How to organize a living room and keep it tidy
To organize a living room, clear out what doesn't belong there, decide what the room is for, and give every everyday thing one home: mail and keys by the door, remotes in a basket, toys in a bin, throws in a basket or chest. Then keep it with a ten-minute reset every night.
A living room gets cluttered because it's the room everyone walks through. Organizing it is about catching things before they land.
Where do you start?
With a sweep. Walk the room with a laundry basket and pick up everything that belongs in another room: shoes, mugs, chargers, school bags, the mail. Put it all away. What's left is the stuff that lives in the living room, and that's what you organize.
How do you set up zones?
Decide what the room is used for, and give each use a spot:
- Sitting and TV: the couch, a side table for each end, the remotes in one small basket
- Reading: a chair, a lamp and a shelf or basket for what's being read now
- Kids: one or two bins or a low shelf, so toys have a home that a child can reach
- Work or homework: if the living room doubles as an office, a closed cabinet or a box that the laptop and papers go into at night
Zones stop the slow creep of everything onto the coffee table.
How do you handle the front door?
- Hooks on the wall by the door for coats and bags
- A boot tray for wet shoes in winter, so salt and slush stay on the tray
- A small tray or wall pocket for keys and mail
- A doormat inside and out
Go through the mail the day it comes in. Junk goes straight to recycling, bills go where you pay them.
How do you make a small living room work?
- Use the walls. Tall bookshelves and floating shelves take clutter off the floor and the tables.
- Pick furniture that stores. A coffee table with a lower shelf, an ottoman with a lid, a TV stand with doors.
- Keep the paths clear. You should be able to walk from the door to the stairs and the kitchen without stepping around anything.
- Go easy on decor. A few things you like look better than many, and they're quicker to dust.
How do you keep it from coming back?
Five habits keep it that way:
- Reset every night. Ten minutes: throws folded, cups to the kitchen, remotes in the basket, toys in the bin.
- One in, one out. A new book, game or throw means an old one goes.
- A home for media. Games, controllers and chargers in one drawer or box with a lid.
- Paper gets handled once. Recycle it, file it, or act on it.
- A clear-out each season. Pull what you haven't used, and donate it.
How do you clean it once it's organized?
Clear surfaces make cleaning quick. Dust from the top of the room down, vacuum the couch cushions and under them, then vacuum or mop the floor last. Our guide to deep cleaning a living room covers the whole room, and our dusting guide covers the surfaces.
Want help with the cleaning?
The organizing is yours. For the cleaning, book House Cleaning or Recurring House Cleaning online, and put your priorities in your booking notes.
FAQ
How do I organize a small living room? Use the walls: tall shelves, floating shelves and hooks take clutter off the floor. Pick furniture with storage, like a coffee table with a shelf or an ottoman with a lid, and keep only what you use in that room.
How do I stop mail and keys from piling up in the living room? Set up a drop zone by the front door: a hook for keys, a small tray or wall pocket for mail, and a basket for bags. Go through the mail the day it comes in, and recycle the junk before it lands anywhere.
How do I keep my living room tidy every day? Do a ten-minute reset each night. Put back what's out, fold the throws, clear cups and plates, and stack the remotes in their basket.
Book a cleaning
Our service area: every Philadelphia neighborhood, plus the Pennsylvania suburbs within about 30 miles of Center City, in Montgomery, Delaware, Bucks and Chester counties. Book online at phillyscleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (215) 798-7576, 9 AM to 9 PM, every day.
