In my house, the living room is the first thing when you walk into the door. It is also the first place that receives all of the bags, suitcases, brief cases and junk from the stores. Many times, people forget that they have left their personal belongings in the living room, so it tends to get cluttered very quickly and very easily.
In addition, our living room is really our family room. We have our TV, stereo and entertainment center on one side of the wall. On the other side, we have the sofa, where we all love to gather to watch TV. Keeping the living room clean is a real chore and hassle for me, especially when I feel I get very little help from the people in my household that mess the space up.
The first thing I did to organize the living room was to put a trashcan in there. We tend to leave things like napkins, water bottles and tissues behind all over the house, but especially in the living room, where we spend most of our time. I knew that most people do not put trash cans in the living room, because the living room is supposed to be the presentable and nice part of the home. My house, I believe, was doomed from the get-go, so I didn’t mind the trashcan in the middle of the room (really, it’s a nicely designed trashcan that sits on the sofa where my husband usually spends most of his time.)
Next, I placed baskets for each of the two children underneath the coffee table. The baskets are large and take up most of the space. They are used like personal drawers and I have told the children that they may place anything they want int the baskets, but that the baskets must also be check regularly for things that shouldn’t be around the house. I put their clothes, books, toys and other items in the baskets when I find them lying around. They also like to put their belongings in the baskets so that they can access them easily.
Because the living room is the first room you see when you walk into our house, everybody likes to take their shoes off and leave them there. To make sure that the space stays nice and clean, I invested in a small shoe rack that sits beside the sofa and near the door. Now, when people come home, they have gotten into the habit of regularly taking off their shoes and putting them directly onto the rack.
In addition, I have been better about organizing my books and magazines. Instead of leaving them laying around on the tables after I read them, I place them neatly into the new baskets I have purchased. These baskets are all nicely designed to go with the look and feel of the living room. I even think it looks nice to have the magazines in there and available for anyone to read anytime.