Decluttering Your Living Room

From watching TV to reading a book, entertaining friends and loved ones to being the centerpiece of holiday decorations, the living room is the heart of the home. It is the space that brings everyone together. So while it is the most frequented room in the house, it is also the room where we tend to let things like clothes, packages, papers and other miscellaneous household items stack up since we spend so much time there. Sometimes the living room looks more cramped than comfortable with overcrowded furniture and rarely used items that we forget about. This is why decluttering your living room should be the first place to start for an open and inviting space that is guest-ready at a moment’s notice.

Rearrange the Furniture:

Changing the way your living room is situated is a great way to breath some life into the room. The first step toward an affordable living room makeover is to remove all the smaller items to get them out of the way. Lamps, plants, books, decorative items, pillows and so forth should all temporarily be moved into a nearby room so you can assess the layout of your furniture and decide whether you’d like to keep the arrangement or move things around. With furniture of all different sizes occupying your living room, now is the time to tap into your inner-interior designer and move that couch or ottoman around. Without all those extra items taking up space, your living room will look a lot more open and inviting once those staple pieces have been thoughtfully arranged.

Do a Thorough Sweep:

After you’ve finished with the big furniture, it’s time to focus on the smaller aspects of the living room. Remove phone chargers and cables when they’re not in use and use cable covers or strategically placed furniture to conceal the rest. If you still have CDs and DVDs in the house, find a cupboard or a drawer to conceal them in along with your remotes. Once you’ve organized the smaller items, get the whole family involved by delegating duties of who vacuums, cleans the windows, dusts and mops the floors. The most lived in room deserves a little extra work from everyone who lives in the house!

Divide and Conquer:

So you’ve arranged your living room (or maybe you left the furniture where it was but at least now it’s cleaner!) but now you have to go through your “swept” items in the other room. Here is where it is important to separate your items into two piles: what you keep and what goes. You can divide the first pile even further into what you keep and what belongs in which room (that clean laundry pile that you were going to fold a few days ago isn’t going to put itself away!) Once you’ve divided up your first pile and organized everything based on which room it belongs in, you can now focus on the hard part of deciding what’s worth keeping and what needs to be thrown away or recycled. Items such as photographs and other mementos are great decorative items, but if there are too many adorning your walls and shelves, consider them for other rooms in your house. Old newspapers and magazines may be good coffee table accessories, but there’s no use keeping them around after you’ve read them. The same can be said for paperwork like unopened envelopes and old bills – recycle those with your newspapers and magazines, and consider stopping delivery of these all together and sign up for online delivery of your monthly statements. since most bills and bank statements can be accessed online nowadays. Once you’re done with what can be recycled, donated and thrown away, you can now focus on decorating your living room with what remains.

Change Your Habits:

Congratulations – You’ve now reclaimed your living room! But it will take more than one huge overhaul to keep it clean and tidy. Small habits can make a big difference when it comes to having a clean and uncluttered space. Make it a point to perform a weekly cleaning – scan the living room of any items that have piled up over the week and organize them according to what room they belong in and whether they can be disposed of. Practice good habits by putting items away as soon as you get home (such as your coat and shoes) or clearing the living room as soon as you’re done spending time there. Getting rid of small clutter will prevent it from getting bigger and will keep your home clean for your loved ones and ready to present to any unexpected guests that pop in!