Decluttering: Family Room/Living Room

On to the next room/area of our home...The Family Room/Living Room.  I grouped these two rooms together because many times in our homes the family room is the living room and vice versa.  If you do have two separate rooms than you will have to decide which one to work on first according to your Mount Vernon Method...mine happens to be our Family Room.  This is the room I invite our guests into after they walk into our home.  I want this room to be comfortable and cozy for my family and my guests.  Let's get started shall we?

First and foremost... 

Did we start our day out with God?  I know I must sound like a broken record here but I really have to say how much this helps me in my day.  I love spending that alone time with Him early.  I have shared my little morning routine with ya'll before...I get up, come down the stairs and start a load of laundry, start the coffee pot and take the puppies out for their morning constitutional.  We come back in and I refill the doggie dishes with food and fresh water.  I then start to unload the dishwasher from the night before.  All this can be done while the coffee is brewing and it gives me a chance to wake up and be a bit more alert when I do go to sit down and have my prayers and read my Bible.  The other thing is that tasks are underway with my day and have at least been started on them.  I can put that aside and not think about them or think, "I really should be starting a load of laundry."  because it is already going and so am I!  I want my focus to be on Him and not on things I need to be doing just yet.

I let God know what I have planned for the day and ask Him to bless my efforts and that if He has something else planned for my day that I be flexible and look for the opportunity He has placed before me.  This is so hard to do as a busy homeschooling momma who has a list that needs to be done!  When I do this and start my day off early with God...He does bless my day and blesses me with more hours than I thought I had...it is amazing how this works but it does! 

Secondly...

I do not start my detailing or decluttering until I have the other things on my list started and close to being done.  If we start too many projects at one time we can getfrazzled and fizzle out and you find that you don't complete all these good intentioned tasks...which leads to feeling that you have failed and you don't give yourself a chance to see a task through to completion.  We want a sense of accomplishment in our days!!!  One thing at a time...one thing at a time.

I usually start my detailing/decluttering once I have the children under way with their assignments.  I stick close by so that if they have a question I can easily stop what I'm doing to help them.  Our homeschooling takes priority to any task that I consider to be extra goes immediately to the back burner while we are schooling.  There are days I am only able to do The Basics and you know that is okay!  We all have days that we just need a break...just as long as we don't use that as an excuse, all the time, to not do what needs to be done in our homes.  When we do that...the lazies start to set in!  The detailing/decluttering only takes 15 minutes...I think we all can do that...can't we??!! 

Thirdly...

Find something that motivates you.  There are a few things that inspire me...

aprons (I love vintage aprons!!!  I put one on and magic happens!)

music (I love listening to Baroque and harps...classical music mainly.)

candles (Using my favorite scents.)

...and when I'm really having a rough time starting...I just hum.  Yep!  Humming!  You can't help but be in a good mood when you hum a tune.  Sometimes I will get a tune stuck in my head from church and use that to motivate me as I go about my tasks. 

Now let's get started! 

Remember, when we did the other room ( The Entry/Foyer ) and how we started from the ceiling and worked our way down to the floor?  Anything in between the ceiling and floor gets decluttered and if you have time, a good cleaning.  Cleaning is an OPTION and only if you have time .

Start by taking pictures of the room and picking one item that you will work on at that time...

...and begin to take the items off and place them in piles...Keep, Donate or Trash.  If you are keeping an item...group them with like items.  Items are best displayed in odd numbers...one, three, five, etc. 

Each item you touch...ask yourself if you love this item, does it make you happy, it is a guilt gift (I do not keep these in my home!!  They do not have a place anywhere but will gladly re-gift them!)  To keep the clutter and especially the guilt gifts from entering in my home...I let my family and friends know that we have everything we need and to please not buy us anything more...that we were trying to declutter and simply our lives.  When someone is insistent...let them know that you will be re-gifting it to another who could use it more than you.  If they get offended...don't let it bother you!  You have nicely asked and if they didn't listen...well...what can I say to that?!  Most of my family gifts us with our children's homeschooling books.  This can be a huge expense and I would much rather have that for my children!

