Decluttering checklist: The living room

Read through our decluttering checklist for the living room

As the popular saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day. In the same way, the process of decluttering your home, however noble and well intentioned as it may be, is a task that is going to take some detailed planning and organisation. And with all projects that seem daunting at first, most of us are not sure where to begin.  We decided to break up this process into a four part series to tackle the different parts of the house that need attention on a constant basis.

We start with the living room. It’s easily the most public part of any home, so keeping it looking clean and organised takes hard work.

Here's a list of steps to follow when you are looking to declutter your living room: 

Dusting 

If depending on your domestic help is not an option when it comes to ensuring that your home is regularly dusted, consider investing in a powerful vacuum cleaner that will clean out not just your soft upholstery like the couch, curtains and carpets, but also help in dusting off surfaces. Vacuuming twice a week is a good option, but once a week works too if you are pressed for time. Our general rule of thumb is to tackle small tasks like this during the week so that you are not forced to make time for all your home chores on the weekend.

Shoes

While we cannot generalise, most Indian homes have an unsaid rule about removing your shoes as you enter. It’s why most of us have shoe cabinets next to the living room entrance. Regularly airing out the shoe cabinet is a good idea to make sure your living room does not have a smelly shoe cabinet. At the same time, discarding old, worn out shoes from time to time is a good idea. Not used that pair in over a year? You probably won’t miss it if you give it away.

Paper paraphernalia 

Most of us accumulate newspaper and paper bills in the living room. It's important to sort out these papers as soon as they come in and either discard the unwanted ones or organise the important ones immediately.

Clutter central 

Take a moment to think of the places in your living room design that end up accumulating the most amount of clutter. The coffee table is usually the top culprit. Clearing out the clutter on the coffee table before going to bed everyday gives you a decluttered, clean table top every morning. What more motivation do you need to make this a part of your daily routine?