How To Minimize And Declutter Your Living Room
The Living Room is a part of my regular maintenance routine. You can find that blog post and video HERE.
So why start in the Living Room if you are just getting started with minimizing and decluttering your home? This a room that your entire family can enjoy and you (and everyone who comes over) will get to reap the benefits of this room every single day.
I believe you will find this room easy to minimize/declutter and you will be enjoying the benefits in no time! Where do we start? I’m glad you asked!
What is the purpose of this space?
Finding the purpose of the room is always the first place to start. What is the ideal way you would like to use this room? Now, we have to be realistic. If you want to only use if for a quiet cup of coffee, but you have 7 kids… you might need to wait a few years for that. But truly take a minute to think about this. For me, our living room is a place I use for many purposes. I sit here in the morning when I do my devotion, pray, and drink my first cup of coffee. Sometimes my husband and I sit in the living room catching up before the kids wake up or after they are in bed. We sit in this space as a family and we use this room when friends come over.
What do I need in this room to fulfill this purpose?
I need comfortable seating for when I am sitting alone or when we have a room full of guests. I need enough seating, but not too much that the room is crowded. I also need clutter-free surfaces to sit coffee cups or a book I’m reading. I enjoy a few small ottomans so everyone can comfortably rest their feet when relaxing. Additionally, I have a small basket of throw blankets because we keep our house pretty cool.
Now, take these simple steps.
Evaluate the furniture.
Do you have too much seating? Is it crowding the room and hard to walk? Sell that extra piece of furniture on Facebook Marketplace and buy some fresh throw pillows for your chairs!Do you have too much storage furniture?
Many times our main living spaces can become cluttered because we spend so much time here. Take a deep look at each piece of furniture. Can you do without it? Can you purge the items in the storage pieces or relocate them to somewhere else in your home where they will take up less space?Clear all of your surfaces.
Take all the picture frames, candles, books, and nicknacks off your surfaces. This gives you a clear look at the room. I encourage you to live with this blank space for a little while; a few days or even a week. I think you will be surprised to find how refreshing the blank slate can be.Next, slowly begin to add pieces back.
I believe you will be surprised to see that just one lamp and one photo frame are plenty on your side table. Look through your coffee table books. Are they outdated? Just choose the favorites that people will enjoy looking through while they sit on your couch.
After taking these simple steps, you will have created a simple and clean space that you and your family can enjoy.
Each month I have a different zone in my home that I deep clean. During this time I take these same steps and reevaluate what I have on my surfaces. During this time I also do some deep cleaning. These are the deep cleaning tasks I do (or pay my son to do. Yes! We are finally there!)
Wipe down or vacuum all the furniture. I take the cushions off the couch and vacuum all sides and inside the couch.
Vacuum the entire floor. I move all of the furniture out of the way and then also use an attachment on my vacuum to get in all the cracks between the baseboards and the carpet.
Wipe down baseboards and mantle. This is a super easy task that your children can help with. My 4 year old loves to help with this one.
Dust the corners of the ceiling and the walls. I take special care to dust around the curtains.
Wipe down the windows and window sills.
Wipe down and dust the blinds.
Now sit back and enjoy your fresh living room. No piles of old magazines or newspapers. A clutter-free surface to sit your coffee cup. You are going to enjoy this room so much more now!
On Instagram, I have started a Living Room challenge. Please join in! What is your biggest before and after surface? Show us your progress! How are you creating margin in your life today?