Is your living room cluttered to the brim with too much stuff?
And does any room get quite as cluttered as the living room?
Living rooms are supposed to be just that, a living environment where we can go to relax after a hard day’s work and a place to unwind when our bellies are full.
But when it comes to our living rooms they are never as clean as we wish them to be.
And although the house may not be entirely spotless, decor experts have found a few culprits, that are making your living room feel all too overwhelming.
To find out what could be making your living room feel off-balanced and what to declutter next…
Check out these 25 items, a decluttering expert says, you should NEVER have in your living room!
Similar topics:
25 Things You Should Never Have In Your Living Room
Before you start decluttering, here’s how to declutter your living room in less than 20 minutes!
How it works: Set a timer and go to your living room with a washing basket (or something else to collect clutter with). For 20 minutes and as the timer goes down, ruffle about and gather as much clutter as you can.
You’re searching for something out of place, like objects to be thrown away (or maybe just needs to find a new home), and remember this decluttering rule ‘if you wouldn’t buy it again, or take it with you, it might be time to let go.’
Where to Look:
- On the coffee table
- Consoles and sofa tables
- Side tables
- Cubbies/drawers
- Under and around the sofa
- Bookcases
- Shelves & windows
- Entertainment center
- The floor
Now let’s start decluttering your living room
1. Declutter Endless Cushions or slumped throw pillows.
Throw pillows can create wonders and add a little color and personality into 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, having an odd number of pillows makes for the most natural, inviting arrangement: three for smaller sofas, and five for larger ones.
Although, before you declutter some of your cushions away, some can be easily repaired such as stains, others can’t remain their form, so experts suggest it is probably time to declutter them.
To save and clean your pillows, try this:
- A simple hack, if you would like to save some money, is to hold onto the same pillow cover and simply replace the filler for it. The room will look all the better after you’ve given them a much-needed spruce up, plus it’ll give you the chance to wash it and rid it of any stains.
2. Declutter Exercise equipment & bikes you’re not using.
You may think sticking a workout bike in front of the TV is a big idea, but it is merely an eyesore that could eventually turn into a coat rack if you don’t regularly use it.
Whilst it’s important to remain healthy, having a treadmill or a bike leaning up against a wall just shouldn’t be in the living room. If you have no choice but the living room, instead consider running outdoors or make sure that it’s being used and serves you a real purpose in the end.
3. Declutter broken, outdated, or unused electronics.
Think old DVD players, VHS players, outdated streaming devices, or old stereo systems/speakers that can take up too much space and are unnecessary if you don’t use them.
Experts suggest that you trade-in your big cumbersome items for smaller, smarter items, and throw away or donate anything that is just left there collecting dust.
When they’re gone, there will be more free space for useful things such as books, games, and picture frames in the entertainment center or on the shelf.
4. Declutter any oversized furniture that swallows up the room.
If you have to turn, squeeze, crawl, or jump from one end of the house on your journey to the other, you certainly have a lot of furniture.
Experts recommend you should make space for the large furniture (if you do not have any other options) by eliminating smaller items and opening up floor space.
However, if you can replace your big furniture items with smaller pieces that make your living area more comfortable, that is the perfect solution.
You have a variety of choices for recycling old furniture:
- Check your local jurisdiction to see if they offer to pick up big things free of charge.
- Sell or give away your old furniture for free or for a fee and have the buyer pick it up from your home.
- Offer it to a local charity.
- Take it to the dump yourself.
5. Declutter any Loads of paperwork.
If you drown in documents while you are watching your favorite Netflix show or you don’t have a plan or system. OR more paper enters the living room and you’re too busy to deal with it, so you place it in a pile for later times.
Experts recommend that you build a system in order 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. Having the right tools will always set you up for a win!
- Bring together all your papers in one place for easy sorting.
- Start a new habit. Every day, shred, recycle, and file.
6. Declutter your Laundry Room Items & Clothes.
Unless you are one of those lucky ones that don’t have to do your family’s household laundry, we all have to clean and fold our clothes at least a couple of times a week.
When we do, laundry items and clothes inevitably always make their way into the living room if we are not paying a close eye.
Getting around this, experts suggest that you set up your laundry room for success by having easy organization solutions that’ll help keep everything in their rightful space.
RELATED: 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 have gone a long time ago, but if not, experts say to instantly get rid of them.
DVD’s take up an immense amount of room as well, 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 which you can find online. Also, experts say that you should declutter anything that has not been viewed or heard in over a year.
8. Declutter Office Supplies.
Now we have already tackled paperwork but what about the office supplies that have made their way into the living room. Things like staplers, printers, scanners, pens, and notepads, are all things that should be decluttered and away from your living room as well.
9. Endless toys.
Stepping on plastic bits with little hums and tunes doesn’t help to relax in the living room. And although some toys will need to be placed in the living room, this does not mean that they have to be visible once the children are in bed.
Ensure your children have their bedroom toy storage already set in place or incorporate a night routine where the kids help pick up the toys at the end of the night.
10. Random objects and furnishings you don’t want to keep anymore.
You can easily end up with several trinkets covering the entire floor of the living room if you’re the nostalgic sort or love collecting things.
But living the minimal lifestyle is all about living with a less is more mentality especially when it comes to decorations and precious possessions. If you have too many and you know someone else can benefit from it, it’s time to declutter these living room items once and for all.
Other Living Room Items to Declutter Are:
- 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, like markers or crayons
Gather all of these unnecessary items in a large basket and pick them all up. You can also start and stop with a timer to make it extra fast.
Once you have gathered all these out of place items, return these items to their rightful location, or throw out something you don’t want to add into your “sell” and “donate” boxes.
There you have it. You now 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.
See also:
Check out, 25 Items to Declutter to Live a Minimalist Lifestyle at Home, next!
Author: Rebecca
Hi, my name is Rebecca and I am the face behind Everything Abode! I am a lifestyle and wellness writer based out of Vancouver Island. When I’m not writing or exploring mountains and beaches with my furry rescue, I love spending time learning creative ways to manifest a healthy home. Thanks for stopping by!
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