Client Challenge
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Client Challenge
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Jamie Ballard (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor who covers news, lifestyle, and entertainment topics, including sex and relationships, TV, movies, books, health, pets, food and drinks, pop culture, shopping, and personal finance. She regularly contributes to Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and YouGov, among other publications. When she’s not working, you can find her running, traveling, or scrolling TikTok. Follow her on Twitter. More
Jamie Ballard (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor who covers news, lifestyle, and entertainment topics, including sex and relationships, TV, movies, books, health, pets, food and drinks, pop culture, shopping, and personal finance. She regularly contributes to Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and YouGov, among other publications. When she’s not working, you can find her running, traveling, or scrolling TikTok. Follow her on Twitter. More
Jamie Ballard (she/her) is a freelance writer and editor who covers news, lifestyle, and entertainment topics, including sex and relationships, TV, movies, books, health, pets, food and drinks, pop culture, shopping, and personal finance. She regularly contributes to Cosmopolitan, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and YouGov, among other publications. When she’s not working, you can find her running, traveling, or scrolling TikTok. Follow her on Twitter. More
As a home editor that lives in an one-bedroom apartment, I often put decluttering methods to the test—especially if they seem easy. I recently heard about the concept of “house hushing,” also known as “hushing the house,” and couldn’t wait to see what pro organizers thought of the seemingly controversial decluttering method. I reached out to three organizing experts and gave it a try in my living room, specifically my lift-top coffee table that’s slowly become a catchall for things around my house. What Is House Hushing?House hushing is a decluttering method that involves removing all non-essential items from a space and letting it sit empty for 24 hours. You then reintroduce items with intention, and donate, throw away, or relocate any that don’t belong. The “hush” allows time to process which items truly serve a purpose or spark comfort. “I’d describe house hushing as backwards decluttering. Instead of asking, ‘what should I get rid of,’ you’re starting from zero and asking yourself, ‘what deserves to earn its way back into this space?'” says Shira Gill, professional organizer and author of three organizing books, including the recently published LifeStyled. “It’s like hitting the reset button, but with curated intention.” How to Try It: Start small.Clearing out an entire room can be time-consuming and feel overwhelming, so the pros say to start small. Think a bedroom closet, nightstand, kitchen counters, entryway table, or the corner of a room. I decided to tackle my lift-top coffee table, which has slowly become cluttered with board games, loose papers, and random items, like loose change. “I suggest trying one space at a time, focusing on most used areas, like a living or dining area,” says Gill. “House hushing is incredibly effective for these high-traffic spaces where clutter accumulates quickly and you’ve lost sight of what you actually need.”Alyssa GautieriBefore: My coffee table contained a mix of items. Alyssa GautieriDuring: I pulled everything out and cleaned the entire coffee table.Establish a temporary holding space.Designate a room or spot where everything will live for 24 hours. I decided it would be easiest to leave everything stacked up in the corner of my living room while my space was “hushed.” This was the part I was nervous about; it felt a little like relocating the clutter somewhere else—but turns out, there’s a method to the madness. Laura Kinsella, founder of Urban OrgaNYze, says house hushing can be a great way to give your brain some breathing room. “The magic happens when items leave their usual context. That sweater you never reach for suddenly looks completely different when it’s sitting in a pile in the guest bedroom instead of hanging in your closet. The method provides a fresh perspective on whether you gravitate toward the item or if it’s just been taking up space.”While the space is completely empty, “take photos before and after to see the visual difference, and pay attention to how the space makes you feel,” says Kenika Williams, founder of Tidied By K. After I fully cleared my coffee table, I was able to vacuum out crumbs, wipe everything down, and let it air out for the day—which felt freeing. Mindfully return only what serves a clear purpose. “Ask yourself, ‘Would I bring this into my home today if I didn’t already own it?’ and only return items that get a clear yes,” says Gill. I quickly sorted everything into two piles on my living room rug: Return and Not-Return. Everything that I regularly use—mostly board games and lighters for my candles—was returned to the coffee table (after 24 hours, of course).Items in my not-return pile included random coffee table books, old batteries, spare changes, and board games I haven’t played in ages. I bagged up the books and board games for donation, plan to bring the old batteries to my local Home Depot for recycling, and put the spare change in my wallet. “The key: Immediately donate, trash, or relocate everything that doesn’t make it back. Don’t let those homeless items linger,” adds Gill. The Verdict:All three pro organizers agreed: House hushing can be an effective way to declutter. Overall, I found the method helpful, and although I was initially annoyed about leaving my items out of place, the 24-hour “hush” encouraged me to purge things that I normally would have found a place for. According to the pros, the method can work best for people who get stuck when trying to declutter item by item, offering a way to open a blind eye to our own