Key Takeaways
- House hushing is a decluttering approach that temporarily removes nonessential items from a room to help you assess what truly belongs and bring a sense of calm back into your space.
- The process is designed to break emotional attachments to clutter by letting you experience how peaceful a simplified room can feel.
- Prioritize high-stress areas first, and focus on making intentional choices that support long-term comfort and functionality rather than just tidying up.
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your stuff? Maybe it’s clutter piling up in your home office or a living room packed with more decor than you know what to do with. If your home feels more like a stress zone than a sanctuary, it might be time to try house hushing. This method is exactly what it sounds like—a way to quiet the excess and bring calm back into your space.
Here’s what experts say about the trend and how you can give house hushing a try.
What Is House Hushing?
First coined by The Nester, “hushing the house” or “house hushing” is a decluttering method that involves moving excess items from one room into another for at least 24 hours before moving only the items you decide are necessary back into the space.
While this sounds extreme, it’s not as hard as it sounds because you don’t need to remove everything from the space. So, if you are “hushing” a bedroom, keep the bed (after all, you need to sleep there) and the pillows you sleep on, but those 10 decorative pillows need to go. And if you love them, it’s fine—they’re only going away for a day after all.
What Is the Purpose of House Hushing?
If other decluttering methods don’t work for you, consider giving house hushing a try. According to Ashley Murphy, NEAT Method co-founder, CEO, and author of The NEAT Method Organizing Recipe Book, it’s an ideal way to break your attachment to things and make editing decisions more obvious.
“House hushing allows you to experience how the room feels without all the things that have accumulated over time,” she explains. “When you feel the weight that’s lifted after allowing breathing room, you’re less likely to want to fill it back up with stuff.” The goal of the process is to create long-term change.
There’s also a psychological benefit to it. “It’s not just about removing clutter, but about releasing anything that feels loud, overwhelming, or unnecessary,” says pro organizer Bohne Leah of Be Organized Method. “It’s choosing calm over chaos and crafting spaces that restore rather than drain.”
The Best Way to Hush a Room
If you’re ready to hush a room, Leah suggests identifying and prioritizing the hot spots first. “These are spaces causing the most stress, so we can transform them first,” she explains. Then she suggests asking yourself if the item belongs. For example, if you don’t pay your bills in your bedroom, there’s probably a better place for them.
Leah describes the process with clients as one that’s systematic and centered around their needs. “The focus is on what she truly wants in her life and what’s ready to be released,” she explains. “As items are let go or given a new purpose, we make the space more functional and efficient. By the end of our session, we’ve done more than just tidy—we’ve hushed the room in a way that is personal, grounding, and sustainable. It becomes a space she can return to and feel truly held and nurtured by.”
What Rooms Benefit the Most From Hushing?
You don’t need to hush every room in your home. Murphy recommends working on rooms that tend to accumulate the most clutter. “Hush shared spaces such as the living room, kitchen, and drop zone,” she suggests. Still not sure if house hushing is for you? Think of it as a self-care opportunity to quiet your mind by quieting your home first.
