What if decluttering didn’t start with deciding what to get rid of?
What if, instead, you could simply experience your home with less stuff and THEN decide what deserves to come back?
In this episode, I’m talking with Myquillyn Smith, also known as The Nester, about her new book, House Hushing, and I absolutely love her approach to creating a peaceful home without feeling like you have to become a hardcore minimalist.
Myquillyn describes all the things in our homes as having a little “voice.” Over time, those voices add up. The books, plants, projects, pillows, dog toys, decor, papers, and all the other stuff sitting around can turn what was once a lovely melody into a visual roar.
And sometimes you don’t even realize how loud it has gotten until you experience your space without it.
That’s where House Hushing comes in.
Myquillyn walks us through her brilliant concept of “backwards decluttering.” Instead of picking up every single item and immediately deciding whether to keep it, donate it, move it, or throw it away, you temporarily remove all the visible surface items from a room. Then you live with the quieter space for 24 to 48 hours before intentionally choosing what comes back.
No giant pile of permanent decisions required.
We also talk about cozy minimalism and the idea that you don’t have to choose between a peaceful home and a home that feels warm, beautiful, and full of personality.
If traditional decluttering has felt overwhelming, or you’re craving a home that feels a little calmer, you’re going to want to try this.
What You’ll Learn:
- What House Hushing is and how it turns down the “visual volume” in your home
- Why Myquillyn considers herself a cozy minimalist and what that actually means
- How to use “backwards decluttering” when you’re overwhelmed by making decisions
- Why temporarily removing things can help you experience your home completely differently
- How to experiment with less before deciding what to permanently let go of
- How to become protective of the peace you create in your home
Your Organizing Coach,
Connect with Myquillyn Smith
Myquillyn Smith, also known as “The Nester,” is the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Welcome Home, Cozy Minimalist Home, and House Rules. For the past 18 years, she has been encouraging women to embrace their space — imperfections and all — and make it their own. Her home in North Carolina has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Cottages & Bungalows. She’s never met a home she didn’t love. Find her online at TheNester.com and on Instagram @TheNester.
📖 Get her new book House Hushing here.
Next Steps
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Organized LIFE Academy (OLA) for women who want to be clutter-free.
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Is It Time for You to Do Some House Hushing
Have you ever walked into a room in your house and immediately felt overwhelmed, but you couldn’t quite figure out why?
Nothing is technically wrong. The furniture is where it belongs. You might have even organized the room before. Yet somehow, it still feels busy.
My guest on The Organized Coach Podcast, Myquillyn Smith, has a name for what might be happening.
Your house is loud.
Myquillyn Smith, also known as The Nester, is the author of House Hushing. During our conversation, she explained that everything in our homes has a visual voice.
Think about your living room for a minute.
There’s the plant in the corner. A stack of books is on the table. Your latest project is sitting in a basket. Maybe there are magazines, candles, pillows, games, homework, dog toys, exercise equipment, seasonal decorations, and all the random things that somehow migrate into a room when you actually live in your house.
Individually, none of those things is a problem.
Together, they can get LOUD.
Myquillyn described it beautifully when she said, “What maybe started as a lovely melody becomes a visual roar.”
That made so much sense to me.
We often think organization means finding a better place for everything. As a professional organizer for over 16 years, I obviously love giving things a home. But sometimes the answer isn’t finding a better container or rearranging what’s on the shelf.
Sometimes you need to hear what the room sounds like with less in it.
What Is House Hushing?
House Hushing is a way to turn down the visual volume in your home.
Instead of immediately asking what you should get rid of, you temporarily remove things from a room so you can experience the space without all the visual noise.
That distinction matters.
Decluttering can feel like one giant decision making marathon. Pick something up and immediately your brain starts asking questions.
Should I keep this?
Where should it go?
What if I need it?
Who gave this to me?
How much did I pay for it?
Could I use it somewhere else?
Suddenly you’re standing in the middle of your living room holding a candle you don’t even like while remembering the birthday party where someone gave it to you seven years ago.
This is why I love Myquillyn’s approach.
You don’t have to make all those decisions first.
Try Backwards Decluttering Instead
Myquillyn calls her method backwards decluttering.
Rather than looking at a full room and deciding what needs to leave, you remove the smaller things first and decide later what deserves to come back.
Choose one room in your home that feels visually loud.
Next, pick a temporary holding area. It could be another room, a covered porch, or even the trunk of your car. The point is not to get rid of everything.
You’re running an experiment.
Take the smaller items off the surfaces in the room. Leave the things you actually need, of course. Your television can stay. Keep the lamp you need at night.
Everything else gets a little vacation.
Books, magazines, plants, clocks, projects, games, pens, pencils, computers, toys, baskets, decor and all those little things that have accumulated can temporarily move out.
Then stop.
Don’t organize all of it or stand there sorting everything into seventeen categories or make yourself decide what you’re donating.
Just experience the room.
