Conquer Your Clutter with Peter Walsh

Organizational whiz Peter Walsh wants to help you with your spring cleaning by sharing simple tips for tackling three of the most common forms of clutter that may have your home bulging at the seams!

Hidden Clutter: Is there a secret stash of stuff piling up in your closets, garage or a room you never show to your guests? Peter says the easiest way to tackle these intimidating projects is to work on them in small increments. "This is a really simple tip for anyone: Grab a kitchen timer, set it for 10 minutes, once a day, and everyone in the house gets two trash bags. Run around the house filling one with stuff you no longer need, use or want and one with trash," Peter suggests. "If two of you do that for 10 minutes a day for one week, at the end of a week you'll have 14 bags of trash and 14 bags of stuff going to Goodwill."

Panty Clutter from Buying in Bulk to Save: "This is not about how much you can get, this is about respecting the space you have in your house," Peter says. "Look at the space that you have and start setting a limit and buying to that amount of space."
- Throw out products that have expired and donate extras that are still good to a needy cause.
- Stop shopping and use what you have.
- When you run out of your supplies, set a limit on new purchases. "Set a shelf for paper products. When it's full, you can't buy any more paper products until that shelf is half empty,"  Peter suggests, while   reassuring that you'll find deals when you need them. "When was the last time you went out shopping and didn't see the word bargain or sale somewhere? There's always another sale."  

Sentimental Clutter: If you can't bear to get rid of your kids' toys, old school projects or baby clothes as they head into adulthood and establish their own homes, Peter suggests that you ask yourself this question: "Do you feel that your best memories with your children are behind you or in front of you?" he asks. If it's their youth, he says you should separate the memories from the objects. "This is harsh, when you tell me, 'Everything is important,' my response is, 'Nothing is important,'" he says. "Find five treasures that when you look at them it makes your heart sing, and then start to display them with honor and respect." For example, create a family history wall in your home by hanging shadow boxes and framed pieces of your children's art, photos, or even a piece of their favorite blanket. "Display them on a wall in a way that everyone can love them!"