A graphic of a disorganised and cluttered living room with things in disarray
Episode 185 – 10 things to declutter from your living room

Episode 410 – 10 Things you Don't Need this Summer
Episode 409 – Is TV Decluttering Helping or Harming?
Living room, front room, family room, sitting room, den, TV room, lounge - so many different names for what is essentially the same thing. That place to kick back and chill after a busy day. We spend so much time in there so it’s important that it functions well. But sometimes it can become a catch all for lots of random bits and bobs. In this podcast we are chatting through 10 things you can declutter from your living room today!
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Transcript of this podcast episode
[00:00:00] Ingrid: The living room, the front room, the lounge, the sitting room, the den, the family room, the TV room. I mean, how many words, how many different words can one room have, but essentially they're all the same thing. It's that place where you can kick back and relax and chill after a busy day. And we spend so much time in there.

[00:00:23] And it's important that it functions well, but it sometimes can become a catch all for a lot of random bits and bobs. So in today's podcast, we are chatting through the 10 things you can declutter from your living room.

[00:00:38] We are loving today's topic because we are talking about the 10 things you can declutter from your living room.

[00:00:45] And we love it, Lesley, we've really found some random 

[00:00:49] Lesley: stuff, haven't we? We have. And before we actually started thinking about the stuff, we started to think about all those names, didn't we? Like living room lounge. And obviously people are from all over the world. And so we were like. I wonder what they call it in Canada, America, New Zealand, Australia.

[00:01:03] So if you've got a different name for a living room that we have not listed in our intro, then do let us know, because we'd love to know that as well to make sure that we're getting the terminology right, right across the world. So we love our 10 things podcast. And we haven't really done living room for a while or have we mm-hmm.

[00:01:21] So we thought it would be really useful to think about what can you ditch from your living room that's going to make your life a little bit simpler. So, without further ado, let's go to number one. 

[00:01:32] Ingrid: Ingrid. Well, number one is a no-brainer. I think. I mean, everybody, that's the first thing I thought of when we were thinking about these 10 things.

[00:01:41] I was like, Old magazines and old papers, old weekly papers, daily papers, magazines from like a year and a half or two years ago that are, I mean, these, these magazine baskets that are absolutely nearly like tipping over because there's so much stuff in it that we haven't read. And we think we get round to, that's the thing is, I think we think we're going to, we've got this magazine subscription and we think.

[00:02:10] I'm paying for this. I mean, I have to read it. 

[00:02:14] Lesley: I know. And a lot of times those subscription, those ones that come in plastic wrappers and it's still all wrapped up and they've never been even opened. And so they're definitely ones that can go. I think, you know, magazines and newspapers should really be part of your weekly reset.

[00:02:29] So we talk a lot about resets, daily resets, weekly resets, seasonal resets. But I think it's really important to do that as part of your weekly reset every week. Look at the newspapers and magazines that you've got hanging around in a magazine file, in a magazine rack, in one of these baskets, underneath, at the side, shoved under the sofa, wherever it is.

[00:02:49] And ditch them because if you've not got around to reading them within a week, and this is more newspapers, perhaps the magazines, the chances are that you're not going to get there at all. So do yourself a favor, ditch those old newspapers and magazines, and really take a look at what you've got on subscription and think about whether that subscription is serving you well.

[00:03:08] Ingrid: Yes, I completely agree, Lesley. So let's move on to number two, which is actually a little bit of a no brainer as well, I think, but we see it all the time. It is. Dead plants and flowers. It's a bit sad, isn't it, really? It's a bit sad. 

[00:03:26] Lesley: It is, you know, and people, to be fair, there's a bit of a plant revolution going on at the moment.

[00:03:31] You know, houseplants are everywhere. They kind of went a little bit out of vogue for a lot of people, but they've come back with a vengeance. And some people are better than others. at keeping house plants. And so I have not typically been that good, but I'm trying really hard to be good. And most of my plants actually at the moment, fingers crossed are actually quite healthy.

[00:03:51] So we're doing okay, but there's kind of flowers that we get given and we leave them to dry out or they're not past their best. We. Plants. We leave them there for a while thinking that they're going to come back to life and they don't really enhance the aesthetic of a living room. Do they Ingrid? 

[00:04:07] Ingrid: No, no.

[00:04:08] It, it, it, like I said, it really looks sad. I mean, I'm not a plant person either, but I am a flower person. I love a bunch of flowers. So I occasionally buy myself some nice flowers when I'm. When I'm out and about and I pick up a little, little, little bunch. But then after about a week or so, you have to either think, Okay, what's the state of this current bunch of flowers?

