Hey there! Is your home ready to entertain family and friends?? If not, let us show you how to organize your living room for holiday entertaining! Whether you use this room when guests come over or just for your family to watch TV, it’s time to remove the clutter and make the area function better for your needs!
Table of Contents
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Use the 6/P Strategy to Organize the Living Room
Do each of the following steps (if you need info on the 6/P Strategy click here):
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I have built-in bookshelves and storage cabinets underneath however, for the past couple of years, I’ve completely ignored the clutter inside the cabinets. It was just easier to keep those doors closed than to address the problem. But not this year, I’m going to tackle those cabinets! Are you ready to organize your space? Let’s start purging!
Prepare
Get the living room ready to organize by grabbing four containers. One each for trash, donations, items that need to be relocated to another room, and items that need to be replaced in the room.
Purge
Remove everything in the space and put it into one of the categories listed above. Here’s how I purged the cabinets:
Cabinet on the left of fireplace-before
When the boys were little we kept board games and DVDs inside the cabinets, through the years the contents have changed and somehow the cabinet on the left became a dumping ground for picture frames that I was not using. I also had our “party tub”, a storage bin with balloons, crepe paper, birthday banners, birthday candles, etc., and “craft tubs” that had paint, brushes, popsicle sticks, buttons, felt, etc. I’ll be doing a major purge of the picture frames and the tubs.
Cabinet on the right of fireplace-before
The cabinet on the right had our CDs, exercise equipment, camera equipment, and a growing stack of greeting cards that I couldn’t seem to throw away!
Cabinet under TV-before
The cabinet under the TV had miscellaneous decor items. I was so excited about purging, I apparently forgot to take a before picture, but this cabinet was just as full of stuff as the other two!
The cabinet under the television
Remote Controls-before
So many remote controls! I need to find a storage solution to corral these things!
Magazines have a tendency to collect over time and just keep piling up. Just one piece of the paper clutter challenge in our house.
Polish
After you purge the living room, give it a good deep cleaning! Start at the highest point and work your way down! I love my white built-in cabinets but it’s crazy how dirty they are when they’re empty and you look closely at them!
Also couldn’t believe how dirty my fireplace doors were. Amazing how easy it is to overlook things like that. Always glad to have this room clean before the company arrives for the holidays! Love using Fall scents to clean at this time of year!
Personalize
Use my printable to help you decide how this space can function best for your needs. Here’s a picture of my filled-out sheet.
We are currently remodeling our family room in the basement (be on the lookout for the big reveal) so I didn’t have the time to do any DIY projects to this room right now. Planning to paint it the same color as the dining room and update the window treatments but that will have to wait!
We did move our white slip-covered chair to the basement and I bought two smaller chairs to replace it!! I’m loving the French Country look and am moving toward that style as I purchase new pieces.
How I personalized our living room
PLACE
Discard any trash from the area!
If you have items to donate, don’t procrastinate, take them to the donation center soon!
If you have items that belong in another room, take them there now.
It’s time to place the items you removed from the room back where they belong! Here’s what my cabinets look like now!
Cabinet on the left of the fireplace after
I purged over half of the picture frames I had stuffed in this cabinet and put the remaining frames in two boxes. I purged the contents of the party and craft tubs and placed them in my office. This left lots of room to put decor items that I’m not currently using.
Cabinet on the right of the fireplace after
Well, I went through the cards and kept four that had sentimental value to me and discarded the rest, and guess what? I don’t feel a bit guilty! Next, I put the exercise equipment in the basement where it will be stored in the new exercise room. Finally, I relocated the camera equipment to the cabinet under the TV. With this cabinet completely empty, I was able to place the teapots that I use for spring decor and my glass apothecary jars and vases here.
The cabinet under the TV- after
I removed all the decor items from this area. Instead, I placed the camera equipment and organized CDs here.
CD Storage
I went through all of our CDs and categorized them by type of music. To keep them organized, I purchased four CD holders, one for each category I decided on. I put the four CD holders in a box and placed them next to the CD player. I must confess…I’ve already pulled out the Christmas CDs and started playing them. Don’t judge me, I want to get my trees up so I can reveal them to you on Thanksgiving weekend. All to give you inspiration for decorating your home this year! I know, it’s very thoughtful of me huh??
Remote control storage
Here are some creative ways to corral the remote controls.
Magazine Storage
I grabbed this basket from my basement to hold my magazines. The goal is to not let the pile get taller than the basket so they won’t slide off! Check back with me in a couple of months and we’ll see how I’m doing with that!!!
Put Back
Remember the saying “A place for everything and everything in its place”. This little saying will help keep you organized and your living room clutter free!!
I just love the holidays and I hope this post has inspired you to organize your living room to entertain family and friends! I’m so thankful for you and your support of the blog! Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
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Blessings, Donna and Rich
**Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support. (disclosure policy)
The house looks beautiful! When are you going to rent your self out so that you can come and do my house!
I’d be happy to help you anytime, Sharon! Glad you are enjoying the blog and thanks for the nice comment!