Family Room & Living Room

Living rooms and family rooms perform many functions in our lives: they’re spaces for entertaining, rooms in which to hide away with a good book, and the place for relaxation with the family. But so often the clutter of everyday life prevents us from doing what’s most important in our living and family rooms: living!

Prepping your living and family room for a makeover

If you’re looking for Spring Makeover ideas for your living and family room spaces, look no further.  At Teresa’s Family Cleaning, we approach home organization with old-world methods so that you can live Long Island style all year round.

Start by emptying out your living and family room spaces as much as is practical. Gather together all of the things that have piled up in the space over time, and as you pick things up, sort them into various boxes labelled “Give Away” (things you no longer want but that are still useful), “Recycle/Trash” (for broken and obsolete items), “Keep” (items that will stay in the living room), “File” (items that need to be taken to their rightful place in your home), and “Store” (those things that belong in long-term storage). You’ll want to evaluate the necessity of everything in your living room, including things like magazines, books, CDs, DVDs, toys, decorative items and nick knacks, games and puzzles, pictures, gadgets and electronics, linens, and lamps. Only items that are used on a weekly basis in your living room should remain in the “Keep” box; everything else should be sorted into another box.

If you’ve done a good job of sorting, the only thing remaining in your living room should be large pieces of furniture. From here, there are several big jobs to complete before your makeover is done.

Come back next week for Part Two. ♥

©2012 Teresa’s Family Cleaning

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or website? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Teresa Ward, President of Teresa’s Family Cleaning and New York State’s Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year is often considered Long Island’s foremost authority on cleaning homes and businesses to create a cleaner and healthier environment for all. Our highly sought after, award-winning weekly newsletter provides timely cleaning tips and other important Long Island information and charitable events for homeowners, businesses and not-for-profits. Visit us at http://www.TeresasFamilyCleaning.com to sign up and receive your copy today!

Organize Front Entrance and Closet

The front closet and entrance is considered one of the most important parts of the home as it sets the mood for the remaining rooms in your home. If you tense up the minute you walk in the door because you’re tripping over the leash and can’t find a place to hang your coat or put away your shoes, your entire mood will be affected. By the same token, you want guests and family to feel welcome and invited when they step over your threshold, so paying attention to this often forgotten area is important when undertaking your March Makeover project.

There are dozens of ways you can organize your entryway storage area, but the guiding principle should always be this: keep your front entrance and closet free of clutter and free-flowing. You want to smoothly usher people into your home by setting the stage in this space. Here are some practical tips for making your front entrance and closet a flowing, welcoming area in your home:

• Designate a basket, box, or drawer for mail.
• Hang hooks or set out cups for each set of keys in the home.
• Hang a stylish chalkboard or white board so that you can leave each other notes.
• If there are many people in your family, set up a coat and shoe area with one or two hooks and a shoe rack each. Include a shelf or hooks for school bags and a basket for hats, mittens, or an umbrella.
• Make space in the front closet for sporting equipment and musical instruments so that it doesn’t block the front entrance.
• Make sure there’s a door or curtain on your front closet so that you can close it up to avoid the distraction of stuff.
• Use the entire height of your front closet by installing several levels of shelves to take full advantage of storage space.
• Pack off-season outdoor gear in bins and store them out-of-the-way in the closet or elsewhere in your home.
• Set up two bins at the front door: one for things going outside, and one for things coming inside.

Here’s our top tip for making the front entrance and closet area the most organized space in your home: buy a piece of furniture with 6-10 small drawers. A tallboy dresser is ideal, but choosing something that will fit in the confines of your front entrance area is important. Then designate one drawer for each member of the family where they can place all of the small items that would otherwise clutter the front entrance and get lost, including keys, sunglasses, wallet/purse, eyeglasses cleaner, coupons, mugs, and lip gloss. Remaining drawers can be used for other items, such as reusable bags, clean mugs, returning books to the library, pens and paper for notes, the dog’s leash and doo-doo bags, phone books, bag ties, rubber bands, matches, and other miscellaneous items that do not have a home.

Remember that keeping the front entrance clutter free and organized will keep you in a positive frame of mind every time you come home.

©2012 Teresa’s Family Cleaning

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or website? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Teresa Ward, President of Teresa’s Family Cleaning and New York State’s Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year is often considered Long Island’s foremost authority on cleaning homes and businesses to create a cleaner and healthier environment for all. Our highly sought after, award-winning weekly newsletter provides timely cleaning tips and other important Long Island information and charitable events for homeowners, businesses and not-for-profits. Visit us at http://www.TeresasFamilyCleaning.com to sign up and receive your copy today!