Clean Up Your Messy Living Room

The family room—it's a place to watch TV, play games, do homework, pay bills, read magazines, hang out and entertain. The problem is that in being everything to everyone, this room can end up as a dumping ground with no focus.

When you entertain, do you find yourself hiding magazines, toys, DVDs—even laundry—in every nook and cranny and overstuffed closet you can find? With the holidays rapidly approaching, let's declutter your living room before company arrives so you can spend your time focusing on what really matters.




5 Steps to a Clutter-Free Family Room
Step 1: Upload your "before" photos

Step 2: Think it through

Step 3: Think F.A.S.T!

Step 4: Create and maintain zones

Step 5: Upload your "after" photos

What You'll Need to Get Started
Digital camera 
Computer

Improve Your Chances of Appearing on The Oprah Show!
1. Don't pick up your mess before you take your "before" photos. The messier, the better!
2. Take a photo from each and every corner of the room. Get the widest angle possible—the more we see, the better.
3. Get creative! Take a few photos of specific areas of the room—your table, kids corner, bed, dresser, etc.
4. Make sure the room is well lit. If not, use a flash.
5. Make sure your camera settings are on the highest resolution possible.
6. Turn off the time/date stamp.
7. Don't include anyone in the photos. Rooms only, please!
8. Try not to submit blurry photos. We may not be able to use them.
9. Remember, you can only submit up to three photos, so pick your best ones!

Upload your photos

What You'll Need to Get Started
Download a room function chart 

How to Create a Shared Vision
Gather your family. Talk about what you envision for the room, but keep in mind not everyone will share the same idea. Be mindful of each other during this process because having to toss a lifetime of treasured possessions can be a highly emotional exercise for most people. This is a tough job, and you are going to engage in tough conversations, so get off on the right foot together.

Establish a basic premise. The best way to enter a tough discussion is to establish where you stand at the start with love and understanding. Before you talk about the clutter, talk about what is important to all of you. Discuss what you want the final outcome of this cleanup to be. Agree on ground rules, and return to this initial conversation when things get difficult or uncomfortable.

Don't make it personal. As you discuss your hopes and goals for the rooms in your house, make sure you don't start blaming your spouse, partner, roommate or children for the mess. Instead of focusing on whose mess it is, think of it as a group problem that you're going to solve together. Don't use words like "yours" and "mine." Talk about the clutter and challenges surrounding it as "ours."

Don't point your finger at others. The goal is to reframe the discussion away from the item itself to its significance in your lives. Here are some questions to help you make decisions about what to keep without starting arguments or passing judgment.

• Instead of "Why don't you put your tools away?" ask: "What is it that you want from this space?"
• Instead of "Why do we have to keep your grandmother's sewing kit?" ask: "Why is that important to you? Does it have meaning?"
• Instead of "There's no room for all of your stuff in there," say: "Let's see how we can share this space so that it works for both of us."
• Instead of "Why do you have to hold on to these ugly sweaters your dad gave you?" ask: "What do these sweaters make you think of or remind you of?"
• Instead of "I don't understand how you can live with all of this junk," ask: "How do you feel when you have to spend time in this room?"

Complete a Room Function Chart. Download a copy and give one to each member of your family. Fill them out individually, then meet to compare your results. At this stage, it is best to simply hear what everyone has to say without dismissing any idea. The more comments, feedback, insight and discussion, the better! Welcome surprises and be prepared for some interesting points of view.

What You'll Need to Get Started
Trash bags
Print out Peter's signs to help keep your piles in order:

• Keep 
• Donate 
• Recycle 
• Clutter to Cash 

F: Fix a time. Schedule a time that suits everyone involved. Cleaning up is a family affair, so get everyone on board by scheduling your kick start at a time that works for everyone and make attendance mandatory! Set aside a Saturday or a Sunday, or a few hours every day, to start the process.

A: Anything not used in 12 months. Face it: If you haven't used an item in the last year, it is highly unlikely you really need it or that you are going to ever get enough use out of it to justify it cluttering up your home. Take the plunge and get rid of it! Ask yourself these questions as you encounter each piece of clutter:

• Do I use this?
• How long has it been since I've used it?
• Will I use it again?
• Is it worth the space it takes up in my house?

Remember: The objective is to get stuff out of your home, not to move it into another room. You will be amazed by the sheer volume of unused and unneeded items in your home. Don't spend time inventing reasons to keep these things.

S: Someone else's stuff. It's bad enough when clutter is your own, but it is totally crazy when the clutter belongs to someone else. Your house should not contain anything that doesn't belong to you. If it's something you've borrowed, give it back. If you've ended a relationship or gotten a divorce, now's the time to let your ex's belongings go. If your kids have established their own households, it's time for them to pick their stuff up.

T: Trash. The trash can is your friend. It is your very hungry friend. Take pride in how much you throw away and make it fun. Compete with your family members to see who tosses the most or award a prize to the best purger. Remember the goal: You only want to keep the amount of stuff that makes sense for your space.

Sample Zones for Family and Living Rooms
Media—music and TV/video/DVD
Reading
Games
Collectibles
Photos
Relaxation
Reading
Storage
Bill paying
Reading
Studying
Computer work

Quick Tips
Organize your entertainment. Make sure all media have a clearly defined area. Then, arrange DVDs into specific categories or genres so any movie is easy to find and put away. Label shelves or storage units so everyone knows that's where they belong.

The ratio rule. Regularly purge your DVD, CD and book collections of the ones you no longer watch using this rule: For every four or five you keep, remove one from your collection. Given them to charity or to family or friends. If it still doesn't fit on your shelves, do the same thing at a lower ratio, like three to one.

Go digital. After purging your CD collection, transfer all your CDs to a computer. If you aren't ready to go digital, put your CDs in binders and discard the jewel cases.

Limit magazine subscriptions. You should have no more than three monthly magazine subscriptions. Seriously assess how many you are reading each month and cut back accordingly.

How-To Videos
Manage Your Magazines 
Get in the Zone 

What You'll Need to Get Started
Digital camera
Computer

Improve Your Chances of Appearing on The Oprah Show!
1. Take a photo from each and every corner of the room. Get the widest angle possible—the more we see, the better.
2. Take the "after" in the exact same place you took all the "before" photos. That way they will match up perfectly.
3. Get creative! Take a few "before" and "after" photos of specific areas of the room—your table, kids corner, bed, dresser, etc. Just remember to have the same angle for both photos!
4. Make sure the room is well lit. If not, use a flash.
5. Make sure your camera settings are on the highest resolution possible.
6. Turn off the time/date stamp.
7. Don't include anyone in the photos. Rooms only, please!
8. Try not to submit blurry photos. We may not be able to use them.
9. Remember, you can only submit up to three photos, so pick your best ones!
 
Upload your photos