416 // How to Make Your Home Feel Calmer: Backwards Decluttering and House Hushing with Myquillyn Smith

What If Your Home Needs Less? Backwards Decluttering & House Hushing with Myquillyn Smith

If you’re wondering how to make your home feel calmer, cozier, and less cluttered, one of the best places to start is by removing things rather than adding more. Backwards decluttering and house hushing can help you see what your home actually needs by temporarily clearing a room, creating visual quiet, and then intentionally adding back only the things you love and use. In this episode, I’m talking with New York Times bestselling author Myquillyn Smith about why a cozier home doesn’t necessarily mean more stuff...and how embracing cozy minimalism can completely change the way your home feels.

Have you ever walked into a room and thought, Something is bothering me in here...but I can't quite put my finger on it?

Maybe the room isn't technically messy.

Maybe everything has a place.

Maybe you've even decorated it.

And yet...it still feels like too much.

That's where my conversation with New York Times bestselling author Myquillyn Smith gets really interesting.

Myquillyn has a completely different way of thinking about decluttering. Instead of starting by deciding what to get rid of, she starts by removing most everything from the room.

Then she creates what she calls a "hush."

And when you can actually experience the room without all the visual noise, you can begin to see what belongs there much more clearly.

It's a fascinating approach to decluttering, but it also made me think differently about decorating.

Because sometimes decorating your home doesn't mean adding something.

Sometimes the most powerful decorating decision you can make is to take something away.

In This Episode

• What backwards decluttering is and how Myquillyn uses it to help you see your home differently

• How to "hush" a room by temporarily removing everything from it

• Why starting with an empty room can make it easier to decide what actually belongs

• The idea that every item in your home has a volume

• How to turn the "volume" of your home up or down

• What cozy minimalism really means

• Why a cozy home doesn't necessarily need more stuff

• How decluttering and decorating can actually work together

• Why the things you remove can sometimes have as much impact as the things you add

• The simple action Myquillyn wants you to take if you're ready to start decluttering

Your Action Step

Don't just listen to this episode and think, That was interesting.

Go try it.

Choose one room.

And instead of immediately buying something to fix it, start by removing something.

You don't have to empty the entire room if that feels overwhelming. You could start with one surface, one corner, or one category of stuff.

Pay attention to what happens when you create a little more space.

What feels quieter?

What suddenly looks better?

What do you actually miss?

And what...well...you don't miss at all?

That's information.

And it might be the beginning of a much cozier home.

About Myquillyn Smith

Myquillyn Smith is a New York Times bestselling author and the creator behind a simpler approach to creating a beautiful, welcoming home. Her work focuses on making home less about perfection and more about creating spaces that support the people who live in them.

 

// Links mentioned in show: //

✨✨ Start your Cozy Home Reset: https://www.figandfarmathome.com/cozyhomereset 

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