How to declutter your living room is something everyone needs to know as there are certain items that shouldn’t be living in the living room ever!
Is your living room cluttered to the brim with too much stuff?
While talking about the living room, does any room ever get quite as cluttered as the living room besides the kitchen? Most likely not!
Since our living rooms are supposed to be a living environment- a place to hang out and relax after a hard day’s work- then it makes sense that we would want to unwind in a clean space in our home that doesn’t have unnecessary stuff lying around.
Our living rooms don’t have to be entirely spotless either. However, experts have found a few culprits that are making this room feel all the more overwhelming.
Check out these 25 items you should declutter from your living space pronto!
Similar topics:
- 25 Items to Declutter to Live a Minimalist Lifestyle at Home
- 8 Solid Rules for Organizing Your Home Like a Pro
- 8 Bedroom Organization Ideas That Are Smart & Stylish
Why should you keep your living room clutter-free?
If you are considering selling your home, clutter can decrease the value of a house and make it harder to sell.
Not only that, but a cluttered living room from day-to-day living also has been known to lower energy efficiency and mood and trap dust, dirt, pollen, or other particles that cause allergies, like mould spores.
Additionally, a cluttered home also decreases indoor air quality, which causes respiratory problems for those with asthma or breathing conditions.
So naturally, having the most used room in your home, where you go to relax, would be better off staying clean and tidy.
What’s a simple way to organize the living room?
The living room is most usually the space in the home where multiple people gather to watch television and relax after work. Or if you live alone, it’s your go-to spot to relax and unwind before bed.
So the simple way to keep your living room organized is:
- First, try not to have too much stuff around the walking space as it only takes up more room than necessary.
- Secondly, ensure there is enough storage for everyone to place their belongings away and that it’s clear from eyesight when guests come over.
- Finally, move furniture if needed since placement impacts how comfortable people will feel using this area.
How do you declutter your living room in less than 20 minutes?
- Set a timer and go to your living room with a laundry basket (or something else that fits all the items you collect clutter with) for 20 minutes.
- As the timer goes down, ruffle about and gather as much clutter as you see (in the list below).
- Keep searching for something out of place, like objects to be thrown away or need to find a new home.
- Remember this decluttering rule, “if you wouldn’t buy it twice or take it with you, it might be time to let go!”
25 Things You Should Never Have In Your Living Room
1. Cushions or slumped throw pillows.
Throw pillows can create wonders for decor purposes and add a little color and personality to a living space, but they can also bring down the mood if they look a little rough around the edges or if you have too many.
As a general design rule for how many pillows one should have in a living room, designers say having an odd number of pillows makes for the most natural, inviting arrangement: three for more petite sofas and five for larger ones.
Although, before you declutter some of your cushions away, some can be easily repaired. To save and clean your pillows, try this:
- If you would like to save some money, hold onto the same pillow cover and replace the filler for the pillow instead. The room will look all the better after you’ve given those pillows much-needed spruce up, and it’ll give you a chance to wash away any stains.
2. Declutter Exercise equipment.
You may think sticking a workout bike in front of the TV is a grand idea for making you work out. However, it will merely turn into an eyesore that could eventually turn into a coat rack if you don’t regularly use it often.
While it’s essential to remain healthy, having a treadmill or a bike leaning against a wall shouldn’t be in the living room.
If you have no choice but to store these items anywhere else, consider running outdoors or make sure that your fitness items are being used and serve a purpose.
3. Declutter broken, outdated, or unused electronics.
Suppose you have a lot of unused electronics (like most people have). In that case, decor experts suggest you trade your oversized, cumbersome items for smaller, more innovative and smart ones.
While at it, throw away or donate anything that is left behind collecting dust. Think old DVD players, VHS players, outdated streaming devices, unused tablets, or old stereo systems/speakers that have taken up too much space or are not in use anymore.
When they’re gone, don’t worry, there will be more free space for practical things such as books, new games, and picture frames!
4. Oversized furniture that swallows up the room.
When decorating a living room, you certainly have a lot of furniture if you have to turn, squeeze, crawl, or jump from one end of the room on your journey to the other.
However, there is a way around this! Experts recommend making space for large furniture (if you do not have other options) by eliminating smaller items and opening up floor space.
Additionally, if you can replace your oversized furniture items with smaller pieces that make your living area more comfortable, that is the perfect solution.
Here’s a variety of choices for recycling old furniture:
- Check your local jurisdiction to see if they offer to pick up oversized items for free.
- Sell or give away your old furniture for free or a fee and have the buyer pick it up from your home.
