Quick & Easy Changes Create Long Lasting Impressions on Household Organization

For most of us, spending all of our time picking up after our family or guests can be the straw that breaks the camels back.  And there is no feeling worse than investing precious time in a room and feeling that there is no reward.  Sometimes, just creating the illusion that everything is organized is enough to make us feel more calm in a space and reward us for our time.  If you don’t have hours and hours to go through every item in the room, you can use these simple tips to make the space look a little more orderly.

The first way to improve the feel of a room is to look at all of the little things lying around.  Many of us love to collect trinkets.  When there are too many displayed around the room it can be distracting to the eyes and make a space feel cluttered.  Really examine what is on your shelves, on top of your tables and sitting on your floor.  Does everything have meaning to you?  If not, are you highlighting the objects that do?  If your favorite antique clock is surrounded by too many candles, fake flower displays or unnecessary dust collectors you may not be featuring your favorites as well as you think.  In addition, your house may start looking more like a tag sale table than a home with cherished memories.  Remove the extra items and your space will instantly feel more organized.

Another item that can quickly get out of control in mass is the picture frame.  While it is important to highlight photos and family members that are meaningful to you, be sure that you are not over stimulating your viewers with too many pictures.  Once the frames start piling on a shelf it is harder for the eyes to notice the pictures.  Keep a select amount of high quality frames around the house.  Switch the pictures out to create change throughout the year instead of buying yet another cheap frame for your newest picture.  Again, by limiting this visual clutter you will highlight your important pictures and instantly create more visual space in your room.

There are several ways to improve a room with lots of bookshelves.  I am a big fan of bookcases and built-in shelving because it provides an excellent use of vertical space for storage and helps you feature smaller items in a room.  However, too many times I witness bookshelves becoming another dumping ground to cram, stuff and over display items.  You can quickly improve the look of a room by straightening all of the books, dvds, cds, photo albums etc.  When they are all leaning sideways it is much harder to feel order.  Book ends are very helpful to achieve straight books.

Another tool that should not be ignored for displaying and storing items neatly on the bookshelf is a nice square natural basket decorative bin.  Using these items on a book shelf helps provide contained structured storage.  It also provides visual interest on a solid bookshelf.  Use these bins to store loose papers, or objects that are not so structured like video cameras and their cords.

This brings me to another quick way to improve the visual order of a space without too much effort.  Get control of your cords.  Taking the time unravel cords to the tv, dvd player, gaming stations etc. and hide them well behind your entertainment unit can make a great impact in a family area.  Cord and cable organizers can be very helpful in a project like this because they help you neatly corral the cords.   If they aren’t easily hidden, find a nice floor vase or storage basket to put in front of them. 

Sometimes with very little effort and a few quick decisions you can make your home feel more spacious and orderly.