Hello again, and welcome to the second article in our organizing series – Organizing your Living Room
No matter how big or small your home is, the living room is probably where you spend the majority of your time. It’s where guests get to sit back and relax for movie nights. Its where you look forward to unwinding after a busy day. Its where you relax and connect with friends in person or online. Its where you can lay back and relax after a busy and stressful week. Therefore keeping your living room tidy, organized and clean is incredibly important. A neat living space can boost relaxation, make you feel more balanced mentally and lead to a happy, healthy life.
If your living room seems to catch the majority of the junk in your house, its time to tidy things up a bit. Since the living room is the room that you probably spend the majority of your time in, it can be difficult knowing where to begin especially if you’ve procrastinated in tidying up. Instead of getting overwhelmed and putting it off for another time, these simple steps can help you get your living room clean and keeping it that way. If you’re able to keep your living room organized correctly, its a lot easier to maintain which means it’s going to be a lot less work in the long run.
Step One: Start with your Walking Space
Instead of starting from the top and working your way down, do the reverse. Start at the bottom, and work your way up from there. You want to clear your floor and keep it as clean as possible moving forward. Pick up any trash that may have accumulated on the floor, and (depending on the surface) give it a thorough sweeping and mopping or vacuuming. Don’t neglect the hard to reach areas and don’t avoid the corners. You want to limit the possibility of things piling up, and that means getting your floor as clean as possible and keeping that way.
Step Two: Remove Everything that Doesn’t Belong
If your living room has somehow become the home all lose possessions that really belong elsewhere, take them back to their rightful place. Condiments do not belong on the coffee table. Papers can be placed in their files on the desk. Stuff for work can be left on the counter where you’ll remember them on your way out the door. Throw out the things that are trash and resist the urge to hold onto them. The more you’re able to dispose of initially, the less you’ll have to keep clean as you maintain your efforts going forward. Make sure everything in your living room truly belongs there, and if it doesn’t don’t keep it there. Organize where things go so that it’s easy to find them later on down the line. The last thing that you want to do is disrupt your clean living room by tearing it apart to find the one piece of paper that has gotten misplaced in the shuffle. If you’re having a hard time deciding where things go, find a sturdy box to pack these miscellaneous items in until you can find a place for them. Keep these boxes out of the way in a closet and make sure to pack them away neatly.
Step Three: Don’t Neglect Areas that are Hard to Reach
Even though its difficult to reach the ceiling, light fixtures, ceiling fans and other high areas collect a lot of dust. Make sure to get a long-handled duster so you’re able to knock the dust balls off and begin fresh with a nice, clean living room. Wipe down all of your surfaces with a duster or dust removal spray, and don’t forget about the top of your bookcase or shelving units. You don’t want this dust to become displaced and wind up on your clean floor, so its best to address it correctly and nip the problem in the bud. By the same token, sweeping dust under the sofa or the corner of the rug is going to be unproductive in the long run. By committing to a thorough clean, you’re making the decision to deal with the problem in the present not some distant time in the future. The more thoroughly you clean your living room now, the less work it will be to maintain it overall. Youll also wants to make sure that you pull the cushions off of the couch and vacuum up any crumbs that may have accumulated. Try to picture areas that may have collected dust or other debris, and knock them out as soon as possible.
Step Four: Everything in its Proper Place
If your coffee table or couch looks like the leaning tower of Pisa with your books, CD or DVD collections, shelve these items properly. Place all of your books back on the bookshelf. Put your CDs and DVDs back in your media center. You want to keep your living room as clutter-free as possible, and making sure that all of your items are where they belong is the first step towards thorough cleaning with less maintenance required later.
Step Five: Upkeep
Once the thorough cleaning has been completed, all you have to worry about is the upkeep. Resist the urge to leave your books scattered around the table just because you’re in the middle of them. When you’re done a reading for the night, place your book (with a bookmark to hold your spot) back on the bookshelf. Put away the DVD that you just watched with your friends once the final credits roll. While a deep cleaning may only be required every so often, maintenance needs to happen daily. Dedicate a day to cleaning. Once the hard part is out of the way, keeping your living room tidy won’t take several hours anymore. It will be quick and easy as long as you’re willing to contribute to the upkeep on a daily basis.
Your living room should be your safe-haven to crash after a long, hard day at work. By avoiding the daily clutter and committing to regular cleaning and more regular upkeep, you can enjoy your space without having to worry about continual clutter. As a result, you can expect a healthier, happier and freeing life.