a building with a lot of toxic energy in it related to street drug use in it, and after having moved from there I know there is still energy attached to my matress and box spring from that apartment.
How do I go about clearing something so large?
I’m extremely energetically sensitive and this is causing me a lot of distress still, despite being in my gorgeous new home.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
-Erin
I have been a music collector for about thirty years now. Many of my music was bought during times of loneliness or otherwise not-so-positive times. Now that those times are a few years behind, that music really doesn’t get played as much as it used to because of the feelings it brings up. A couple of days ago I transferred the CDs in question from my CD rack to the pantry cabinet so that the energy would not continue to seep into the room . Is there a way to clear uncomfortable energy/memories from an object like this, or is this just a sign of growth? Do you have any suggestions?
Hi John,
I would consider it a sign of growth for you. I would recommend giving away the CD’s or at least moving them out (literally outside) of your home (perhaps a garage or something). I might be showing my age but is there a music exchange store where you could trade them in for new music? Bless them for the help they did bring when you needed it and let them go.
Hi
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer questions and offer advice. I recently bought a lovely vintage shawl on an online auction. It looks like it could be handmade and is a wonderful velvet devore (burnout velvet) with crocheted trim and wonderful beaded design and also bead fringe. It almost has an exotic gypsy flair to it.
I fell in love with it and was shocked when I won it for a song. The seller had started it out at a very low price. That surprised me too because so much work had gone into the shawl. I would have expected it to go for much more. It was in very good condition. It doesn’t even appear to have a bead missing.
But…it did have one flaw. It has a tiny “V” shaped cut in the material in an obscure area. It’s not a tear. It almost looks like it was deliberately cut with scissors. I thought that was odd.
Anyway…the shawl is in the bedroom where my husband and I sleep. The first night, I had strange disturbing dreams which have continued and the next day I was not feeling well. I’ve continued to not feel well since I’ve had it.
We’ve also had some weird annoying things happening and have experienced some unpleasant smells in the house that were NOT there before I got the shawl. I actually ended up contacting the seller to ask if she had any history on it.
She said she had bought a house and she found a box in a closet that had this shawl and had a few other “beautiful” things in it that the former owner had left behind. She thought maybe he’d forgotten it so she called him & he said they were his EX girlfriend’s things and for her to keep them because he didn’t want them back. Apparently that’s why he left them there!
The man and his girlfriend were Greek so she assumed the shawl may have been from Greece. I can’t help but wonder if this shawl could have negative energy? Or is it possible the ex put some kind of hex on it and left it behind thinking he might give it to a new girlfriend?
I really can’t imagine why anyone would leave such a gorgeous shawl behind for no reason? The seller I bought it from said she thought briefly about keeping it but decided she wasn’t much of a shawl person.
I wonder if perhaps she was feeling some negativity from the shawl and that’s why she sold it? I want to keep it because I love it. BUT…what would be the best way for me to cleanse it of any negative energy or a hex or whatever? I can’t wash it and I wouldn’t want to do anything that might damage it. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated! Thank you!
Hi Kim,
Thank you for sharing your mystery with myself and everyone. It does seem there may be some residual energy connected to the shawl. Although this may sound strange or too simple, you can have a small meditation ceremony with the shawl and just ask it what it wants.
I understand some reading this will just roll their eyes on what I just wrote, but often just asking an item what it wants will give you the answers you need. You may receive an answer like to be loved or joy or repair. Hear what it has to say.
Now, you don’t need to ask all sorts of questions like what happened or the history. Just ask what the energy is about so that you may make it a piece of your home or closet. I hope that helps you out.