Organizing & Staging The Living Room

Keep Clutter Under Control and Bring The Family Back Into The Living Room!

The living room has lots of different uses which can easily make it the hardest room to keep organized.  When it comes to staging this high traffic area, it must not look too lived in and remain clutter free.  Here are some simple Organizing & Home Staging Tips to keep clutter under control and let the “family” back into the living room.

1.) Clean Up Bookshelves – Overstuffed shelves with various books and decor can create a visual nightmare.  Get them organized by coordinating the books or magazines by colored sleeve or by height.  Group in nice tiered stacks or display upright with a few decor items between or on one end.

2.) Clear Tables – That means the coffee table, console table and any other flat surfaces.  They become easy targets that attract clutter.  Make a quick sweep of all of them and sort and purge the collected items.  A multi-functional coffee table is a perfect choice.  One that has a shelf underneath is ideal for storage baskets to hold DVD’s, kids toys, magazines and the like.

3.) Family Photo Collection – Too many family photos can be overwhelming on a fireplace mantel.  An important rule of thumb in staging is to stow away photos of family and friends so buyers can envision themselves living in a home.  Can’t part with them?  Purchase a photo box or a few albums and place them accordingly.  They become easy to share, but can be stowed away neatly instead of taking up valuable space.

4.) Deal with Hot Spots – The living room can easily act as a family room, sitting room, library, tv room or play room.  Keep these hot spot areas tidy.  Watch where clutter collects and set up attractive ways to organize it.  Storage ottomans are great for toys and baskets can hold reading materials while keeping remote controls all in one place!

5.) Declutter Daily – Establish a daily routine or “clutter time out” with family.  Go around the living room with a laundry basket and toss in items to be put away.  This also makes for a quick round of cleanup before guests arrive or for that buyer showing.

Be a good gatekeeper when it comes to organizing and staging the living room.  Ask yourself do I really need this and where will I put it?   Become more conscious and these clutter control tips will take you a long way.  Maybe that laundry basket won’t get much use after a while – okay, maybe wishful thinking!