What's the best way to clean my altar?

No cards needed for this one — it's a care question, not a reading.

Clear the space first

• Take everything off the surface and wipe it down. If you use incense or smudge, do that *after* cleaning, with the surface bare, so soot doesn't settle on your cards.
• Empty the ash tray, rinse water vessels, refresh any cloth. Wash the crystals or stones in plain water and dry them fully — moisture left on a card or a stand causes curl and staining.

The cards

• Never wipe a card face with anything wet. If a card is dirty, hold it by the edges and gently buff with a soft dry cloth, or use a dry eraser.
• Smudging or incense smoke is fine occasionally, but don't run a flame or heavy smoke over the deck repeatedly — it fades the printing. If you smoke regularly, keep the deck in a box or sleeve on the side, not in the smoke path.
• Return cards to the box in order, and if you shuffle, over a cloth surface rather than a hard table to protect the edges.

Rhythm

• Weekly: wipe the surface, reset the layout.
• New moon or whenever it feels stale: clear everything, salt-water or sage the cloth and the surface area, let it air out, then rebuild the layout from scratch.
• Deep clean of the deck itself: once a year is plenty, and only the dry method.

If you'd like, I can draw a card for how to re-set the altar after cleaning — just say the word.