Organizing Your Home: The Family Room

If your home is like many today, you not only have what is called a front room; you also have a family room. It is also possible that it is referred to as a great room because it often connects the kitchen area as part of the room. Whichever applies, when it is messy, it won’t be as attractive and nobody will want to use the space for any family-related activities. So, let’s do something about that, shall we?

Let’s begin by doing a once over walk-through as if you were a visitor.

Take your time and observe any clutter. If you see the clutter, it is likely your family members and guests do as well. To make this room inviting, we’re going to reduce the number of *things* in this room and make it more homey.

Clutter can consist of many things often overlooked as simply ‘the way it is’. Even if it is magazines or newspapers laying about, or several pairs of shoes here and there, it can add up to a large amount of clutter. Once again as has been recommended in previous organizing articles, grab some laundry baskets or boxes and begin placing all items that don’t belong in the family room into them.

The idea is to then take these things to the areas of the house that they belong, in order to make your de-cluttering that much easier.

If you’re not going to have time to read those magazines or newspapers, get rid of them by taking them to the recycling center in your area. Why hold on to them if you’re not going to read them, right? Take all the toys in the basket to their owners’ rooms and have them place them where they belong (in an organized manner, of course!). Shoes should be returned to the room where their wearer lives.

Now that you’ve delivered the baskets or boxes to the appropriate locations, go back and continue to look at this room as a visitor sees it. You should see a marked improvement, but you’re not done yet!

The next to do on your list is to tackle the furniture. If you witness fingerprints and dust deep enough to write a ransom note in, it is time to get out the dust cloth! However, if you can’t even see the top of your furniture, you will need to take care of the flat surfaces first by removing all papers, etc. The fact is that flat surfaces collect papers, no matter what the surface is: tabletops, armoires, desks, or floors. Once you have removed all unnecessary items from all flat surfaces, you’ll be more likely to keep them clear later. Once your flat surfaces are clear, give them a once-over with a furniture polish (if appropriate) or glass cleaner (if appropriate).

Next on the list is to run the vacuum—don’t worry about getting the edges and moving furniture—just vacuum the places you can get easily. Chances are if you can’t reach the areas easily, no one has been able to deposit large amounts of dirt or tracks back there, either.

Let’s now turn our attention to the TV set. Can you see your TV through the dust and fingerprints? If not, give it a once-over with the rag and some glass cleaner and do the same with your stereo cabinet.

One last area to inspect: all the corners of the room. Are there any cobwebs in the corners? If so, grab a feather duster and knock ‘em down.

You have successfully tackled your family room and it is ready for family and visitors to admire. Congratulations! Now purpose to keep it that way, okay? It was a lot of hard work but, if you stay on top of the clutter, it will be much easier to maintain in the future.

And, don't hesitate to enlist the family's support by encouraging them to pick up after themselves!