[00:04:31] Do I need to refresh the water? Can I cut them a bit shorter? Can I revive them a little bit by taking maybe the one or two roses that have gone wonky? But the rest still looks good. But what we do, we get busy with our lives, and we leave them and leave them, and then it's like this sad vase with all these gone completely.

[00:04:51] And it's like, okay, this is not working. This is not good. And I think it really spruces up a living room when they're in there fresh, but when they're not anymore. That it's really kind of like, oh, it really takes the whole thing down, doesn't it? 

[00:05:06] Lesley: Yeah, and I think there's something that, you know, we talk a lot about barriers and obstacles, don't we, Ingrid?

[00:05:10] There's something quite manky about the water. You know, like the cut, what do you call it, cut flower water? It all goes a bit green and a bit murky and sometimes it smells. And so it's something that we don't really love and maybe there's a barrier or an obstacle there that's stopping us from doing that.

[00:05:25] So do yourself a favour and try and keep on top of cut flowers, plants. When they are dying or dead and be honest about whether or not they are going to suddenly come back to life or not. So that's our number two. I've got a five. Can I do number three? Yeah, my idea and I love it. Can I do number three?

[00:05:45] This is what we find all the time around lots of different rooms in the house in the house and not just the living room, but it is random coins. There's something about coins and I swear I will never. In all my life as a declutterer, I get over the fact that I see coins all over floors, all over kitchen work surfaces.

[00:06:05] And I know where it comes from because particularly men have coins in their pockets and they put them on the side and then they get scattered around. But they, do you find them as well? I think people find them on floors all the time. And I'm like, When did they come? When did somebody randomly just decide?

[00:06:21] Sure, I just put all those coins on the floor, just for, just for a laugh. But they are there, aren't they? All the time. I 

[00:06:28] Ingrid: see it everywhere. And it's either these, like, these random dishes that were either, like, created by children or family members, or it's a family heirloom that's been put somewhere on a side table or in a living room.

[00:06:42] And let's put the coins there, or at least these, these, like, pots. And it can be Every I've Every You name it, Lesley, I've seen it. It's like How does this whole thing happen? You know, , 

[00:06:56] Lesley: I know. I mean, actually, to be fair, I think it's getting better. It depends on what generation you are, but now we barely take cash out, do we?

[00:07:03] A lot of us just use our phone. You can do contactless payments everywhere, and so there's definitely, I saw a homeless person last night actually when I was out shopping and I was chatting away to him and he was like, I'm really struggling, you know, to get any money because obviously people. are contactless all the time.

[00:07:19] Do you know what I mean? And so it's a, you know, for people who are relying on people having coins on them, whether or not you want to give to a homeless person is a whole nother debate, but it opens up the idea that people are not using coins or cash in the same way that they were, but nevertheless, this.

[00:07:34] Still seems to be hundreds and hundreds of coins hanging around and you need to have a plan. So we do need to empty out our purses, empty out our pockets and things like that, because especially like two P's, one P's and whatever the equivalent is in your country, there's lots of them and they come and they weigh your purse down.

[00:07:51] So you want to get them out or they weigh your pockets down, but you need to have a plan to put them into some kind of receptacle, receptacle and either to spend them. There and then, or to take them to one of these coin banks or to the bank where you can, you know, change them into. Um, actual money. I know they are actual money, but do you know what I mean?

[00:08:10] They kind of become a little bit useless, don't they? I mean, I have a lot of people who want to throw it away. You know, do you have that as well, Ingrid? Like, oh, just put it into the charity bag or whatever. I'm like, it's actually money. I mean? So you should keep it and do something with it. So go to the bank, loads of these coin banks around now.

[00:08:26] Supermarkets aren't there and banks and cash it in and put that money straight in the bank. And it feels so rewarding, doesn't it? To do that as well. So enough of the random coins around the house would be our advice to you. And it definitely does not enhance your living 

[00:08:39] Ingrid: space. That is definitely for sure.

[00:08:42] Because it, and sometimes Lesley actually, I've just, you were talking about it. It was like. Yeah, and sometimes there's even other currencies as well. So from like this trip and you come back from holiday or so for a weekend away and it gets put down and it doesn't get put away anywhere. So if you're suddenly thinking I'm seeing a pattern of other types of coins from countries that I visited, maybe put them in a separate little um, plastic bag or something so you can actually keep them for another trip instead of them kind of Being out there in your house and not being spent because in the end, money is there to actually, I think, spend and not be in a pile somewhere.

