Easy Habits To Adopt For A Clutter-Free Living Room

One of the best parts of the internet is that gatekeeping seems impossible these days, especially when it comes to tips and tricks for decluttering your home. If your living room is in need of a refresh, there are several practices you can adopt that will not only help you clean up this space, but keep it that way. While smart organization habits vary and there are plenty of things you should stop doing when decluttering, House Digest went straight to the source and spoke with expert Jessica Litman, author and founder of The Organized Mama Co., to get her suggestions on lasting habits and some of the best strategies for decluttering. From micro-decluttering to using maybe bins and laundry baskets instead of trash cans, Litman's tips will help you keep your living room, well, livable. 

She explained that to micro-declutter "is using small amounts of time to declutter daily. I suggest using 15 minutes of time every day to tackle one small area. Decide ahead of time [what you want to work on] such as one cabinet or your coffee table ... [then] start your timer. Make quick decisions about what should stay and what should go." 

Rather than a keep and throw pile, Litman recommended having a maybe bin. "This is a bin that you can use if you are unsure if you want to keep an item but aren't ready to fully donate/sell/trash. Set a reminder on your phone to check that bin to see if the item has been used within a month [to] three months ... If it is a holiday item, wait until that holiday is over before discarding."

It's not just decluttering alone that will help keep your house clean. Once you've sorted through items and tidied, you want to make sure everything has a home. While some homeowners may use a trashcan in their living room to prevent mess, Jessica Litman recommended in her exclusive interview with House Digest keeping a laundry basket here instead. "I have found that laundry baskets work better because most items in family/living rooms are items that need to be moved to a different location of the house." She explained, "Things like board games, papers, [and] books ... can be put into [a decorative] basket for the nightly tidy and easily carried to its proper location." Litman also noted that less is more when it comes to your living room. "Keep your living room decor simple. When you remove the excess and only keep things you enjoy or admire, you aren't going to worry about excess clutter."

Cords can easily make a room seem cluttered, too, which is why Litman noted that hiding these can help the overall appearance of your space. "I love using 3M cord hooks as they work wonderfully to hide cords behind TVs. If you charge devices in your living space, setting up a charging station works wonderfully because you can create a designated spot for all the cords by getting a decorative box or station that reduces cord clutter."

Surfaces can make or break a living room, especially what can be found on top of them. Cluttered surfaces instantly make a space feel heavy, which is why Jessica Litman suggested changing your mindset toward your surfaces. "... find items you love and place them on flat surfaces; [this will make] you feel guilty for putting clutter on that space. This works well for shelving and cabinets. When you create a display on your shelving, you are less likely to pile it up with clutter." She also noted that ensuring everything you keep in your living room has a place to go is important. "You need to give everything a designated home. Some place where it can live. And your counter is not that place," she said. 

Litman recommended keeping a tray or basket for paperwork, which can be decorative to fit your aesthetic. "Go through that basket once a week or daily depending on how full it gets," she said during her exclusive with House Digest. Litman also suggested grouping collections together. "I am all about showcasing your collections, but to create a clutter-free look, group your collections together. If you have a large collection, try showcasing pieces and rotating them for the season or monthly."

Litman left off with a note about helping to keep these habits in place. "Nightly tidy is the best way to maintain order in the living room," she said. "Put the pillows back on the couch, remove anything that doesn't belong, and straighten up the living space so that it is reset every morning when you wake up."