Ep 127 | Taking a Look at Why It's All Too Much with Peter Walsh

Veteran professional organizer and TV host Peter Walsh joins us to uncover the deeper meaning behind our clutter and share tips to help you create comfort and joy at home during these challenging times.

Peter starred in the popular organization and design series Clean Sweep with Peter Walsh on Discovery’s TLC Network. The series produced over 120 episodes and has run almost continuously since 2003.

He is the author of six best-selling books on the subject of organizing including How to Organize (Just About) Everything; It’s All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff, and Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?

His new book is Let It Go, Downsizing Your Way to A Richer, Happier Life.

Peter was a regular guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show where he was dubbed the “Get Your Life Organized Guy” which led to his own series, Extreme Clutter with Peter Walsh on OWN.

We want to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com and click “Ask Spark Joy” to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show.

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In this episode, you’ll enjoy:

  • How Peter got his start-you’ll never believe what he WASN’T interested in doing in the beginning
  • How it all came together for Peter and organizational design became his great passion
  • The importance of humor and empathy in working with people who are experiencing guilt and shame over clutter
  • Peter’s take on why we accumulate so much-the hope of chasing a dream life through acquiring more and more “stuff”
  • How Peter shocks his clients with his plan for discarding 70-80% of their stuff-but they find he was on the money!
  • What Peter thinks of Marie Kondo. Peter and Marie on the Rachel Ray Show
  • Stories about what often gets edited from reality organizing shows. To go behind the scenes of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo check out:

Ep 67 | Review of Netflix's "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo"

Ep 68 | Behind the Scenes: Netflix's "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo" with Tricia Fidler and Jane Grodem

  • Suggestions on how to manage the uncertainty of life during the pandemic
  • Peter’s annual challenge on his YouTube channel. Peter Walsh's 31 Days to Get Organized
  • How to play Trash Bag Tango!
  • Peter’s great ideas for turning family organizing into learning games while we are staying home
  • The importance of a schedule and maintaining a sense of routine while social distancing and staying at home
  • Peter’s own experience surviving the coronavirus

Favorite organizing tip:
“Retreat into quiet at least 5 minutes a day. Although it may not seem to be a tidying tip, it will help you center yourself and to give you the space to step back into the busy world.
Also, take a media break!”

What is sparking the most joy for Peter:
“We are seeing what is happening in the world could be a massive reset button. Staying connected with those we love and getting back in touch with those people who are most significant in our lives.”

How to get in touch with Peter:
Peter Walsh Design
Peter’s Books
Extreme Clutter with Peter Walsh
Clean Sweep with Peter Walsh
Peter’s very active FaceBook community
Peter's YouTube channel

Gems:

“I’ve discovered over nearly 20 years of doing this that we are all human and all in the same boat. We all go off the rails occasionally!”

“At the end of the day, you are stronger than your stuff.”

“Stuff is associated with happiness. People buy things thinking that they are buying happiness but they are really buying a shadow of happiness. Instead of buying a product, we are buying a promise.”

“What is the vision you have from the life you want? Does the stuff you own help you get what you want from this room?”

“If you don’t respect your space, if you overload it, it’s the same as dishonoring as person, you are dishonoring your space. You will never be happy in that space.”

“Stuff is a distraction. Issues around clutter are about loss and trauma and neglect and abandonment.”

“The issue is really, ‘How do I deal with the fear and the anxiety we are all facing at the moment.’ And, people are looking to organizing as a way of feeling some control.”

You can find Karin Socci at The Serene Home
You can find Kristyn Ivey at For the Love of Tidy

Special Guest: Peter Walsh.

Om Podcasten

Welcome to Spark Joy, co-hosted by certified KonMari Consultants Kristyn Ivey and Karin Socci. Spark Joy is the podcast dedicated to celebrating the KonMari Method and the transformative power of surrounding yourself with joy; and letting go of the all the rest. Made popular by Marie Kondo, author of the bestselling book The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, the KonMari Method is a revolutionary professional organizing technique and way of life. Join us as we explore the world of KonMari and how the method impacts your home, health, wealth, family and well being. Spark Joy engages thought leaders and innovators in the KonMari universe. We share our experiences as KonMari Consultants, working with clients from all walks of life: families, empty nesting folks downsizing, young people setting up their first homes, and others. Look forward to practical tidy tips that will help you execute your own KonMari journey with ease and joy. Spark Joy wants to hear from you! Tell us your burning tidying questions or share stories about how KonMari has impacted your life. Find us at www.sparkjoypodcast.com, email us at contact@sparkjoypodcast.com to leave a question or comment for a chance to be featured on next week’s show. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter via @sparkjoypodcast.Thanks for tuning in, and we hope your day sparks joy! NOTE: Spark Joy the podcast is not endorsed by or affiliated with KonMari Media, Inc. The opinions expressed on the show's episodes represent the views of the co-hosts and guests alone, and do not represent the corporate position of KonMari Media, Inc or the KonMari consultant community.