[00:09:19] So, yes, random 

[00:09:21] Lesley: points. That's a contentious statement from you, Ingrid Janssen. Mrs. Saver over there, money's there to be spent. Well, it kind of is, but it kind of could also save it as well. Yeah, 

[00:09:33] Ingrid: that's true. That's true. But I mean, if it's, if it's foreign currencies. You kind of, I mean, some people I know hold on to some coins and some paper from other countries because it's kind of cool to see a different type of money and then it gets a bit of a memory box.

[00:09:46] But if it's like, I mean, I travel to Europe all the time, so I mean, I'm not going to put like my euros in some sort of a memory box because I'm like, I can spend those next time on a nice. Uh, I don't know pancake when I'm skiing or something or some or schnitzel or a glass of wine in France. I mean, oh, you're making me think of holidays now, Lesley, this is, this is, this is bad, but good.

[00:10:08] If you know what I mean. Right. Let's just move on to number four. Oh my gosh. This is such a bugbear of mine and my family does it as well. So I, this is my chance to kind of go, ah, why do people leave their shoes and socks next to the sofa? Okay. It's like, you can just come in the house, take your shoes off and put them where they go.

[00:10:30] Why do you walk into my living room? And then I find your shoes and yes, my lovely husband, I mean, you leave the next to the sofa. It absolutely just does my head in. I can 

[00:10:44] Lesley: sort of cope with, yes, I don't believe that shoes should be in a living room because they need to be put back where they're, where you're going to wear them tomorrow or in your wardrobe or whatever, long term, but I can understand how, when you're sort of chilling out at night that you might take your shoes off and kick your feet up on the sofa or whatever, but it's kind of socks that get me, you know, dirty socks, they're They're like dirty socks, aren't they?

[00:11:05] And then they take those off with the shoes and so shoes are less offensive to me than socks. What do you think? 

[00:11:16] Ingrid: I know. I know. Our listeners must think like we're like the worst people in the world to live with, Lesley. I know. It's like, do you really have a husband and kids? It's like, does anybody want to live with you in your house?

[00:11:31] Lesley: Exactly. Exactly. But to be fair, like you do. 

[00:11:36] Ingrid: I don't ever take my socks off. Do you take your 

[00:11:38] Lesley: socks off when you're like, if I was on the sofa, I would take my shoes off. So I might definitely, I might come down sticking. Cause I do wear shoes in the house, right? I do wear shoes in the house. So I will go to the sofa and think, well, I'm going to take these boots off now.

[00:11:49] Cause I'm like chilling on the sofa, but I don't think I'll ever take my socks off. Cause I don't. Do you know what I mean? I know, but loads of people do and then they're like random. Just like, yeah, anyway, 

[00:11:58] Ingrid: so

[00:12:03] Like crying here if you're watching YouTube, I'm sorry

[00:12:10] We need to move on we need to vote because we have a really good number five actually we have an Excellent number five if we say so ourselves um We were thinking because I was like, okay, what do we find in living rooms? We find remote controls of equipment that No longer exists. It's like what is this remote control for?

[00:12:33] And people are like I've got absolutely no idea I don't even recognize this house. It's in my house or You then said Lesley Oh, that's my 

[00:12:44] Lesley: idea. That's my cue. I actually said it's not just a remote control. It's actually the equipment. So you might have a remote control that's attached to say a DVD player.

[00:12:54] But sometimes it's time to evaluate the actual DVD player, video player, Blu ray player, whatever you've got to think. Am I just watching Netflix here and never ever using the DVD player? Have I actually ditched my DVDs, which a lot of people have, and I'm just keeping the DVD player just in case? Do I actually need that equipment at all?

[00:13:14] Which might be a little bit contentious. So we're saying evaluate that electrical equipment and see whether you are still using it. That's one thing where life has got a little bit simpler in terms of the technology and the equipment that we need. Cause everything just comes through the internet for the most part now.

[00:13:29] Now, if you're still watching DVD, so obviously it's not time to get rid of your DVD player, but it's just about realism and it's about evaluating what you do do and seeing whether or not some of that could go, 

[00:13:39] Ingrid: well, I mean, and it's not only a DVD player, Lesley, it can also be even a cassette player, or it can be a video player.

[00:13:45] I mean, People have like three videos left, but they keep that keep their video player. Maybe now's the time to go. I'm actually going to try and convert the three videos of the weddings or christenings or whatever onto a DVD or a stick or a cloud or something. So I can also then declutter the video player.

[00:14:03] And you know what, Lesley, it's not only Netflix, it's, it's Amazon prime. It's Disney channel. It's all these things out there now, TV. And it's even, you can now record, you know, for years, you can record stuff from the television itself. I've got so much in series and things that I still want to watch.

