I want to organize our media so I can find things easily.Perhaps you call it the living room, or the family room, or the den. . . . Ideally, these rooms should be comfortable and inviting, and have ample space for relaxing with family and friends.
—MERYL STARR
The family room is the main room in your home for people to gather for conversation, relaxation, and entertainment. The family room can be an extended section of the kitchen, a room all its own, or a corner of another room.
Any way you look at it, the family room is the key gathering room in the house after the kitchen. How you set up and maintain this room can simplify or complicate the clutter at home.
One Family’s Story
Julia and I had spent the morning clearing the visible space in her kitchen. The kitchen table was clean, and the front two-thirds of the countertops now had a clear line of sight. We had also spent an additional hour finding a home for every paper and unfinished project on her kitchen island until it was impressively clean.
As Julia raved about the beautiful, now visible space in her clean kitchen, we went to sit down in the adjacent family room. But we had to move piles of toys and reading materials off the couch. The family room had the same malady as the kitchen—no systems, no storage, and no daily pickup. It needed help!
“I’m so sorry about this,” Julia said as she carted off a stack of kids’ books. “It doesn’t usually get this bad.”
“Let’s take a minute and talk about the family room,” I followed up. “What activities happen here? Is your storage working for each activity?”
Instead of clearing the room in a helter-skelter fashion, we created a plan to set it up and make cleanup simple.
Create a Plan
Everyone in Julia’s family used the family room, but no one felt responsible to clean it up. Hence the disarray of projects, homework, magazines, and toys strewn about.
Our plan started with cleaning the center of the room and then moving to the outer walls. The table-height surfaces were first to be cleared, then the floor, and then wall shelving and high surfaces. Going in a clockwise fashion one wall at a time keeps the system on track.
Decide the current uses of your family room by jotting down what it is used for this week. This could include:
• Watch TV and movies. You need all the DVDs stored together and a shelf by the back door to put ones to return.
• Listen to music and read. You need bookshelves and a storage holder that holds the CDs attractively.
• A meeting room. Perhaps you occasionally host large family gatherings or a neighborhood board meeting, so you need extra seating that can be removed when you are alone or just with your family.
• An extra space for company. In a nearby closet, store an air mattress and pillows for an occasional overnight guest or teen sleepover.
All these uses signal three functions of the family room: personal, family, and social. It is definitely an important room to keep improving to meet those changing needs.
Simplify Your Family Room
Motivation:
I want to organize our media so I can find things easily.
I want to enjoy my family room more.
I’ve got to get ready for company!
Tools:
Wastebasket and recycle bin for items to be discarded
Donation box for items to be given away
“Put Away” box for items that belong in other rooms
Time Estimate:
1–3 hours
Reward:
A family room that looks tidy and contains things that are easy to find.
Approach It by Sections
The main sections of the family room set the stage for simplifying the space: table-height surfaces followed by “centers” in the family room, such as entertainment center, bookshelves, and computer center. Learn to walk into any room and view the clear lines of sight in that same order.
Coffee Table and End Tables
The center of the family room is typically a coffee table or chest of some kind. Usually this table accumulates too much stuff, so clear it off and then decide what to put back. You may choose an orderly array of current magazines (no more than three), a decorative item, and a basket for the remote controls. Less is more on the coffee table, since it is the center of your visual attention at sitting height.
In Julia’s family room, the end tables and counter-height chest were covered in reading piles, schoolbooks, or unfinished games. They evidenced a lot of activity but no cleanup—though these things should be put away the same day.
Your coffee table and end tables need a system. Clean them up before the next meal. You might consider making a quick family room checkup before dinner is served or the TV goes on.
SPACE-SAVING TIP #6
The sign of a good system is the rate of retrieval and return. The easier it is to find and return things, the more likely the system will stay intact.
CDs and DVDs
Once it was only paper that cluttered our family rooms. But now the piles consist of smaller, more expensive, and just as cluttering CDs and DVDs. Store these items close to where they are used. And to simplify the look, intentionally use holders or drawers that they can neatly line up in. If you are always adding to your collections, drawer space with dividers allows new titles to be placed alphabetically without having to move every CD in a slotted storage container.
TV and Accessories
Store your remote controls and TV guide in a basket on the coffee table, in the drawer of an end table, or tucked beside the TV in the entertainment center. Decide as a family where these items will go or they will become tabletop clutter you chase every day. If you decide together, everyone will be able to find them when their show is ready to start. The last person watching gets to put everything away.
Computer and Computer Accessories
Computers and computer accessories, such as mouse, keyboard, and monitor, are sometimes placed in the family room, especially if younger kids are using the Internet. If you have computers in the family room, make sure there is storage next to each computer for CDs and useful manuals, and a surface beside it to work. Find stylish storage baskets or file drawers so piles don’t develop on or around the computer. For more information on organizing a computer desk, see chapter 10.
Magazines and Newspapers
Purchasing a magazine holder or designating a wicker basket for magazines and newspapers is the start of organization, but it’s only half of the equation. You need a system determining how long you keep them. With magazines, newspapers, and catalogs, the most efficient system is “New one in, old one out” even if you have to read it on the spot! Otherwise, a magazine holder tidies up the paper clutter.
Bookshelves
Every book has value and can change your life, but decide when some books should come off your bookshelves to make room for new ones. Sort your books into a “keep” or “giveaway” pile yearly. Organize your books by categories and label the shelves to maintain order. Limit your collection to the size of your bookshelves by donating books to your public library.
