1. Invite the Wastebasket
If trash tends to accumulate in the family room, adding a wastebasket might cut down on clutter. Few family rooms actually have a wastebasket in them; they're not attractive and they can smell. Counteract this by choosing a can that fits your room's decor. If you know food will be thrown away here, get one with a lid and some deodorizing trash bags. (Or have a rule that food has to be thrown away in the kitchen)
2. Keep Flat Surfaces Clutter-free
Papers, books, brochures and magazines tend to accumulate on flat surfaces all around the house, and the family room is no different. I recommend at decorative basket to hold magazines and stick to the rule of no more than 3 months worth of any magazine (if you find articles you want to keep, place them in a file to reference at a later date).
Make a quick sweep of all flat surfaces by piling papers in a bin, then sorting and purging as necessary. Take a vow, and get your family to follow it, to put papers in files rather than on the coffee table.
3. Control Out-of-Control Cords
Until the world goes wireless, we'll forever be stuck with tangled cables behind our entertainment centers. Fortunately, there are several options for taming cords in the family room. The most attractive is the slim Cableyoyo. It neatly coils up to six feet of cord and comes with an adhesive backing that sticks onto nearly any surface. A cable caddy usually sticks onto a desktop (or behind the TV console) and has a space for several cables to clamp into. Your cords will still dangle freely, however, so a cable zipper, which encloses all the cables in a tube, might be the best bet.
4. Create a Play Zone
If toys are taking over your family room, it's time to put them in timeout. Unused corners of a family room transform into great play areas because the walls serve to block encroaching clutter. Corners are also good areas to put a small bookcase or children's table. Add rolling bins for toy storage so your child doesn't have to feel confined, but is encouraged to pick up after he or she is done playing.
5. Make the Coffee Table Functional
If you have a coffee table (or forgot you had one due to the clutter) it's time to reassess its organizational capacity. Coffee tables that look great but don't have any storage for magazines, remote controls or even drink coasters, are probably making life more difficult. 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. Designate a Game Area
For a family that likes to play together, a game cabinet for board games and cards is both functional and fun. Games usually end up in a TV armoire, but it's helpful to designate a separate space for them, whether in another shelving unit, a bookcase or in plastic containers below the sofa (if the sofa has a skirt). Creating a single game space will free up other areas of the room for storage.
7. Creatively Display Photos
If you have a lot of small, photo frames that tend to clutter your family room it's time to take control by displaying them in new ways. Photo albums and collage frames are great options for storing lots of photos at once, and a digital photo frame is especially handy for those who don't use film. Don't just use the mantel or side tables; use vertical space on the wall. Organizing your photos by date or occasion in photo boxes is especially helpful for scrap-bookers, who can keep these in one central location on a bookshelf.
8. Take Advantage of Space Behind the Sofa
Organize extra blankets, pillows, candles in an accessible place — behind the sofa. It's a great place to put a trunk, cabinet or low bookcase. Plus, it gives you another surface to put a lamp or show off some treasured objects.
9. Sort Your Movie Collection
Multimedia like DVDs, and CDs are staples of the family room. Take 30 minutes to begin sorting your entire collection, making two piles: one for keeping and one for selling back or donating. If you no longer listen to the music or haven't seen the movie in ages (and don't plan on seeing it again), it's time to let go. There are plenty of options for storing your sorted collection: DVD towers, in a bookcase, ottoman or the drawers of a coffee table. Find a system that works for you.
10. Show Off Your Green Thumb
It can be a jungle in the family room if you have a green thumb. Organize your plants with a cute plant stand or several decorative pots. The type of houseplants you have will determine where you'll place them in the room, so keep that in mind when looking for a stand. Stands typically come in corner, pedestal and tiered configurations and some even have drawers so you can keep your fertilizer and watering can nearby.
