Week 3 - Living Room/Entertainment Zone

Welcome back!
Entertainment areas should provide entertainment, not stress. This area should be clear of clutter so when you plop down on the sofa it is truly a relaxing experience. After reading the assignment, go around the house collecting items that belong in this room. Also, grab your bins/boxes from last week so you can purge 50% of what you have in this room.

Quiet Time:
So many of you say you are overwhelmed by the “clutter”. We are prisoners to it. We don’t know where to start, or what to think. We start in a closet but come across sentimental things that we can’t part with, so we leave that mess to de-clutter a new mess. This long weekend we are going to tackle the entertainment area. This SHOULD be an area to relax and enjoy family time- especially on a long weekend. Peace first comes with our eyes, then our ears and our other senses follow. We see something calm, serene, clean and unobstructed and are cozied up we are able to take a deep breath and relax. Identify thoughts, feelings, objects and sounds that make you relax. A little music? A photo of your favorite place? A snuggie? Write down several ways you can bring those things in to your life more often.



Task 1: Take a few minutes to look over your Big Plan List and identify some things you can move on to your calendar for this weekend.

Task 2: Grab those bins from last week and move them in to the living room/entertainment area. Knowing you can destroy your living room while purging, we will do one item at a time as to not create too much of a disaster.

Bookshelves: Sell books on amazon and use the library. Once you sell all your books, sell the bookshelf or re-purpose it in a different room. As a high school teacher, I appreciate donations of current novels for my class library. Do you have someone you could give them to, and then when you feel the urge to re-read a book, borrow from their library? If you love books, that is wonderful- display them in a peaceful way, not crammed in hodge- podge.

Electronics: Have ONE container for all misc batteries, chargers, cords, usb, ports etc. Once you have them all in one area, assess how many you need. Every electronic item I buy seems to come with the same cords. Put one cord in locations you need (I have a camera upload cord in my office, at my desk and in my laptop bag) and recycle the rest. Do you have power cords to computers you don’t own? Manuals for software that is obsolete? Clean it out so you have one bin of functioning usable items.

DVDs CDs VHS: My rule is to only keep what you are currently using. Every decade a new “system” comes out, be it beta, vhs, lazer disk, dvd etc. Currently the trend is instant access (don’t know the technical term). We have a www.netflix.com account and live stream right to our TV or computers. If they don’t have it live, we order the dvd by mail. This way, there is absolutely no clutter, no collecting, but with the convenience of a huge volume of videos for about $9 a month. Local libraries also have tons of dvds. You might not know the extent of the selection until you go online to the reservation section. Most high demand library items are put on hold, and then when it becomes available you are notified and only you can pick up the item-making them virtually unknown to someone that just checks the shelves. VHS- check and see if your favorites are on Netflix or DVD form and get rid of them. Can you even buy a vhs player anymore? After you purge your dvds, consider recycling the jewels cases and putting them in a cd storage binder. Cds be-gone for Itunes and an ipod.

Gaming systems: Bored with games? Take them to “Game Stop” or some other store that allows trade-ins or cash back. It is best to do sooner than later to get top dollar.

Walls: Take a minute to look at your walls. While purchasing family portraits or a piece of art is fun, why not trade with other rooms in the house to give it a fresh new look? Don’t just buy some stock photography from a warehouse store, see if you have a photo that can be enlarged and traded out in an existing frame.

Toys in the Living Room: As a family you have to decide the volume of toys, if any, in this room. When kids are little, it can be very convenient to have toys where kids can be easily supervised. My kids are now 3, 4 and 5 and we have no toys in the living. This rule is flexible and they’ll pull out a game on the floor or bring some racetrack out to play, but there is no toy storage. All toys belong under the bed. If you do allow toys, consider limiting them to one box or drawer. Can you clear out a section of your entertainment unit for toy storage? What about a flat bin under the sofa?

Magazines- My rule of thumb is only the current magazine is allowed in the house. I must finish up the old before cracking open the new one. With the internet, there is limited reason to “clip” articles or keep magazines.

A side note from Monica (this was written about toys, but is essential for electronics too):
Rules - get rid of:

1. anything that is broken or has missing parts
2. Anything that is rarely played with and annoys the heck out of you
3. Anything that is rarely played with/wouldn't be missed
4. All but the favorite stuffed animals/dolls

It's best to do it during school or nap time, for obvious reasons. I used to put things aside for a week or two to make sure that no one noticed the toys that were "lost", but they never have so now I just get rid of them right away.
Special note: Trains should be put away each night. Can’t convince dh? Tell him by rebuilding, it gives the child the opportunity to be inspired creatively on a daily basis.

Optional: Go out to your car with your bins and some wipes. If you are like me, the car ends up being somewhat of a transfer station. Sort through with your bins for trash, recycle, laundry, inside house etc. I keep a laundry basket in my car of things that need to be dropped off, returned, exchanged etc. Then, as I’m driving by, I can do a quick errand. Finish up by doing a quick clean of your car.

Next Room: Kids rooms/Guest room/Spare room! Catch up the laundry so you can see EVERYTHING that your child owns, and start putting all misc toys in the house in to their room.

I'd love to hear more stories on how the master bath and bedroom came along. Comment on the BB or on the blog.