Myquillyn recommends giving yourself about 24 to 48 hours.
At first, it might feel strange. The room may look empty. You might wonder what in the world you’ve done.
Give it a minute.
Something interesting can happen once your eyes adjust.
You start noticing the space instead of the stuff.
Maybe your kids want to do their homework in there because the room suddenly feels peaceful. Perhaps you want to sit there longer. Even the dog might enjoy having a little more room to stretch out.
Eventually, you may realize you’ve created the room you thought you were going to have when you first moved into your house.
Experience Less Before You Decide
This might be my favorite part of backwards decluttering.
You get to experience less before committing to less.
There’s no pressure to become a minimalist. Nobody is telling you that you need to own three shirts, one coffee mug, and a single chair.
Instead, you’re gathering information.
How does this room feel with less in it?
What do I miss?
Which things do I actually use?
What makes this room feel like me?
Those questions are so much easier to answer after you’ve experienced the peaceful version of the space.
Once you start feeling protective of that peace, you can intentionally bring things back.
Bring the plant back because it loves that sunny window.
Return the crochet basket because you’re actually working on the project.
Give the cat its bed back. The cat will probably demand this anyway.
Add the pillows that make the sofa feel cozy.
The goal isn’t an empty room.
The goal is an intentional room.
You Don’t Have to Choose Between Cozy and Clutter Free
Another part of our conversation that I loved was Myquillyn’s description of herself as a cozy minimalist.
Traditional minimalism can sometimes feel like there’s a uniform.
White walls. Black sofa. Bare surfaces. Very few possessions.
That look might be perfect for some people, but what if you love decorating?
Maybe you want your house to have personality. You want people to walk in and feel comfortable. Your home needs to work for kids, pets, friends, family gatherings, hobbies, and normal everyday life.
Myquillyn doesn’t believe you have to choose between a beautiful home and a peaceful one.
You can have both.
Her goal with cozy minimalism is to get the most amount of style with the least amount of stuff.
I love that.
A simplified home doesn’t have to be sterile. Peaceful doesn’t mean boring. Organized doesn’t mean your house needs to look like nobody actually lives there.
Your home can have soul, meaning, comfort, beauty, and breathing room.
Why Visual Clutter Matters
We get used to what we see every day.
That pile on the counter eventually becomes part of the scenery. The basket that was supposed to hold one project somehow contains four. Decorations stay out because we stop noticing them.
Our brains are still taking all of it in, though.
Visual clutter asks for our attention even when we aren’t consciously thinking about it.
That’s why walking into a hotel room can feel so relaxing.
There aren’t unfinished projects staring at you.
Nobody left a stack of mail on the counter.
Three things aren’t waiting to be returned to Target.
Your hotel room isn’t reminding you that you really should finish organizing that cabinet.
There’s simply less for your brain to process.
House Hushing gives you a way to experiment with that same feeling at home.
What Does Your Room Actually Need?
One of the biggest shifts with backwards decluttering is that you stop asking, “Where can I put this?”
Instead, you start asking, “Does this need to come back?”
Those are two very different questions.
When we organize a full room, our natural tendency is to find a place for everything already there. We buy bins, rearrange shelves, move things from one side of the room to another.
House Hushing interrupts that process.
Now you have a peaceful room in front of you.
Do you really want to put everything back?
Probably not.
That’s where decluttering can become easier because you aren’t only thinking about the object anymore. You’re comparing the object to the peaceful space you’ve just experienced.
You know what you’re protecting.
Try House Hushing in One Room
You do not need to hush your entire house this weekend.
Please don’t.
Pick one room.
Choose the space that feels the loudest or the one where you most want to experience some peace.
Remove the smaller items and put them somewhere safe for 24 to 48 hours.
Live in the room.
Notice how you feel.
Pay attention to what you miss and, maybe more importantly, what you don’t miss at all.
After you’ve experienced the room with less, intentionally choose what comes back.
That’s it.
You’re not committing to a minimalist lifestyle. Nobody is coming over to count your throw pillows.
You’re simply giving yourself an opportunity to experience your home differently.
Create a Home You Want to Protect
Organization isn’t about getting rid of everything.
It’s about making room for what matters.
My conversation with Myquillyn reminded me that sometimes we need to experience the result before we’re ready to make the decisions required to create it.
Once you feel the difference, your decisions get easier.
You’re no longer decluttering because someone told you that you own too much stuff.
Now you’re making choices because you know how you want your home to feel.
That peaceful feeling becomes something worth protecting.
If your home has been feeling visually loud lately, try hushing one room.
Move the extra stuff out.
Wait 24 to 48 hours.
See what happens.
You might discover that the peaceful, cozy home you’ve been trying to organize your way into was hiding underneath all that visual noise the entire time.
Listen to my full conversation with Myquillyn Smith on The Organized Coach Podcast to hear more about House Hushing, backwards decluttering, cozy minimalism, and how to create a home that feels peaceful without getting rid of everything you love.
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