Clutter Cleanse – The Living Room

How many of you spend minimal time in the living room?  LOL For some people this room is the one room in the house where they spend the most money on expensive, beautiful furniture for entertaining and then never use it for fear they’ll ruin their good furnishings.  Plastic all over the couches anyone? Clear plastic floor runners all along the carpet? How silly is that?  This room should be for living.  It usually has the best views and the most beautiful architecture.  Why have such a beautiful space and not use it? We have to shift our mindsets.Use the good china TODAY. Sit on the gorgeous couch everyday. Enjoy your belongings. Isn’t that what you got them for?

A well-organized living room can be used every day if we design it for living rather than as a showplace.  If your house is casual, then your living room should reflect the same casual style.  If the rest of your house is formal and you are very comfortable in elegant surroundings, then your living room should be formal too.

The most important considerations in designing your living room are; furniture that is functional, art and collection display and easy entertaining features. The living room is no place for clutter.

Furniture that functions well in the living room include tables, tea tables, nesting tables, library tables and even game tables.  A desk can add additional function to the living room; you can use it as a writing table, computer desk or just to add storage.  Desks can also double as sofa tables; this is nice to have a child doing homework or computer work who require minimum supervision and help while the parents visit.  The desk can also double while entertaining, as a surface for serving after papers have been cleared.  Benches, ottomans, and stools add versatility in seating.

Furniture placement should be more functional than aesthetic.  Arrange your space for conversation groups and allow enough movable furniture that your guests can create their own seating areas.  This prevents wallflowers and allows for your guests to mingle on their own terms comfortably.  Cluster areas for standing and visiting are also important. You do not have to have all your furniture as one large circle for visiting.  You can have two or three or even four conversation areas in a large living room.

Collection Display

• Decorate with books.
• Don’t just line things along the back of a furniture piece.  Group small and large objects together onto a platter or shelf.
• Just because you are out of wall space does not mean you cannot display a lovely art piece, use, and easel on top of a chest or a standing easel in the corner of the room.
• Drape art or decorative textiles, like scarves or blankets on furniture or screen dividers.
• Mirror the back wall and add glass shelves to display Lladro, Armani, or other figurines, sculpture, pottery and collectibles.
• Fill a bowl or cylinder with small items, like Christmas balls, colorful bracelets or even seashells and coral.

The Kitchen

The kitchen and food preparation used to be hidden in the back and food was transported to the dining area.  Today the kitchen can be a focal point of the house, open to the living room, sun room, dining room and even play area.  The kitchen is a source of nourishment, we gather there, we cook, and we eat there.  Regardless of whether your style is ultra modern or an old country kitchen, they still have the same needs for uncluttered, clean space with adequate lighting and ease of movement.  

In the kitchen especially, the food, storage methods, and tools all contribute to your health and the health of your home.  I will address health practices in the kitchen in a later blog, and today I will discuss organization as it relates to healthy living.  If you are wealthy, you have staff who can keep your kitchen organized.  Many of us need fundamental and automatic organization because we do our cooking and serving.  An organized kitchen can save plenty of time as well.

Kitchen Furniture

Furniture that functions well is essential to an organized kitchen.  Cabinets, dressers, and armoires can add surface and storage space to a kitchen.  Walk-in pantries are wonderful; we don’t always have space.  This is when those furniture pieces can come in handy.  The top shelves can hold special ingredients along with measuring cups and baking staples.  The bottom can be used for towels and dishcloths, placemats and food wraps.

Tables work for food preparation, casual dining area, and storage or display.  If the table has shelves, all the better.  Taller 42″ tables can be used for a quick breakfast.  Counter stools are handy for the quick meals and also to sit while you chop vegetables and fruits.  Step stools, especially cute and original ones; like a library ladder or a vintage look are always nice in a kitchen.  Folding chairs can be stored in a nearby closet, pantry or hallway by hanging them on the wall and offer additional emergency seating.

To declutter your kitchen follow these steps:

• Clear your counters
• Leave the coffee pot, toaster, canisters and salt and pepper shakers
• Evaluate everything and if you do not use it daily (like the waffle iron), put it away
• Mount your television set if you watch it.  Put it in a different room if you do not.
• Find a cubby hole for mail and school papers and establish a weekly ritual to sort and disburse
• Make sure you wash your dishes immediately after eating, run your dishwasher nightly.  Empty your dishwasher first thing in the morning before dirty dishes can stack up
• Designate containers.  Cooking utensils, fruits, and vegetables all can be placed in baskets and stored on the shelves of an island or bakers rack that is open and can easily be seen
• Clean as you go while cooking
• Place several garbage bags at the bottom of the can so you don’t have to search when you empty the trash
• Rotate your dishes, so you don’t use the same ones over and over
• Write the purchase date on your herbs and spices
• Hanging cookware on the wall can be attractive and save time
• Have twin trash cans for easy recycling
• Add a bookcase to the kitchen for your favorite cookbooks
• Place a magazine rack near the kitchen table for breakfast reading and establish a ritualized time to empty it out.
• Fruit stands and cake stands are handy for storing fruit decoratively.
• Hang some of your collections on the wall.  Cookie cutters, platters, and cups all double as a display.
• Don’t just throw things on top of your refrigerator, it is okay to put things there, but plan it, so it looks nice, like baskets, flowers, boxes, something that looks nice besides a hodge podge of whatever you need to get off the table tops
• Convert a kitchen closet into a pantry.  If the kitchen is small, put a glazed glass door on to open up space.  Other options for the door is a screen or to paint a door with chalkboard paint and leave notes or allow children to create art for you there
• Your pantry should have good lighting.  Under cabinet lighting works nicely in a pantry
• Use the pantry floor for storage space too.  Basket, paper towels, jars and water bottles can utilize this space that is often ignored

There are so many clever ways to add organization and storage to a kitchen.  You are almost always rewarded with time saved and frustration avoided when you know where to find something, and everything’s in its place!

Get rid of:

• any foods that are out of date
• plastic containers
• papers you don’t need daily or file them away
• any of those fancy tools or appliance you haven’t used in the last two years
• dishes you don’t use
• glasses and cups that have been sitting forever
• pots and pans you don’t use all the time
• bowls and serving trays you don’t use

Turn it into a game, report back – what did you get rid of that’s been the longest without being touched.