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Get Organized Starting With Your Living Room [7 Secrets]

Want to enjoy a cleaner 2020 and beyond? Start by getting your living room whipped into shape. Try implementing a few or all seven of these organizational tips!

Get Organized Starting With Your Living Room [7 Secrets]

The new decade is upon us and, if you’re like most people, you weren’t ready for it. 

It snuck up quietly as we were planning our New Year’s resolutions and scrambling to finish our end-of-year goals and holiday shopping. 

So what was the culprit that kept us from achieving greater success?

The lack of organization. The trouble is to get things organized — we need time. But to have time? First, we need to organize.

There’s no reason why you can’t grab onto 2020 and make it your year for efficiency, organization, and cleanliness in all aspects of life.

Organization starts with one small area, like your living room, and spreads its reaches across your daily routines. 

If you want to be ready for 2021 long before it gets here, follow these tips to make your living room — and all of 2020 — cleaner today!

  1. Closed Storage is a Must

The buzzword in furniture today is “dual-purpose.” This means that your typical ottoman, coffee tables, and bookshelves may do more than one job. Often they have hidden compartments to them that make them multifunctional.

Just having this remarkable transforming ability isn’t enough, though. You’ve got to use these handy tricks efficiently!

Multitaskers with busy lives can include closed storage furnishings that make the living room double as an office area.

Bookshelves can display your prized books, photos, and other favorites. But they can also hold decorative baskets to hide accessories. 

Even better, you can find stylish bookshelves with closed doors for any budget.

  1. Make Time (and Room) for Play

 As the importance of a work/life balance is more understood, game areas are regaining popularity in the home.

If you don’t have a designated “game room,” the living room is the next best choice! You can encourage family time and relaxation by adding game opportunities, in an organized fashion, of course.

Chess tables double as card or board game spots, even if no one in the home knows how to play the brain game itself.

Store computers or video game consoles on TV stands designed for them or desks that fit with the living room’s design scheme. Avoid bulky computer desks or randomly throwing a console anywhere it fits.

Don’t forget to keep those cords organized, too!

  1. Streamline Your Cleaning Routine

Clean-up doesn’t have to be a tedious chore once your routine becomes a habit.

With a bit of adjusting, you can create efficient processes that streamline the work for you. 

Try adding these small steps to your day:

  • Keep a trash can near your heavily used areas
  • Commit five minutes before bed to declutter and clean up
  • Add organizers to your flat surfaces and use them to hold your miscellaneous items
  • Ask Alexa (or your other virtual assistant) to remind you when it’s time to do the heavier cleaning

Baby steps turn into steady habits that make keeping your living room organized a breeze.

  1. Take Some Collections off Display

It may seem hard to believe, but you don’t have to display every collection you have.

You can love it, and still not keep it out to collect dust and distract from the rest of the organized room. 

That doesn’t mean that you have to get rid of them. It just means you have to be a little more strategic in your choice of placement.

That hidden storage in dual-purpose furniture (like baskets and bins) can get your movie and book collections under control. Plastic totes can do the job to store your other collectibles and keep them safe, too.

  1. Breathe Easier with Plants

Plants have health benefits that improve cleanliness, especially in apartments.

By doing their natural thing, they get rid of toxins that occur in the air. Some studies show that adding plants to your space boosts your mood, reduces stress, and increases your productivity.

It’s a no-brainer, even if you don’t have a green thumb.

If you have a busy lifestyle, choose plants that don’t require a lot of upkeep. Attractive options that will clean your air and improve your health — without taking up a lot of your time — include cacti, snake plants, and succulents. 

And if you’re worried you’re still going to forget to water them, you can always ask Alexa to remind you. 

  1. Put a Limit on Those Packrat Tendencies

You may not have specific collections, but if you keep everything you may need “someday,” it can be detrimental to your home’s organization.

Look around at what’s taking up space in your living room. If it’s not serving a purpose, consider donating or selling it.

Decluttering isn’t enough to keep your home organized for good. Those packrat tendencies have to go. The only way to do that is to get serious with yourself about what you allow in your house.

Make sure you know exactly what you are going to do with something before you bring it home. If it’s going to sit in a closet somewhere — just say no.

  1. Have a Plan for Dealing with Clutter

But regardless of how well you plan for every contingency, clutter of some kind is always inevitable. It’s a fact of life. Accept it so that you can come up with a plan to handle it.

Clutter doesn’t have to be chaotic if it all gets put in one designated area. 

Use a clutter-catching basket for anything you aren’t ready to deal with right away. Schedule a designated time once a week to sort through the basket and reduce its contents. 

Be careful not to let this go for too long. Clutter has a way of taking root and spreading.

Conclusion

Bringing in 2020 with a clean, organized home is an excellent resolution, but without a plan in place, you may slide back into old habits.

With these seven easy-to-implement organizational secrets, you can expand your new habits to the rest of your home for the new year and beyond! 

Author Bio:

Ryan Sundling is a Group Marketing Manager at Cardinal Group Management. With over ten years of experience in the conventional housing industry, he works with The Ruckus to help them with their marketing efforts.

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