It is a tradition to clean the house, tie mango leaves to the main door, and draw an Ashtadala Padmam rangoli with rice flour before Diwali. Applying turmeric and kumkum to the threshold is another key ritual to invite Goddess Lakshmi. A clean, well-lit entrance is the simplest welcome for the festival.
As Diwali approaches, the things stored in the loft come down, cobwebs get swept from the corners, and someone asks when the old boxes will finally be sorted. A clean, beautiful home is what brings the festive feel. But leave it all for Diwali morning and you will have no energy left for the evening puja. This post covers how to prepare the house from a week before, how to decorate the main door, and which rangoli goes where.
For the full map of the five-day festival, read our Deepavali 2026 complete guide.
What You Need for Diwali Home Decoration
- Cleaning: Clean the house and puja room at least three days before the festival.
- Threshold Decoration: Apply turmeric paste and kumkum dots to the main door frame.
- Toranam: Tie a string of fresh mango leaves across the main doorway on the festival morning.
- Rangoli: Draw an Ashtadala Padmam or Lakshmi’s footprints using rice flour at the entrance.
Diwali home decoration comes down to four tasks: cleaning the house, turmeric and kumkum on the threshold, a mango-leaf toranam, and a rice flour rangoli (muggu). No expensive décor is needed. Turmeric, kumkum, rice flour, mango leaves and a few flowers are enough. For timings in other cities, see the series pillar guide.
That Goddess Lakshmi enters only a clean home is a belief handed down in Telugu families for generations. There is a practical reason too. After the monsoon, homes collect damp, cobwebs and dust, and the Diwali cleaning clears all of it at once.
How to Prepare the House From a Week Before
Spread the cleaning over a week instead of one day and it will not wear you out. Take one area each day. This order is only a suggestion; adjust it to the size of your home and your time.
Seven days before, clear cobwebs from the loft, the tops of cupboards, fans and corners. Make it a rule to clean from top to bottom, or the dust from above will settle on floors you have already cleaned.
Six and five days before, sort the cupboards and old boxes. Take out things unused for a year, broken items and old newspapers. Giving good clothes and usable things to people who need them suits the festival well.
Four days before, wipe the windows, doors and grilles. Clean and dry the balcony walls and window ledges where lamps will go, so any oil stains later come off easily.
Clean the kitchen three days before and the puja room two days before. In the puja room, carefully take down the pictures and idols, and polish brass items with tamarind or lemon. Remove old flowers and dried garlands and put them into a plant pot.
The day before the festival, give the whole house one final wipe and apply turmeric to the threshold. On Diwali morning, only the toranam, rangoli and flowers should be left.
An hour a day for seven days, and you will be calm on the festival day.
How to Decorate the Main Door With Turmeric, Kumkum and a Toranam
Telugu homes give special respect to the main door and the threshold. For Diwali, the threshold is coated with turmeric, dotted with kumkum and topped with a mango-leaf toranam, a sign of welcome for guests and for Goddess Lakshmi.
- First, wipe the main door frame and threshold clean with water.
- Mix a little turmeric with water to make a paste, and apply it to the threshold and door frame.
- Once the turmeric dries, place dots with red kumkum.
- On the morning of the festival, take fresh mango leaves, apply small dots of turmeric and kumkum to them, and string them together.
- Tie this mango leaf toranam across the top of the main entrance.
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For the paste, mix two spoons of turmeric with a few drops of water; too thin and it will run. Apply a thin coat with your fingers or a small brush. Kumkum dots placed evenly, about one every four or five inches, look neat.
Eleven to twenty-one mango leaves are enough for an ordinary door. Knot each stalk onto a thread or pierce it with a needle in a row, and add a few marigolds between them for colour. The toranam is tied on the festival morning because leaves tied earlier dry out.
In apartments where mango leaves are hard to find, a marigold garland works. Some homes use plastic toranams, but dried mango leaves return to the soil after the festival, and plastic does not.
