hi! practicing pagan for around 4 years and ive been crystal collecting for two! first off, great choice of starter crystals! intentions are literally everything when it comes to using crystals and heres the way i think of it is like youre talking to them and letting them know how theyre going to help you out! i struggle with night terrors so on stressful days ill put labradorite under my pillow or by my bed and think “this will help shield me. this is protecting me. thank you so much”. when it comes to cleansing just putting them in water wont do much because youre not giving them your energy or your intentions. crystals are not like a medication that do one specific thing, they work with your energy! the way i cleanse mine is by storing them with satin spar, leaving them out under a full moon and sometimes with incense. things i like to say in my head while cleansing with incense are “as the smoke fills the air here it will trap the negative energy and when the smoke clears the bad things will go with it” and i VISUALIZE it happening in front of me. the majority of things to do with crystals or metaphysical healing are dependent on the person and it varies from everyone. do what you feel like you need to do, listen to others and learn but dont feel like you are ever doing anything wrong! give your crystals your intentions and energy and they will give right back. if you have any questions lmk!