clutter. “It’s particularly powerful for people who struggle with letting go—starting from zero makes you prove why something deserves space in your home,” says Gill. Alyssa GautieriAfter: Everything that didn’t make it back into my coffee table.Alyssa GautieriAfter: My coffee table is clutter-free.As for whether she’d recommend the method, Williams says, “To a degree, yes. I see value in creating space—literally and mentally—to reassess how a room functions. Temporarily clearing everything out helps you notice how you feel in the space without the noise of excess stuff.”However, it’s not a one-size-fits-all method, and the pros all expressed similar concerns: It can feel overwhelming to empty an entire room. “For families or those working with limited space, clearing out complete areas can disrupt daily life and create logistical challenges around where to temporarily ‘hold’ everything,” says Kinsella, who suggests scaling the approach down to manageable areas, like a single cabinet, drawer, or closet. More Ways to Declutter Your HomeAlyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries. More
Full disclosure: My home isn’t spotless. Even though I test and write about cleaning products for a living in the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Care & Cleaning Lab (Which is one reason I can’t bring myself to hire a cleaning service!), I, too, have nooks and crannies that need attention. Everyone always says, “Your home must be immaculate!” but I work a full day with a long commute and come home to prepare dinner pretty much every night. With the little time and energy I have left, I can sometimes squeeze in a quick tidying up or a load of laundry before turning in. That leaves the weekends to dust, vacuum, and tackle the kitchen and bathrooms more deeply. Still, there are spots that I overlook, especially when time is short.I’m a big fan of maintenance or preventative cleaning. Doing a quick wipe or spot clean now helps delay the need for deeper cleaning, stronger products, and more elbow grease later. And doing so helps keep my home comfortably clean and orderly. But when I do have a moment to zero in on the out-of-sight out-of-mind zones, here’s how I clean them. How to clean overlooked areasKitchen faucet sprayerFlip over this beloved tool, and you’ll likely see hard water mineral buildup and maybe even food splatters clogging the holes. Sure, it helps you clean and rinse your sink, but it needs occasional cleaning too. Rather than soaking the entire sprayer, dip a small brush in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water and scrub the nozzle surface. If you need more oomph, add a little more vinegar to the mix. Door frames and tall furnitureAt just over five feet tall, I’m guilty of neglecting surfaces I can’t easily see. I’m pretty good about paying attention to the most obvious out-of-reach areas, like crown moldings, recessed lights, and chandeliers, but door frames and the top surfaces of tall cabinets and bookcases are another story. To clean them, I rely on a telescoping duster with a pivoting head for the best angle to nab dust in just a few swipes. Mini blindsThe white aluminum mini blinds in my house are notorious for camouflaging dust. You literally have to be on top of them to see it, which is why I often miss it when I’m dusting the room—but it’s there. To clean them, I like to use a mini microfiber duster, as I find it easy to maneuver under draperies and around furniture, and faster than those “finger” dusting tools you slip through the slats. Dust vertically and horizontally on one side, reverse the slats, and repeat on the other side. Behind and under appliances Dust, lint, and crumbs collect in the peskiest places, like in the narrow space between the dryer and the wall or behind the countertop appliances you never move. Major appliances clogged with debris have to work harder and can even be a fire hazard. If you’re able, pull larger appliances out and clean behind, under, and around them. Otherwise, use your vacuum’s crevice tool or a long, thin, microfiber duster or sweeper to nab what you can. For countertop appliances, pull them away from the wall for cleaning. I like using a sponge cloth for this job as I find it larger and more flexible than a traditional sponge, and it wrings out drier than a regular cloth. LampshadesPleated shades are big dust magnets, but any lamp shade will benefit from occasional vacuuming to remove dust and clingy pet hair. For this job, I use the round, soft dusting brush attachment on my vacuum cleaner, and I take the shade off the lamp to more easily reach all sides. You can also use a clean bristle or foam paintbrush or a sticky lint roller to whisk away dust. Spraying them first with an anti-static spray, like Static Guard, makes dust and hair easier to remove too. Vinyl tub mats I pull up and rinse my plastic tub mat after showering, as it goes a long way to ridding it of soap scum and hard water minerals, and keeps mildew from forming. But sometimes even that isn’t enough. Over time, it was looking cloudy. I thought about tossing it, but tried this instead: I gave it a generous spray of bathroom cleaner and, right in the tub, used a battery-operated scrubber wand to clean both sides. Saved! You can also machine wash many vinyl tub mats on a warm, gentle cycle with some old towels and a little bleach, and air dry. Tools to clean forgotten spotsRelated StoriesCarolyn Forté brings more than 40 years of experience as a consumer products expert to her role as executive director of the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Home Care and Cleaning Lab. Using deep analytical testing and writing expertise in appliances, cleaning, textiles and organizational products, she produces cleaning and home care advice for GH, has authored numerous books and bookazines for the brand and partners with the American Cleaning Institute to co-produce the Discover Cleaning Summits. She holds a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences from Queens College, City University of New York. More