After I have everything cleared off and in piles...I start to give the object I'm working on a thorough cleaning.  Here I started on my mantle...using furniture polish first...

...I love using this particular brand of polish.  It is rather oily but the wood soon soaks it all in and leaves not only a beautiful shine but a wonderful scent. 

 I then follow up with my favorite window/glass cleaner...

...and as I start to place items back on...they too get polished and wiped down.  I would hate to go to all the effort to declutter and not have the items I'm displaying not look nice too! 

And we are done!  I took a few things down and placed them somewhere else.  I do this from time to time...this is what I call putzing.  Now...I'm ready to move on to the next object...

This piece holds our television set along with the recorder and all the video tapes/dvd's we have.  This room will get rearranged shortly but that doesn't mean I can't have it look nice in the mean time.  Many times we find excuses "not" to do something and funny how we never seem to get around to it later on!  Again, start by clearing all the items off (with exception to the tv and equipment) and grouping them in piles.  As you place each item back...clean it off and arrange your pieces.  (I have had this cabinet for many years.  It used to be a light peachy color until I found some boo boo paint at Home Depot and painted it green.  I later added accents of black using one of my children's stamps.)

Before and After...

This area gets used quite a bit and needs detailing from time to time.  When teaching our children good habits...this is a great opportunity to show them what happens when we don't put things away properly and this is a good task to give to one of your children to do.  Simple task but helps teach the fundamentals to organizing items.  They may not do it the way you would like but work with them on it.  Praise them for their efforts and keep trying!  Take the time to show them how to group like items together.  If you don't show them...you can't just expect them to do it correctly and therefore you can't get upset that they didn't do it right.  When our children use a video or dvd...they are responsible to place it back into its case/cover and put it away neatly.  When they don't the dvd gets taken away.  If I have to keep remind them again...the item goes to someone who will appreciate it much more.  I promise you...this will only happen once..maybe twice before they catch on!

If you are using silk plants for decoration...most can be soaked in warm water and lightly washed.  I shake them until dry.  When I am ready to put them room back together...the floral stuff is pretty dry and ready to go back into their place.

Now for the other items in this room...

Couches...

When you first enter any room...check to see if there are items you can throw in the wash.  While they are getting nice and clean...you can start on the rest of the room.  We have throws on our couch that need washing from time to time.  I generally wash these once a month.  I love to snuggle up with a fresh smelling blankie...don't you?!

Take all the pillows and cushions off your couch and vacuum the inside portion of your couch.  You might be amazed at what you find!  Wrappers, hair bands, pencils/pens, money, toys, socks and candy that is now permanently glued to the side of the couch!  If the cushions need cleaning...save that for another day.  Put that on your list of things to do later on.  We are not seeking perfection here...just some decluttering to make our lives easier.

Furniture...

Coffee tables are a great place to collect stuff.  Go through those magazines and donate them.  Keep the ones that are current or that you plan on passing on to others.  Books...if you are not reading them...put them away.  Don't stop at the bookshelf and start cleaning that...just put it away and go back to that later on when you are ready to hit that...right now we are working on the coffee table only!   

If you are cleaning this room...don't forget the ceiling fan, windows, door knobs, lamps and lamp shades.  For lamp shades I use a lint roller (the kind with the sticky tape).  This helps pick up any dust particles before I brush it down with a moist washcloth. 

Vacuum and you are done!  Put your cleaning items away and then come back...take a picture and stand back and enjoy your hard work!

Next time you go to clean this room it will be easier and take less time and effort.  Also, when you take the time to make the room look nice...you will want to keep it looking nice all the time and so will your family. 

If you are decluttering with us...let me know!  I would love to share your progress with others!  I warn you...when you start doing this...you will catch the decluttering bug! 

Love and God's Blessings,

Catherine