Previously posted in January 2011.
Note: Today, I'm talking about a living room that's more of a company living room. I'll talk about family rooms another day soon. I do realize that not everyone has both. Also, after a few emails yesterday, I'm prefacing today's organizing entry with this precursor... These ideas are what I've found to be helpful in my ancientness and old age for me, in my home. They are being suggested as helpful tips, but I realize that they may not work in your world. Thanks! ;)
The living room is like a window that looks into your personal world. It offers a peek inside your life. We don’t live in the living room. It's where company comes to visit. The living room speaks volumes to the stranger at your door. Is it clean and inviting? Is it a cluttered mess? It’s the public place. It represents and speaks so much about your family and your lives. It's a great place for you to "speak" you. Family photos, musical instruments, books, decor are all things that are telling of you and your family.
The living room should be, in my opinion, the one room in the home that is always clean, vacuumed and dusted. I realize that not all homes offer the option of not having a TV in the living room, but if at all possible, I recommend it. When company comes, you want to spend time visiting with them, not competing with the volume of the TV. It’s also not an eating room, unless it's a party. Not eating in the living room protects the carpet and the best furniture in the house, plus is a major part of keeping it company clean most of the time. In our home, it’s the room where we have Family Home Evening and family prayer. So, this room, in our home, the calm and peaceful room. Just that fact, alone, helps keep down the rough-housing that takes place in other parts of the home. It's also not a room for homework or projects, but it's great for reading and napping in the sunshine. Designating your living room for specific purposes is essential in keeping it organized and clean.
Here’s a few tips on keeping the living room organized and to maintain the feeling of peace and calm in the living room.
Here’s a suggestion for the brave soul. Completely empty the living room of all décor, books, magazines, pillows, throws, plants (live and other) and other “stuff”. Clean the room and then put things back. Think carefully before you return every single item to the room. Is it something outdated that could be replaced by something better? Is it something that could be put away in a scrapbook instead of hanging on the wall because it’s so old? Does it need a new frame? Does whatever you’re about to bring back in need polishing? Scrubbing? Soaking? Tossing? Is it time to start fresh completely? Of all the rooms in the house that you dare attempt this, the living room is the one!
Go through the room and dejunk of all clutter and useless items. My philosophy is that if it doesn’t enhance or have a purpose in the room (whatever room we're talking about), it doesn’t belong there. Junk does not enhance any room.
Newspapers can be read and then stacked in a basket or container or another room. Piles of magazine and catalogs can also be stored and stacked elsewhere (if they must be kept). Baskets are great and inexpensive containers for magazines, catalogs and newspapers. But, even better, stack them in the garage until you're ready to make a trip to the recycling bin.
If you have musical instruments, they are likely kept in the living room, which means that there’s usually sheet music and books to go along with them. Make sure that you have a container of some sort for music. You don’t need to store every piece of music ever purchased near the piano, just the ones that are played frequently and that are current. We have a large square basket in the corner of our living room. It's worked for twenty years. We call it the “scripture basket”. This basket stores scriptures, the hymn book, the children’s hymnbook and current pieces of music being played. It contains things well and enhances the room. Try it!
“What-nots”, as my Grannie always called them, are perfectly stored and displayed in the living room. But. Don't over-accessorize the room with whatnots on shelves, tables or walls. Remember that the more you have, the more you have to dust. If you have a collection, a wise investment is a hutch of some sort to keep them safely displayed and it cuts down on the dusting immensely. Where whatnots are concerned, less is better. Less dusting, less worry of things being broken. (This is one of the only issues I have with having so much Christmas décor… it is cluttery!)
Keep the living room in tip top shape. Don’t have broken furniture and décor in the room. It doesn’t mean that you have to purchase new everything. Just display your best in the living room. I love the old HGTV show, what was it called, where they’d do a 3 minute segment rearranging furniture in a room. Those ladies would go around the home and pull odds and ends from other parts of the home to make the room look fabulous without spending a dime!
Keep updated photos in your living room. With technology today, even old faded photos can be enhanced and reprinted for near nothing to look like new! And dust your frames!
Even more important than the bedroom, laundry does not belong in the living room! Fold your laundry near the laundry room.
Stereos and electronics are commonly found in the living room. Electronics are dust collectors, for certain, so keep them dusted frequently. Keep cords and cables behind and hidden as much as possible. Have a container for remotes. If your stereo is in the living room, have an organized system for containing CDs. If a disc comes out of the stereo, make sure it goes back inside the case, then make sure the case goes back into it's place. Piles of CD cases are cluttery. Contain them.
Arrange furniture to make it as comfortable as possible for visiting. Have the seating arranged to allow guests to be facing each other comfortably. Do not crowd the room with too much furniture. (That’s a hard one today because furniture is large and older homes have smaller rooms, mine included.) Get rid of old broken pieces of furniture, even if it can't be replaced quiet yet.
Make sure that lighting is at it’s prime for reading and visiting. Dust lampshades often. Replace bulbs immediately when they burn out. Make sure that plugs and cords are safely out of the way.
If shoes come off at the front door for the family, have a receptacle for them, rather than huge piles of shoes tossed everywhere to welcome your guests when they visit. A large basket near the door will work. Also if coats come off at the door, a coat tree would be a wise investment. And last but not least, “JUST SAY NO!” to backpacks being dropped off at the front door!
If you enter more often through your front door, a hall table or secretary would be a wise investment for depositing mail and keys as you walk in the door. Never place your keys anyplace but in that container, so that you don’t waste precious time looking for them.
Again, clear away magazines and books, frequently. If you have a bookshelf in the living room, dust it regularly and make sure that it doesn’t become a collecting spot for other “stuff”.
If you have books in the living room (which it’s a great place to read, so why wouldn’t you?), then have a contained and designated spot for them. Whether it’s a book basket or a bookshelf, keep them together. The book basket is a great idea for families who frequent the library. Store all library borrowed books in the basket and when it’s time to go, you won’t be searching the house for them.
Keep batteries in clocks! A lot of us are clock collectors today. I love clocks and have clocks everywhere as décor. If you have clocks, keep them running.
If you have a mantel, use it as the focal spot in the room, not a gathering place for junk. Don't overload it with a ton of decor. Don't store keys, batteries, mail on it. It's not a catch-all. Keep it simple and easy to dust.
Dust your blinds. Vacuum behind your curtains. It's amazing to me how the spiders just know this is a safe place for their webs! Wash living room curtains, if they're fingerprinted. Wash your window sills. Clean the windows. Of all the windows in the house, this one should be the cleanest.
Clean under the seat cushions. After you celebrate all of the things that you find, vacuum the inside of chairs before replacing the cushions.
Dust and clean lampshades, ceiling fan blades and clean all lightswitches.
Again. These are some of my successes in organizing our living room. I hope that they can benefit others, as well! Life is most certainly good!
"In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves … self discipline with all of them came first." Harry S Truman, U.S. President




















