Apartment Advice

7 Tactics to Organize Your Living Room for a Cleaner 2023

Your home’s organization, or lack thereof, affects just about every aspect of your daily life.

A one-and-done deep clean is great, but it isn’t enough to keep the momentum going.

Organizing one room at a time, starting with your living room, will bring you into 2023 with a cleaner perspective.

With these five organizational tactics, your living room’s efficiency will spread into your day from start to finish!


1. Bring Your Living Room into the 21st Century

You don’t have to live the way your parents did. New innovations in technology provide incredible opportunities for organization.

Physical media, such as CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes, are passe. These tactile representations of the good old days are fine if you’re an antique collector. Otherwise, it’s time to get with the 21st century.

Streaming services reduce the need for devices and media to clutter up your TV stand. With an Amazon Fire Stick or comparable app on your smart TV, anything you want to watch or listen to is at your fingertips.

Unless you’re a gamer, the only device you need taking up space around your TV anymore is a surround sound speaker. And even these pack a lot of punch in small packages nowadays.

In keeping with the digital age, consider getting a virtual assistant device like Google Home or Alexa. Not only will it help you keep your living room clutter-free, but you can also use it to organize the rest of your life. Your VA’s disembodied voice will notify you of appointments, add items to your grocery list at your command, and remind you to do your chores.

If you’re really ready to take accountability, let your assistant know when you sit down to Netflix and chill or play Candy Crush. Ask them to notify you after too much time has gone by so you don’t lose track of the day.


2. New Year, New Rules: Change Your Habits

The New Year is a great time to set resolutions to become a better you, but if you don’t change your habits, these goals will be forgotten or ignored.

Instead of going wild with big changes that will be difficult to keep up with, experts suggest that you take it slow. Set measurable, achievable goals.

This advice applies to your newly organized lifestyle, too. Until you change your habits, a deep clean is only going to last a short time.

That doesn’t mean you should give up. It just means you need to be realistic with your goals.

Implement tiny adjustments to help keep your living room in order. Small rules for everyone to abide by are easy to remember and enforce.

Start simple by pledging to take your shoes off at the door and keep food out of the living room. And don’t let clutter pile up. Dedicate one spot as a catchall, and don’t fall back into the habit of using flat surfaces as junk holders.

With tiny steps, you’ll take your efficiency further than your living room.

Need help with cleaning and organization? Learn about Handy to see how they can help you to get your home in order.


3. Turn Eyesores into Artwork

Some decorators might encourage you to purge your living room. But what if you have a collection that you refuse to part with?

It’s okay, as long as you display it in an organized manner.

Collections that absolutely must stay visible should be the center of attention. You’ve worked hard to get your treasure trove to where it is, so why not display it proudly?

Get creative with your display. Use shelves spaced in zigzags or geometric patterns on the wall to house your knickknacks and figurines. Group movies or books by color to make them really stand out.

If wall shelves aren’t an option, try stackable shelves instead.

What used to be an eyesore because of its chaotic disarray can easily become a work of art!

Related: 5 Unique Approaches to Get More Organized [in Under 10 Minutes]


4. Hide What You Can

While you may want to show off your collections, there are other things you’d probably rather hide.

If you subscribe to the “less is more” theory, then you might want to invest in furniture with hidden storage space.

Furnishings such as storage ottomans and lift-top coffee tables let you hide magazines, books, wires, and other clutter.

Accessories are essential to getting your living room under control, too. Baskets, bins, and drawers, when used correctly, will keep your living room looking tidy.

Desk organizers aren’t solely for the office, either. Use them on your bookshelves to keep your living room in order.

In general, if you don’t have a place for it in the living room, it needs to go somewhere else.

Now that you see the final result, you want to have every day, create a cleaning routine to match. One in which you return everything to the right place.

Daily, weekly, and long-term cleaning tasks are necessary to keep your living room sparkling and tidy.

Daily tasks can include a quick decluttering, wipe down of surfaces, and return of everything to its place.

Weekly tasks get more involved, with vacuuming, dusting, and mopping as necessary. Make sure your floors, furniture, and other surfaces are spotless.

Long-term cleaning lists should include wiping down fan blades, cleaning windows, and replacing air filters. You can add anything else needed in your living room to your list.

These deep cleans will be easier to do because you’ve kept up with everything else regularly.


5. Maximize Your Use of Space

No matter the size of your living room, it’s crucial to use all of your space to its full potential.

This means taking advantage of the vertical space on your walls, for example. You can mount shelves higher than eye-level for added storage that extends up to the ceiling.

Don’t forget the area under and behind the couch. What you store there depends on how much room you have, but most couches can easily hide a folding table or chair.

Corners aren’t dead zones, either. With the right furniture, such as corner cabinets, you can take advantage of these underused spaces.

Identify where you have a significant amount of wasted space and rearrange your living room to make better use of it.

Dual-purpose furniture is everywhere today. Manufacturers understand the average person’s desire to combine functionality with style. So they hit their target markets with furnishings that do just that.

These specially designed coffee tables, TV stands, ottomans, and bookshelves are perfect. They give the user more storage without taking up extra space. You’ve already got the furniture, but now you have a hidden cache, too.


6. Decorate with Smart Art

Your art doesn’t have to be a Picasso or Monet to be decorative. You don’t have to spend a penny on fancy wall hangings and decorations if you already have a collection you love.

Some expert organizers recommend that you hide all your clutter away, including your collectibles. But if you know how to show them off, you can display these same possessions as works of art instead.

Yes, actual clutter needs to disappear. This refers to miscellaneous items lying around, like junk mail, bills, dishes, and other things that pile up quickly.

With a bit of Pinterest binging and internet surfing for ideas, you can repurpose your collections into decor.

Here’s an example: If you’re an antique enthusiast, you can integrate your favorite collections into furniture and wall art. Vintage furniture and decor is trendy, so why hide it away in boxes or storage?

Sports memorabilia, movie collectibles, books, and almost any other hobby you have? You can display them all with style.

That said, there can be too much of a good thing. Make sure you keep empty areas in spaces throughout the room for your eye to rest, or instead of “artistic,” your room might be overwhelming.


7. Don’t Display It All

Of course, not everything in your living room is art-worthy. Items you want to keep in the living room but aren’t fit to be decor go into an entirely new category.

You’ve got your accessories, such as your TV remote and drink coasters. You may have magazines on display, your favorite books, and other personal items that nest in the living room.

But what needs to be on hand and accessible, and what can you tuck away somewhere instead?

Store anything you regularly use in a readily available place. Couch armrest organizers are decorative, stylish, and functional. Further, they’re the perfect place to keep your remote control and current reading material.

Keep framed pictures, CDs and DVDs, toys, and other non-necessities in stylish bins and baskets that match your living room decor scheme.

Anything for display only — like photos — can live on harder to reach vertical space such as the top of a bookshelf.


Conclusion

By organizing your home in the first few months of this year, you can be sure to have a more productive 2023.

Hopefully, your new, organized system will become a part of your daily lifestyle!