Peter Walsh's Organizing Ideas for Every Room in Your Home

Family Room: The Ratio-Reduction Rule

A simple, unsentimental way to start decluttering is to use the ratio rule to clear excess movies. For every four or five videos or DVDs you keep, remove one from your collection. Give them away to charity, or if you know someone who would enjoy a particular movie, pass it on to them. At the end of this sort-and-purge, if your movies still do not fit on your shelves, do the same thing again. Try to lower the ratio to three to one or, if you are really brave, two to one. Repeat the process until you have spare room for new acquisitions.