[00:14:21] There's not enough hours in the day. I think I'm hoarding films and TV shows 

[00:14:25] Lesley: everywhere. I know, I know. It feels like you've got to kind of get... It's like another chore. It becomes another chore, doesn't it? I've got to get that finished. Got to get that finished before I start something out. You know, it's like that kind of thing.

[00:14:36] It's like another job. It's not just a TV type stuff as well though. Think about those stereo players. Are you listening through a Google home or an Amazon Alexa or whatever? Have you got an iPod or you're using your iPhone with little speakers? That's what a lot of us are doing for our music now, but yet we still have the big kind of multi stack.

[00:14:55] What do you call those things? What do you call them? The towers, like 

[00:14:58] Ingrid: the, 

[00:14:59] Lesley: yeah, like those DVDs, high fives, high fives. That's what they're called. That's what it's called, but we still see them a lot. So really evaluate that electrical, electrical equipment to see whether or not it's past its best. 

[00:15:13] Ingrid: Well, I think I need to calm down a little bit, Lesley.

[00:15:15] So let's go for a break. And then when we come back, let's do number. Six to 10 in our 10 things to declutter from your living room.

[00:15:23] Hi everyone. Welcome back for your 10 things to declutter from your living room.

[00:15:27] I think I've calmed down now. I was getting a little bit hysterical before the break, Lesley. I was laughing so hard. I just couldn't breathe, I think. Anyway, we are back to talk about number six, which is knackered. Cushions and for everybody who doesn't know I'm laughing again. 

[00:15:46] Lesley: I'm laughing again because actually I've put in that knackered cushions and you do know that knackered is kind of like swearing.

[00:15:53] Ingrid: Really? I thought it just means like Kind of bit falling apart. That's what knackered means. 

[00:15:59] Lesley: Doesn't it? I think it might be on the, on the cusp of acceptable. Oh, 

[00:16:04] Ingrid: okay. All right. It's acceptable to me. And I'm like, we're trying really hard not to swear on this podcast. So just 

[00:16:12] Lesley: say it. It's fine. Everyone knows what you mean.

[00:16:14] I feel like it might be a British thing as well, knackered. I'm not sure. I've heard that in other parts of the world, but anyway, carry on talking about knackered cushions, Ingrid. Cause it just makes me laugh. 

[00:16:24] Ingrid: Yes, so anyway knackered cushions are the things you find on sofas and in chairs that are kind of Looking past their best, you know, the the fabric is kind of falling apart There's kind of these these these threads that are loose the inside It used to be a fluffy pillow on the sofa, but it's been now set on so many times It's completely gone flat.

[00:16:50] So actually there's no point in having it on your sofa And we see them, don't we? 

[00:16:54] Lesley: Yeah, there's nothing better to refresh your living room than some new cushions because they really do help. So maybe this is time to get the old cushions out and some new cushions in. But just look at them and think, oh, are they really, you know, enhancing the way that my living room looks?

[00:17:12] Look at those cushions because it's something that we see all the time and we just, we become a little bit blind to them, don't we? But actually we see a lot of old tatty. I'm going to say tatty, Ingrid. Okay. Yeah. Cushions that are past their best. So evaluate your cushions tonight and see whether it's time for some new ones.

[00:17:29] Ingrid: Yes. And I mean, I, I know, I know I'm always like, don't shop, don't shop, but there is a point where it looks like so sad. You, you, you should get some new ones. I think that's a really good idea. I completely agree with you, 

[00:17:40] Lesley: Lesley. Yeah. You can take your coin. You can take your coins that you said money's there to spend and buy some new cushions with the coins that you found around 

[00:17:48] Ingrid: the house.

[00:17:48] Yes, yes, exactly. Exactly. Right. Let's move on to the next one then. Dead batteries and light bulbs. 

[00:17:59] Lesley: Yes, so we realize that our battery in our remote control or in some other thing that we've got around or a light bulb in a lamp is gone, we change it and we kind of know that we can't throw that battery away into the normal rubbish, we can't throw that light bulb away into the normal rubbish because it needs to be recycled in an appropriate way, so it can't just go straight in the bin, so it goes in a kind of temporary way.

[00:18:25] Holding place to remind us that we need to do something with it. So we find a lot of batteries and increasingly now that light bulbs have changed and you can't recycle light bulbs in the same way that you used to be able to hanging around your living room. 

[00:18:39] Ingrid: Yes. The coffee table, the drawer, you just have to open the drawer in the coffee table and there they are.

