This room is important because you spend a lot of time in here. The family come in here to relax, watch TV, maybe listen to music, go on the games console or read. Visitors come in here to chat and drink coffee. This room has a lot of uses and as a consequence can get very cluttered and very crowded.
DVD’s, computer games, CD’s, games consoles, umpteen remote controls and books can all pile up here, as well as newspapers, magazines and toys. Finding somewhere to sit can be quite a challenge, and it doesn’t aid relaxation if you have to tidy a load of clutter away before you can collapse onto the sofa.
Before you tidy it all away however, consider how much of this stuff actually gets used. The possessions which are lying around are obviously getting used, but why aren’t they put away again after use? Apart from laziness (which is always a factor), a lack of storage could be part of the reason. If there’s nowhere to put things then they won’t get put away.
Book Clutter
By decluttering the bookcase you may find it’s easier to put the books away. How many of the books in the bookcase have you read? If they look unpalatable now then they won’t get any more appealing over time. Make a pile of the ones that look heavy going, are on subjects that you don’t find interesting, or that you have read but don’t think you will ever read again. These books are clutter to you. You’re not using them, they haven’t earned their space in your bookcase, so don’t let them take up that precious room.
CD Clutter
Which of your CD’s get listened to on a regular basis? The ones you got as gifts that you don’t like, the ones you’ve gone off, got bored with, have gone out of fashion, bought by mistake in the first place, or got damaged, can all be put in the clutter pile to be got rid. You will thank yourself when you see all the space you now have in your CD rack.
Computer/Console Game Clutter
Make a stack of the games you never play, the ones that are too simple and you have completed, the ones that are too complex (if you haven’t got the hang of them by now then you never will), the ones that your children have grown out of , the awful ones you bought because they were on sale or came free with a review magazine, and the ones you just don’t like.
Magazine/Newspaper Clutter
The date is on these so I shouldn’t have to tell you which ones to throw away. Magazines and newspapers are not meant to be kept, they are meant to be read and then disposed of. The news and articles in them are current and don’t date well.
Magazines in particular, carry a lot of adverts which (unless you are studying the history of advertising) have no relevance once their time has passed. News is meant to be current. Reading old news in completely and utterly pointless. Get rid of these glaring examples of your inefficiency (or line the rabbit cage with them).Get them out of your house at any rate.
Toy Clutter
Children do like to get out toys and with their short attention span the same toy will not hold their interest for long. The result is a sea of toys everywthere you look. Their enthusiasm for getting toys out is unfortunately not matched by their enthusiasm at putting them away again.
Try not to have too many toys in the living room. The child’s bedroom or playroom is where the bulk of the toys should be. Allow only a few in the living room at a time and try and make sure they get put away or taken upstairs at bedtime. As this room is used by all the family and by visitors as well it is not fair to allow the toys to take over: the children will be happy but everyone else will be alienated.
DVD Clutter
These can soon take over a living room because they are bulky. Weed out the DVD’s your children have grown out of, damaged ones, and ones which were unwanted gifts. Don’t forget DVD’s on how to do things (cut hair, lay laminate floors, etc). Even if you have actually watched them, then you will probably never do so again. These should be first on your list to go.
Furniture Clutter
This is a big issue because furniture takes up a lot of space. If you have too many footstools, chairs, coffee tables, magazine racks, CD racks, bookcases, or even too many cushions or lamps in your room then it will always look cluttered and you will never have that feeling of space which is so liberating.
If your CD rack is full of CD’s you never listen to then get rid of the all the CD’s and the rack as well. Keep the ones you want on a smaller rack or on a shelf. If you have too many books then clear some out and maybe the bookcase can go too. Do you have more chairs than you have people to sit on them? Then you know what to do.
Floor space is one of the most precious commodities you can have in a house so freeing some up can feel fantastic. Space to move around makes you feel free and unstressed. Clutter.co.uk is about making your life easier. The amount of space you free up by following these clutter guidelines for your living room will amaze and delight you