11. Curb Your Collectible Enthusiasm
Collections, if you're not careful, can take over valuable storage space in a family room and can be even harder to organize. Large collections display best when bits and pieces are shown at a time (think shadow boxes) and rotated to keep the decor fresh. Cut your displayed collection in half by putting half of the pieces into an appropriately sized container and storing it in a hall closet. For added value, personal or otherwise, keep an inventory of each piece (date acquired, date of piece, description/significance) in the storage bin.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Clear out the sentimental clutter...
Sentimental clutter infects our attics, basements, closets, garages, and desks. These sentimental gems can keep us from moving forward with our lives physically and emotionally. If there is so much of the past taking up space in the present, there isn’t room to grow.
The article “What is nostalgia good for?” from BBC News discusses a recent report from the financial services firm Standard Life, the book Get It Together by Damian Barr, and research conducted by psychologist Clay Routledge at North Dakota State University that may provide insight into why we accumulate so many sentimental items and have even greater difficulty letting them go:
“Most of our days are often filled with routine activities that aren’t particularly significant — shopping for groceries, commuting to work and so forth,” says Mr. Routledge.
“Nostalgia is a way for us to tap into the past experiences that we have that are quite meaningful — to remind us that our lives are worthwhile, that we are people of value, that we have good relationships, that we are happy and that life has some sense of purpose or meaning.”
Unfortunately, keeping everything from the past can have a negative impact on the future.
From the article:
But Mr. Barr warns the past can be fun in measured doses and for the right reasons.
“You shouldn’t revisit it as a way of avoiding the present or not thinking about the future. If you spend too much time thinking about the past, you are simply not going to be prepared for the future socially or emotionally.”
While highlighting the benefits of nostalgia, a 2006 report in Psychology Today magazine has warned that “overdoing reminiscence” risks an absence of joy derived from the present, and a reliance on past memories to provide happiness.
Thinking about the past could also trigger painful emotions, such as grief for lost loved ones or feeling like a has-been if recalling a distant career success. Take the time to work through these emotions.
Since we get a wallop of happiness from sentimental items, it’s okay to keep a few of the prized possessions. Make room for the handful of valuable-to-you pieces of nostalgia that aren’t actually clutter. Get rid of the rest of the stuff that holds little-to-no value, though. A quilt from your grandmother might be an object you keep, but a stick you picked up one day in her yard might be something you should trash. It’s impossible to keep every object that comes into your life, so keep what is truly important (not clutter) and clear the rest (clutter) to make room for your present and future.
A few tips for ways to let go of sentimental clutter:
▪ Snap a digital photograph of the item and keep only the image. Save these pictures securely online in a program that allows you to keep notes about the image (like Flickr or Picasa).
▪ Write a journal entry about the item before you get rid of it. The act of writing down the memory will let you think about the experience, which is usually more valuable than the object itself.
▪ Invite friends to a Nostalgia Night and video tape your conversations about the items. If your friends wish to take any of the items home with them, let the object go to a good home. What is left afterward can be recycled, given to charity, or thrown in the trash.
Make a deal with yourself to only keep sentimental items that will fit in a specific acid-free storage box or scrapbook. Deciding what will make it into the box or album can be a new happy memory itself.
The article “What is nostalgia good for?” from BBC News discusses a recent report from the financial services firm Standard Life, the book Get It Together by Damian Barr, and research conducted by psychologist Clay Routledge at North Dakota State University that may provide insight into why we accumulate so many sentimental items and have even greater difficulty letting them go:
“Most of our days are often filled with routine activities that aren’t particularly significant — shopping for groceries, commuting to work and so forth,” says Mr. Routledge.
“Nostalgia is a way for us to tap into the past experiences that we have that are quite meaningful — to remind us that our lives are worthwhile, that we are people of value, that we have good relationships, that we are happy and that life has some sense of purpose or meaning.”
Unfortunately, keeping everything from the past can have a negative impact on the future.
From the article:
But Mr. Barr warns the past can be fun in measured doses and for the right reasons.