SPACE-SAVING TIP #7
Anything piled up is a telltale sign that it is “homeless.” Weed out your cabinets until you create a spot for it to belong.
Toys and Games
Toys and games can take over a family room quickly, so be sure to have shelving, cabinets, or bins that they can be returned to each day. Teach your children from a young age to have “cleanup time” before they leave the room. It can be as much fun as playing if everyone pitches in and tries to beat a kitchen timer.
Large toys go on the bottom shelves, books on the middle shelves, and small blocks or puzzles go on trays or in their boxes on the top shelves to be brought down when there is a clear space to play on. The specifics of toy storage depend on the ages of the children.
Lighten Up and Let Go
How do you know if you have too much of something, such as books, CDs, games, or toys? It comes down to what fits in your space and how it looks. If you are not using items and they overflow your designated area, pass them on.
Pull everything out of a section and then sort them into three categories:
• Keep
• Put Away Elsewhere
• Get Rid Of
Deliver these piles back to where they belong right away. Deliver charity items within twenty-four hours. That is the key to simplifying space—immediately deliver the items to finish the job!
If you own more things than you have space to store, you have only two choices: downscale the amount of items in a category or increase the storage space. I prefer to downscale first because it looks and functions better. And downscaling your items also frees up your valuable time.
You only have so many hours in a day and in your lifetime. So learn to recognize when a phase of your life is over—the record collection, the VHS collection, the children’s books. Then replace it with the interests of your current lifestyle. Don’t keep adding to what you have. You have to learn to subtract.
Family Room Checklist
____ 1. Is the coffee table clutter free and attractive?
____ 2. Are the end tables ready to use and piles gone?
____ 3. Are the TV guide and remote put away but easy to access?
____ 4. Are the DVDs and CDs in a drawer or container near where they are used?
____ 5. Are toys sorted and neatly stored?
____ 6. Are the bookshelves working for everyone who reads in the family room?
____ 7. Are current magazines available and the old ones recycled?
____ 8. Are catalogs out of sight but available?
____ 9. Does the newspaper have a daily or weekly rotation cycle and look neat?
____ 10. Is my family room the organized and comfortable room we call “home”?
Tips from “The Decorating Coach,” Susan Wells
Bookshelves don’t have to be boring. Give away paperbacks that you don’t plan to read again. Remove the jackets of any clothbound books to reveal their rich texture and color.
Within their category, organize sets of four to six books by size or by complementary colors, such as red books, blue books, and brown books. Don’t cram your books together—leave room to focus on the beauty of each collection.
Accent a grouping with a vase or pillar candle. Adorn the top of a stack of books with a family photo. The picture, frame, and matting should harmonize with the area. You can even recolor your photo matting with a touch of spray paint to make it look brand new! Finally, conceal papers and necessities in richly woven storage baskets artfully placed throughout the shelving.
Manage It Simply
There are two ways to manage your family room. One is by solving the overflow problems by sections until the excess is gone and the useful items are saved. The second way is to do a daily sweep through the family room and put things away before the next meal. Insist on cleanup before meals and before the TV goes on. This keeps the room from getting out of hand . . . and saves you a lot of time in the long run.
Remember, daily maintenance of a room is easier and takes less time than a major overhaul. Don’t let a space deteriorate into a room full of unfinished project clutter.
• Jan loved having the latest magazines so she wouldn’t miss anything. When we sorted the magazine piles on her coffee table, we ended up with seventeen magazines! She thought about all the time and money she would save with fewer subscriptions. In fact, she cut back to less than half of that. Her cluttered room—and mind—were much clearer from then on.
• Kate was storing her children’s books neatly in cardboard boxes on the fire-place mantel. When we talked about how unattractive and temporary that was, she discovered a decorative yet unused cabinet that could hold the books and tossed the cardboard boxes.
• Don loved his sports and travel magazines but couldn’t get his wife to appreciate that he needed a spot for them. Finally he went to an office supply store and bought leather magazine holders. He gave away some of his old textbooks to be able to place the magazines on the bookshelf.
With a few simple steps to clear the clutter spots and simplify the space, you can have an attractive and enjoyable family room. Solve each clutter problem one at a time, and you will simplify your family room section by section.
SPACE-SAVING TIP #8
Keep a clear line of sight across your coffee table, end tables, and couch to make the family room appear clean and ready all the time.
Review: The CALM Family Room Approach
Create a Plan
Start clearing and organizing table surfaces.
Organize and downscale one section at a time.
Look for ways to organize and finish projects sooner.
Approach It by Sections
Clear the table surfaces of clutter.
Organize and “containerize” your electronic media.
Store magazines in holders and store books on shelves with a good reading light next to your favorite chair.
Lighten Up and Let Go
Excess media can be given to charity or sold online.
Excess books can be donated to your library.
Excess magazines can be given to a hospital, doctor’s office, or school.
Manage It Simply
Daily—Check the family room for pileups before dinnertime.
Weekly—Dust, vacuum, and clean your family room to keep it looking tidy.
Seasonally—Go through cabinets and shelves before school starts or before the holidays.
Learn to walk into the family room and put items away. You can do a lot of sorting during TV commercials, and then you never have to do a big cleanup!
Company is a great motivator to manage your space, so invite people over and enjoy your family room more!
Generally speaking, it’s easier to remember where everything is if you store like items together.
—JOANNE KELLAR BOUKNIGHT AND JOHN LOECKE