An Interview With Peter Walsh - Part Two

I’m not getting ahead of myself with Peter’s interview here, but someone asked me this morning - “what can I do today (this very minute!) that will give me a fresh start in the new year?” Answer…The Trash Bag Tango! No…it’s not the latest dance that you didn’t know about, but it is one of the first exercises that Peter Walsh asks of his clients. It’s actually easier than a two-step for some. This tip is as easy as 1, 2, 3 and you can do it!

Give each member of your household a trash bag. I’ve found that large, black lawn and garden bags hold up best for this exercise. For ten minutes, everyone fills their bag with items that they don’t need, don’t use, have outgrown or will help to reduce the cluttered area you are working on. You can decide to do this for one day or for one week, depending on the size of your project. Everything that is collected is either donated or recycled in some way. For those of you with kids, this is a great project for the playroom. The extra stuffed animals seem to find a good new home and the kids don’t mind working with Mom and Dad if you make any kind of a game of this. Speaking of stuffed animals, if you don’t have a Pet Net or Toy Net - these are an excellent solution for storing stuffed toys! 

“The Trash Bag Tango” is also an excellent approach to the garage. Think of it this way. If you have a family of four filling one trash bag per person in ten minutes, that’s 4 bags of ’stuff’. If you set aside 10 minutes for 7 days, you would collect 28 bags of ’stuff’ in just one week. When you do the math, it sounds like a pretty simple way to de-clutter and definitely doable!

Today’s NEAT TIP?
When you are looking to de-clutter your home, only bring in something new if you are willing to give up something old. It’s the ‘give and take’ approach of sort and it works!  The weekend is almost here. Make a plan to organize something and get started!

- Mrs. O  

January 4, 2008 on 6:14 am | In All, Featured Guests, Interviews