Use the Peter Walsh Method to Declutter Your Entire Room

Not every decluttering hack will work for everyone, but there is a decluttering hack for everyone. If you’re looking to really cleanse or revolutionize a room or space in your home, Peter Walsh’s method might be right for you. It’s a little complicated, but it will definitely help you get your space in order.

How Peter Walsh’s decluttering method works

Peter Walsh is one such organization guru, and he has offered a variety of organization tips and tricks in his books, including Let It Go: Shortcut Your Path to a Richer, Happier Life and Enough Already!: Clearing the Mental Clutter to become the best you . Ten years ago, the concept of Enough Already even inspired a show on Walsh’s OWN that aimed to help families across the country recognize how destructive their clutter is and deal with it.

To do this, he used a five-step system that aims to reframe the way you think about not only clutter, but the space it’s currently cluttering. That’s why the first step involves clearing out all the space and creating a vision for what it could be without all the clutter. Research has shown that there is a significant connection between clutter and your sense of well-being, and the connection goes both ways: think about how frustrating it is to be in an unorganized room filled with clutter, and how being in that negative headspace isn’t exactly healthy . set you up for cleaning. This is why creating (or recreating) a strong, positive vision of what a space can be (with a little effort) is a crucial first step in the Walsh Method.

How to Use the Walsh Decluttering Method

Here are the five steps you need to follow to carry out this aggressive process:

1. Make room. No, really: clean everything out. If you’re decluttering your kitchen, put everything in baskets and place them in the dining room. If the room is too big and there are too many things in it, work in smaller sections. For example, instead of moving everything out of your bedroom at once, you can do these steps for your closet, then your open space, table, etc., one at a time. But be sure to select and define a space and then start by clearing it out completely.

2. Create a vision for the space and set an intention for it. Your vision and intention for your kitchen may be to have enough space for more frequent cooking, but still have enough space to store the tools you need. Your wardrobe vision may be to make it easier for you to see all your clothes and accessories so you can dress more efficiently. Ask yourself what you want from this space and imagine yourself living it.

3. Sort everything you deleted into two categories: you want a “vision” pile and an “external” pile. If something aligns with your vision and the intention you set, it can stay. If not, throw it away or donate it. The purpose of setting this intention in Step 2 is to give you something concrete to work towards, so use this as a guide.

4. Get rid of what you don’t need: Go through your “away from home” pile and mark the items you want to donate, then toss the rest in the trash or recycle. Do not keep them or store them anywhere else; Walsh makes it clear that delaying getting rid of things will only lead to more clutter. Place a donation basket in the trunk or near the door and take the trash bag outside. It can’t stay here.

5. Rethink what you want to keep: Move everything from the “vision” pile back into the room, arranging it in a way that aligns with your goals for the space. This may include finding the right storage solution, such as closet organizers or over-the-door hangers . A critical component of true organization and decluttering is making sure everything you store has a place.

Walsh’s approach is obviously a little more intense than others in that it involves clearing out all the space and reimagining how you might use it, but keeping that idealized vision at the center of what you do will not only help you declutter , but also keep the space cleared when you use it the way you really want.

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