“You shouldn’t revisit it as a way of avoiding the present or not thinking about the future. If you spend too much time thinking about the past, you are simply not going to be prepared for the future socially or emotionally.”
While highlighting the benefits of nostalgia, a 2006 report in Psychology Today magazine has warned that “overdoing reminiscence” risks an absence of joy derived from the present, and a reliance on past memories to provide happiness.
Thinking about the past could also trigger painful emotions, such as grief for lost loved ones or feeling like a has-been if recalling a distant career success. Take the time to work through these emotions.
Since we get a wallop of happiness from sentimental items, it’s okay to keep a few of the prized possessions. Make room for the handful of valuable-to-you pieces of nostalgia that aren’t actually clutter. Get rid of the rest of the stuff that holds little-to-no value, though. A quilt from your grandmother might be an object you keep, but a stick you picked up one day in her yard might be something you should trash. It’s impossible to keep every object that comes into your life, so keep what is truly important (not clutter) and clear the rest (clutter) to make room for your present and future.
A few tips for ways to let go of sentimental clutter:
▪ Snap a digital photograph of the item and keep only the image. Save these pictures securely online in a program that allows you to keep notes about the image (like Flickr or Picasa).
▪ Write a journal entry about the item before you get rid of it. The act of writing down the memory will let you think about the experience, which is usually more valuable than the object itself.
▪ Invite friends to a Nostalgia Night and video tape your conversations about the items. If your friends wish to take any of the items home with them, let the object go to a good home. What is left afterward can be recycled, given to charity, or thrown in the trash.
Make a deal with yourself to only keep sentimental items that will fit in a specific acid-free storage box or scrapbook. Deciding what will make it into the box or album can be a new happy memory itself.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
A practical tip
Keep cleaning out your things on a regular basis. Never hesitate to toss out, give away, or donate the things you know you're never going to use again. Rarely will you miss them once they're gone.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Taming the junk drawer!!
Start by following these steps:
Dump the drawer - Rather then pulling out items, one at a time, dump it all on the counter top (on a old towel to contain the mess) to easily access the items.
Make the piles - One to toss, one to keep, one to reassign. Did you find misplaced tools in your drawer? Place in in the garage with the other tools. If your unsure to keep an item or not, toss in a nearby basket. After a month, if no one has used it, it's time to toss it.
Assess what stays - Once you determine your handy drawer's (it's new name) contents, arrange the items of like uses. E.g,: tacks, staples, and nails; rubber bands an twist ties; flashlights and batteries. Then measure the width. length, and depth of the drawer to determine the size of the organizer.
Find a system - OXO.com offers durable and snap together customization that makes it my top pick for drawer organization. Container Store also offers lots of options. Even Walmart has some pieces that might work for your drawer.
Reload the Drawer - With a clean, organized handy drawer, you will spend less time searching for (and sometimes repurchasing) everyday items we need to keep our household running smoothly.
I hope this helps you want to tame the junk drawer! Please feel free to answer questions. :)
Dump the drawer - Rather then pulling out items, one at a time, dump it all on the counter top (on a old towel to contain the mess) to easily access the items.
Make the piles - One to toss, one to keep, one to reassign. Did you find misplaced tools in your drawer? Place in in the garage with the other tools. If your unsure to keep an item or not, toss in a nearby basket. After a month, if no one has used it, it's time to toss it.
Assess what stays - Once you determine your handy drawer's (it's new name) contents, arrange the items of like uses. E.g,: tacks, staples, and nails; rubber bands an twist ties; flashlights and batteries. Then measure the width. length, and depth of the drawer to determine the size of the organizer.
Find a system - OXO.com offers durable and snap together customization that makes it my top pick for drawer organization. Container Store also offers lots of options. Even Walmart has some pieces that might work for your drawer.
Reload the Drawer - With a clean, organized handy drawer, you will spend less time searching for (and sometimes repurchasing) everyday items we need to keep our household running smoothly.
I hope this helps you want to tame the junk drawer! Please feel free to answer questions. :)
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