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Not every decluttering hack works for every person, but there’s a decluttering hack out there for everyone. If you’re looking to really clear out or revolutionize a room or space in your home, the Peter Walsh method might be the one for you. It’s a little intense, but also sure to help you get your space in order.
How the Peter Walsh decluttering method works
Peter Walsh is one of those organizational gurus, and he has offered up a lot of organizing tips and tricks ain his books, which include Let It Go: Downsizing Your Way to a Richer, Happier Life and Enough Already!: Clearing Mental Clutter to Become the Best You. A decade ago, the “Enough Already” concept even served as the basis for a show on OWN in Walsh sought to help families across the country realize how destructive their clutter was—and deal with it.
In order to do do that, he used a five-step system that aims to reframe your thinking around not only your clutter, but the space it’s currently cluttering up—which is why the first step involves emptying the entire space and creating a vision for what it could be without all the clutter. Research has shown there’s a significant link between clutter and your sense of wellbeing, and that relationship goes both ways: Think of what a downer it is to be in a disorganized room filled with junk, and how being in that negative headspace doesn’t exactly put you in the frame of mind to clean. That’s why creating (or recreating) a strong, positive vision of what the space could be (with a little effort) is the crucial first step in Walsh’s method.
How to use Walsh’s decluttering method
Here are the five steps to follow to carry out this aggressive process:
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Empty out the space. No, really: Clear everything out. If you’re decluttering your kitchen, put everything in bins and stick those bins in the dining room. If a room is too big and contains too much stuff, work in smaller chunks. Instead of pulling everything out of your bedroom at once, for instance, you can work these steps for your closet, then your open space, your desk, etc., one at a time. But be sure you select and define a space, then start by clearing it completely.
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Create a vision for the space, and set an intention for it. Your vision and intention for the kitchen could be to have enough room to cook more often, but still have adequate storage space for the tools you’ll need. Your vision for your closet could be to see all of your clothes and accessories more easily so you can get dressed more efficiently. Ask yourself what you want from the space, and envision yourself living it.
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Sort everything you removed into two categories: You need a “vision” pile and an “out-the-door” pile. If something aligns with that vision and intention you set, it can stay. If it doesn’t, throw it away or donate it. The point of setting that intention in Step 2 is to give you something concrete to work toward, so use that as a guide.
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Get rid of what you don’t need: Go through the “out-the-door” pile and designate any items you want to donate, then put the rest in the trash or recycling. Don’t hold onto them or store them anywhere else; Walsh makes it clear that procrastinating on getting rid of stuff will only lead to more clutter. Put your donation bin in your trunk or by your door, and the put the trash bag outside. It can’t stick around.
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Reimagine what you want to keep: Move everything from the “vision” pile back into the room, arranging it in a way that will serve your goals for the space. This could involve finding a workable storage solution, like cabinet organizers or over-the-door racks. A crucial component of real organizing and decluttering is making sure everything you do keep has its own place.
Walsh’s approach is obviously a little more intense than others, because it involves clearing a whole space and reimagining how you might use it—but keeping that idealized vision at the center of what you’re doing will not only help you declutter, but to keep the space decluttered once you’re using it the way you really want to.