- Offer it to a local charity.
- Please take it to the recycle depot yourself.
5. Declutter paperwork.
If you drown in documents while you are watching your favorite Netflix show or you don’t have a plan or system set in place when it comes to office work and relaxing. Decorating experts recommend that you build a system to prevent your living room from turning into a busy paper mess.
Here’s what you need to knock the paper slump:
- Collect valuable tools like a shredder, a recycle bin, and a basic filing system. The right tools will always set you up for a win and a clutter-free living room!
- Bring together all your papers in one place for easy sorting.
- Start a new habit. Every day, shred, recycle, and file!
6. Laundry Room Items & Clothing.
Unless you are one of those lucky people who don’t have to do their family’s household laundry, we all have to clean and fold our clothes occasionally a couple of times a week.
When we do, that’s when laundry items and clothing inevitably make their way into the living room, especially if we are not paying close attention.
To get around this, experts suggest that you set up your laundry room for success by having easy organization solutions that’ll help keep everything in its rightful space.
See Also: 8 Laundry Room Organization Items to Make Your Life Easier
7. CDs, DVDs, or vinyl records you don’t listen to or watch.
Hopefully, those old VHS tapes went a long time ago, but if not, experts say to get rid of them instantly if they are collecting dust.
DVDs also take up an immense amount of room, and if they’re not being used, it doesn’t matter if you have them on display. The same goes for your vinyl records.
Nowadays, family videos can be easily transferred to an application or service you can find online. Also, decluttering experts say you should declutter anything that has not been viewed or heard in over three years.
8. Office Supplies.
We have already tackled paperwork in the living room, but what about office supplies?
Office supplies have an incredible way of making their way into the living room, like staplers, printers, scanners, pens, and notepads.
These things should be decluttered and kept away from your living room at all times unless they are being used.
9. Endless toys.
If you happen to step on plastic bits and toys with little hums and tunes, it will not help you relax in your living room.
And although some toys will need to be placed in the living room for convenience, it does not mean they have to be visible once the children are in bed.
Ensure your children have their bedroom toy storage already set in place in your living room, or better yet, incorporate a night routine where the kids help pick up the toys at the end of the night.
10. Random objects and furnishings.
We can all quickly end up with several trinkets covering ledges and shelves of our living rooms if they’re nostalgic or we love collecting things.
However, living a minimal lifestyle is all about living with less and the living room is a great place to start!
So when it comes to decorations and precious possessions, the golden decluttering rule goes as follows; if you have too many and know someone else can benefit from them, it’s time to declutter these things from your living room once and for all.
More Living Room Items to Declutter
- Drinking glasses and mugs.
- Broken or unused toys.
- Blankets and throw pillows from other rooms.
- Books and magazines.
- Old receipts.
- Food and straw wrappers or other trash.
- Instruction manuals.
- Video games.
- Extra gaming accessories you don’t use.
- Board games or puzzles.
- Chargers and cords.
- Shoes, handbags, and accessories where they don’t belong.
- Bathroom supplies such as lotion or other personal care items that don’t belong.
- In-progress work, hobbies, or projects.
- Art supplies, markers or crayons.
Where to look to keep your living room organized?
- On the coffee table
- Consoles and sofa tables
- Side tables
- Cubbies/drawers
- Under and around the sofa
- Bookcases
- Shelves & windows
- Entertainment center
- The floor
To clean and declutter your living room for the final touch, gather unnecessary items in a large basket and pick them up.
You can also start and stop with a timer to make the cleaning process go extra fast.
Once you have gathered all these out-of-place items, return them to their rightful place, or consider adding them to your “sell” and “donate” boxes.
If you do all of these things above, there is no doubt you’ll have a clean and orderly living room in no time!
There you have it. You now have what it takes to have a cohesive and orderly living room.
I hope this decluttering session was able to help you turn your living room into a peaceful space, one where you can turn to rest and relax after a hard day’s work.
See Also:
Check out 25 Items to Declutter to Live a Minimalist Lifestyle at Home next!
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Author: Rebecca
Welcome to Everything Abode, your daily inspiration for every activity at home!
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Amelia Jackson
Friday 20th of January 2023
This article was much needed! I'm guilty of drowning in paperwork while I watch TV in my living room, AND I definitely felt called out about the bike becoming a coat rack. :) I was surprised and a bit overwhelmed when my husband scheduled a floor resurfacing service at the end of January, since I knew I'd have to declutter a LOT before then. But your tips have helped me feel like I know where to start now, thank you!!