Which Rangoli Goes Where
Drawing a rice flour rangoli at the entrance and in the puja room is a Telugu Diwali tradition, and the rangoli at the door is seen as a welcome for Lakshmi. Even homes that draw coloured rangoli usually keep at least one rice flour design in the puja room and at the door.
| Type of Rangoli | Where to Draw |
|---|---|
| Ashtadala Padmam (Eight-petaled lotus) | In the puja room, under the deity’s plank, and in front of the Tulasi plant. |
| Lakshmi’s Footprints | Near the main entrance, drawn as if the Goddess is walking into the house (pointing inwards). |
| Colored Rangoli | In the front yard or outside the gate. |
A rice flour rangoli has another lovely side. Ants and small birds eat the flour, so the design at your door also feeds small creatures, a thought that runs through our elders’ ways.
Lakshmi’s footprints are easy to draw. Make a fist, dip its outer edge in rice flour paste and press it on the floor for the shape of a foot, then add five dots with your fingertips for the toes. Draw the footprints in a line from outside the door inward, as if walking toward the puja room.
How to Draw the Ashtadala Padmam With Rice Flour
The Ashtadala Padmam is a rangoli in the shape of an eight-petalled lotus. It can be drawn with dry rice flour or with a wet paste of soaked, ground rice; the wet version lasts longer without smudging.
- First, clean the floor with water and let it dry.
- Draw a small circle in the center using the rice flour.
- Place eight dots at an equal distance around that circle.
- Connect each dot from the center circle outward, drawing them in the shape of lotus petals.
- After finishing the rangoli, place small dots of kumkum or turmeric in the center of the petals and around the design.
To space the eight dots evenly, first put four dots on the circle at top, bottom, left and right, like twelve, three, six and nine on a clock. Then add one dot between each pair, and you have eight.
For wet paste, soak half a cup of rice for two hours and grind it smooth with a little water. Dip a small piece of cloth in the paste, hold it with three fingers and squeeze gently as you draw to get thin white lines. With dry flour, hold it between thumb and forefinger and let it slip out slowly as you draw.
First-timers can practise once on paper. If your first rangoli is not perfect, that is fine; even crooked petals show your care.
How to Get the House Ready for Lamps
Decide where the evening lamps will go while you clean. Many homes place them on both sides of the main door, near the tulasi plant, along the balcony edges and in the centre of the Ashtadala Padmam.
Keep small clay saucers or leaf plates ready so lamps do not tip over or stain the floor. Clear curtains and drying clothes away from these spots today. Full details on lamps, oil and wicks are in Part 8.
A clean home, a turmeric threshold, a rangoli at the door and lamps in the evening: that is complete Diwali home decoration.
One Thing to Do Today
Divide your home into seven areas today, write down which area you will clean on which day until the festival, stick the list on the fridge, and start by clearing the cobwebs.
In the Next Part
📖 Kolkata Durga Puja Secrets, Dasara Celebrations, and Clay Idol Philosophy
The house is ready and the offerings are done. But why do we celebrate Diwali at all? Is it the day Rama returned to Ayodhya, the day Narakasura was slain, and how is Emperor Bali connected to it? The next part answers these questions.
Frequently asked questions
When should we clean the house for Diwali?
It is best to clean the house and remove cobwebs at least three or four days before the festival. Keep the festival morning strictly for decorating the entrance.
Why are mango leaves tied to the doorway?
Mango leaves are considered highly auspicious. They not only bring a vibrant look to the house but also create a pleasant, traditional festive atmosphere.
How should Lakshmi's footprints be drawn?
Lakshmi's footprints should always be drawn near the main entrance pointing inwards, symbolizing the Goddess walking from the outside into the house.
Why use rice flour for the rangoli?
Instead of using chalk or chemical colors, traditional rangoli is drawn with rice flour so that it serves as food for ants and small insects.
Where should the Ashtadala Padmam rangoli be placed?
The Ashtadala Padmam (eight-petaled lotus) is primarily drawn inside the puja room under the wooden plank and outside in front of the Tulasi plant.
Sources
Traditional Telugu Home Practices
Information checked: 21 October 2026. Dates and times follow Drik Panchang; final check on 5 November.
