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Extreme Clutter
OWN brought us a special December sneak peak of Extreme Clutter and with it, an old friend coming back into our lives. As we move into this season with Peter Walsh, we are reminded that clutter is often holding you in the past and keeping you from living your life with the passion and love that you are meant to have. In this special sneak peak of “Extreme Clutter,” we are introduced to Donna Kimura (mom) and Kali Kimura Martin, her daughter. Kali tells us that her only sibling and brother passed away in a navy seal accident a few years back and her father passed away from cancer last year. Now, Kali is moving back in with her husband Martin and growing the family too – because we are adding kids! So, to get mom’s house ready…we need Peter. With all of Donna’s loss, her home has been a treasure chest of emotions. An “orderly mess” is what Donna calls it but in reality, Peter points out that it’s not really a home. It’s floor to ceiling storage of memories and she needs some help with moving through it and forward into life.
Like many people who hold onto mementos and little memories, Donna has lots of items of her husbands and she’s afraid that if she gets rid of them, she won’t have anything left. But the truth is, memories are with each of us. Walking a delicate line of someone still grieving for her husband and her son and barely breathing in her own home, Peter has a large task ahead. Peter reminds her, ”You deserve more than all of this stuff can ever give you. This stuff can never give you what you need. Your family can give you what you need.” For everyone, change is really scary…but you can do this.
Many lessons came from this journey tonight…here are a few that I captured in the hour…
- An “orderly” mess does not make a home…and does not NOT make you a hoarder.
- Pack rat is just another name for hoarder.
- Remember, it might be labeled and it might be in containers but if if’s getting in the way of ANY part of your life, it’s a problem.
- Freedom of movement in your OWN home means freedom to live your best life!
- Try not to be overwhelmed. Set priorities and stick to the process.
- Set limits. SET time limits for yourself to go through things.
- When you choose to think about your things before you think about your family, you are sending THEM the message that stuff is more important than them. What messages are you sending?
- Give yourself a timer and a goal. Take baby steps through everything.
- Get your OWN great feeling of relief.
- Walking away from your clutter…opens a new door into the rest of your life
Through amazing dedication and determination, Donna’s house was transformed in this episode from a house to a home. With this kind of inspiration and these lessons from Peter, anyone can turn their OWN cluttered room into a vision that only you have! Be inspired. Change your life!
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Every community has homes with big secrets…that we typically try to keep buried exclusively in our garages. In season 2 of his OWN series, Extreme Clutter, organizational expert Peter Walsh will try to find ways to get through to people who struggle with letting go in their own lives. Yes, for those who are surious….this is the same show as the formerly titled Enough Already! with Peter Walsh.
According to OWN, this new season, Walsh approaches “specific themes associated with disorganization and clutter including: overcoming the temptation to shop for good deals, clutter related to broken relationships, the impact clutter has on families and kids, and how to move forward and let go of items after the loss of a loved one”. On the January 2nd episode, he pays Mackensie Phillips a visit to help her deal with her own painful memories and clutter.
The two-night premiere begins Sunday, January 1st at 11PM immediately following the 2-hour premiere of Oprah Winfrey’s new primetime series, “Oprah’s Next Chapter” at 9PM. An all new episode of “Extreme Clutter” will the next night, Monday, January 2 at 10PM in its regular time slot. So set the DVRs and get ready to clear the house!
NOTE – according to the OWN schedule online, they have Extreme Clutter airing Monday, December 12th at 9PM so you may want to set your DVRS just in case!
Watch this sneak peek and tune in for the 2-night premiere event of Extreme Clutter, beginning on Sunday, January 1st at 11/10c. Only on OWN!
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Oprah and the OWN Network promised to inspire and give us the programming that we want to see. I have to say initially, I was just excited that, like so many other cable stations, OWN was NOT filling it’s programming schedule with 6 to 8 hours of paid programming and infomercials. That alone made me a huge fan. Then….came the programming that so far, has not disappointed. If anything, it’s been discussion points (both good and bad) that have kept the dinner conversation full of life and thoughfulness.
One of my favorite and most inspiring shows has been Enough with Peter Walsh, the decluttering expert and organizational guru. As a lover of fine things….I find I have many – from books to fine china to boxes of tea. I just have a lot. Each week I am inspired that Peter and his team go in and show us a transformation of both space and lives. Yes, I note the importance of the word “team” here…because for most of us, emptying a room of all it’s contents would take superman. But….the tips along the way….and the sheer volume of the tasks accomplished are little miracles that show all of us that yes, we can do this too…but are we going to have to do it alone?
I just checked my upcoming shows for Peter and his Enough show…and either my Tivo programming needs to be updated….or someone has made a grave mistake….because there are NO shows – not even repeats for all of you that have missed an episode or two – on the OWN programming schedule. What’s up OWN? Where’s Peter?
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Peter Walsh and his organizational expertise are up for a challenge this week on Enough Already. Jessica and Cameron Izuno have it all. They have 2 wonderful sons, a great house in California and successful careers. But inside the house, there is a different story. “After our 1st child was born, about 5 years ago,” is when they noticed that the clutter started adding up. Now, they are worried about the kid’s safety….that something will fall and hurt them…or that the kids will learn uncleanliness or disorganization. “The house is a mess….and I feel overwhelmed…” is something that many people can relate to…and have felt themselves. Both Jessica and Cameron are professionally successful; they are just not “house clutter successful” yet. “The clutter makes me sad,” says Cameron.
In comes Peter Walsh with his years and years of experience. Peter’s response when first entering the house was, “WOW.” “A massive amount of clutter in the space…you could barely move thru the room.” “Not only is it physically dangerous for kids, but it teaches the children that it’s ok to live like this. It’s not ok and this is not normal.” [read more…]
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Today, Peter Walsh and his team introduce us to Laurie and Tim Kelly and their kids. Laurie has been clearly struggling with clutter for a few years….and Tim choose early on he loved his wife more than he hated the clutter. But after today…with a little of Peter’s magic organization fairy dust….I think that Laurie and Tim may be some healing on the way…and some things to sort out.
Just like so many people trying to gain control over their stuff, Laurie confides, “I try and try but I don’t see any major gains….all you do it look around and see this overwhelming to-do list and you don’t see any progress…and you feel like you can never do this.” This is a sentiment that is echoed everywhere….men and women alike. The desire is there….but the reality of success always seems like something different. It’s overwhelming.
So, insert Peter Walsh. During his clutter evaluation he moves from the family room…home office…kid’s play room…looking at clothing with tags that have been there for 6 years…a burred computer that has not used for over a year… and he see a theme emerging – the “I will get to that later….we might need that later” theme. [read more…]
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Peter Walsh brings his organizational expert and healing to Kristina Johnson’s parents this week, Kathy and Art. In frustration, the daughter contacted Peter and wants his help with getting rid of her mother’s clutter once and for all. Kristina has a daughter now and she would like to be able to bring the baby to her parent’s home. However, Kathy, the mother, has given up with dealing with the clutter and Art, the dad, just seems to have given up.
Here is the background. Kathy thinks that there are lots of things that are important to save….and for over 20 years she’s been saving those things. In that time, the home has started to become a warehouse and while Kathy sees it, she just can’t bear to let go of these things.
So, in the show her daughter asks, “Why does someone hold on to such useless stuff and miss out on creating new memories?” I think that’s a good question to ask anyone that has clutter that induces anxiety every time you see it. Kathy is not hiding and openly admits that “the clutter got out of control….and I’m trying to pay attention to the clutter and to the family.”…both of which she is failing at. Through all of this, you can tell that this pains Art…but he’s just going with it. [read more…]
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