Home Ideas

Written on March 2, 2009 – 3:02 pm | by Staff |

These simple tips for organizing your living room will not only make it more functional and clutter-free but will also make your family room more comfortable and family-friendly.

1. Embrace the waste
Trash sometimes tends to accumulate in the living room because sad to say living room actually don’t have a waste basket. By adding a waste basket in your living room, you will cut down on the clutter. Choose a waste basket that fits your room decor and make sure that it has a lid so that if food will be thrown here, it will not smell and don’t forget to get some deodorizing trash bags.

2. Keep flat surfaces clutter-free
Flat surfaces are the places where we put all our things. Books, magazines, brochures and the like should have a holder such as a magazine rack. Other papers like bills, correspondents and business papers should find their home in your office file cabinets and not in your coffee table. Take a vow, together with the rest of the family members to place all the things in their proper places.

3. Control the cords
Cords and cables that are tangled are not nice to look at. Control all the cords by using a cord caddy. Get one that has space for several cables to clamp into. A cable zipper is also recommended to enclose all the cables in a tube.

4. Create a play zone
Your little ones always bring his toys everywhere and sometimes leaves them in the family room. To counter this, create a play zone in an unused corner in your livingroom . Add a small bookcase or a children’s table and a rolling bin for toy storage so that your little one will be encouraged to pick after he is done.

5. Functional coffee table
If you have a coffee table, make sure that it is multi-functional. Make sure that your coffee table have space for the remote control caddy, magazine storage or drink coasters. If you don’t have the budget for a new one, consider adding low storage cubes, rolling baskets or bins to stick under the table.

6. Add a gaming area
If your family likes to play together, it is wise to get a game cabinet for your board games and cards. This is if you don’t have a game room. A bookcase or plastic bins can also be used to store your game boards and it can be stored under the sofa if the sofa has a skirt or behind it.

7. Creative photo display
Organize you photos so that it will not take over all the available surfaces. Photo albums and collage frames are great options for storing lots of photos and a digital photo frame is especially handy for those who don’t use film. You can organize your photos by date and occasion in photo boxes and store them in one central location. Just display photos that you like and if you want, change them from time to time.

8. The space behind the sofa
You can organize some of your things in the space behind your sofa. You can place a trunk and put your things inside. The trunk surface can be used to show off treasured objects.

9. Organize your movie collection
DVDs, videotapes and CDs are staples of the family room. Sort out your entire collection into two piles; one for keeping and one for selling back or donating. There are plenty of options in organizing your collection. DVD/CD towers, a bookcase or a drawer are some of them.

10. Tame your house plants
Organize your plants in a nice plant stand or several decorative pots. Plant stands can be a pedestal type or a tiered one. The type of houseplants you have will determine where you will place them in the room.

11. Collectible mania
Collections sometimes tend to take over every display space in your family room. Large collections display best when bits and pieces are shown at a time and rotated to keep the decor fresh. Display only a portion of your collection and place the remaining in appropriate boxes or containers in the hall closet. For added value, keep an inventory of each piece like date acquired, date of piece and description/significance in the storage bin.