[00:18:45] There they are kind of like, Oh yeah, let me just quickly tie this up. I put it away there and I'll come around to it. And then it's out of sight, out of mind, and it's stuck in there. And then you get the old, the age old. Was that a new one or was it an old one? And now you've got a problem because now you've given yourself an extra job by trying to figure this out.

[00:19:08] And of course, in the past, you could just shake the light bulb next to your head and go, ah, that's broken. So I know I need to recycle it. So I think the plan here, and I think we're going a little bit off topic, but what you want to have. Somewhere in your house is a little collection point where you put stuff like this.

[00:19:26] And it can be an old jam jar which has a label or a sticker or a mark with a marker on it. Old batteries, so you've got a place to put them in. And instead of putting them down when you swap a battery out, you immediately put it away. But the problem is, if there's no place for that stuff to live until it actually goes to the recycling center, That's when they get put down somewhere and we find them everywhere.

[00:19:53] Lesley: Where's your dead battery holding point, Ingrid? Um, it's, I've 

[00:20:00] Ingrid: got a little cupboard next to my kitchen where my cleaning products live and my vases live and my ironing board lives and some extra cleaning products. That's where I have a container for. Old batteries, old light bulbs, small electricals, um, I put old makeup in there because you can now recycle old makeup pots, that kind of stuff.

[00:20:22] So I've got a little holder where I can put these things in and then every once in a while when I go to the recycling center I'm going to go okay right I also need to think about that little holder with all those little bits and bobs. How 

[00:20:33] Lesley: about you? Mine's in my kitchen drawer. So it's kind of what a lot of people would consider to be a junk drawer, but it's not a junk drawer.

[00:20:41] It's got, it's a drawer of useful things, which is what we call it. So it's got, you know, I've got all little random things in there. You know, a few pens, a little bit of medication that we use every day, just stuff. There's not loads and loads of stuff in there, but just a little place to keep those things that you need every now and again.

[00:20:57] So my battery holder is. I've got like a little piece of Tupperware, just a little Tupperware pot that I put them all in. It's a little bit overflowing now. So you reminded me that's a job for this weekend. It's kind of like spilling into the drawer of useful things. So it might become a kind of junk drawer of old batteries.

[00:21:15] And so it's time to take action. So you've reminded me. You're 

[00:21:18] Ingrid: welcome. I love giving you jobs. Right. So no, so yeah, so that's the, that's the reason why don't, when you change something, don't put it down, put it away where it belongs and it's going to be really helpful and they're not going to be scattered around your living room.

[00:21:34] Right. Next one, Lesley, kind of a biggie, isn't it as well. Yes, 

[00:21:38] Lesley: it is. So this is our number eight and it's random paperwork. If there's one thing that's everywhere in a living room, it's paperwork. So it's bills that you've opened, uh, the envelopes that go along with that. It's letters from school. It's things that you've scribbled, shopping lists.

[00:21:53] on and to do lists and all that kind of stuff. I mean, the list is endless. You know what random paperwork is when we talk to you about it, but the living room is typically not the place for it, unless that's your designated holding area. So the thing is about living rooms, and that's why it's quite difficult sometimes for us to talk about living rooms.

[00:22:11] Everyone's living room and what is contained in a living room is very, very different. So if some people got stationary in their board games in there, all toys in there, some people, it depends on the makeup of your living room. Some people have got multiple living rooms. And so it really depends on what you've got on the makeup.

[00:22:28] But in general, people will have some kind of paperwork in their living room, and that is not the place for it unless it is. If that makes sense, so in general, if it's just randomly scattered around paperwork and you have a home office or you have a little section of your kitchen that you set aside to do your paper, wherever you're in trays, where you hold your post until, um, until you actually action it, that's where that needs to be.

[00:22:53] It does not need to be scattered around your living room. And so gather all that paperwork together, recycle and get rid of that, which you don't need and put the stuff that you do need where it's going to be actions. 

[00:23:05] Ingrid: Yes, and if you do have only one living room that has to work really, really hard and it is the place where you do paperwork, what you want to create is exactly what Lesley said, one place to put it.

[00:23:18] Don't have your paperwork everywhere. You don't want to have your paperwork next to your sofa and on your coffee table and on your sideboard and on your other table and have an in tray on a desk that you temporarily created and all of those things. It just doesn't work. If your paperwork has to be in your living room, design one place where it goes and where you tackle it, so it doesn't, because otherwise it seems to get legs and go everywhere, and then you start to lose stuff.

[00:23:46] So if you do have a living room that needs to cover paperwork, One place is really important. 

[00:23:53] Lesley: Okay Ingrid, so we are on to number nine And this this is quite an interesting one because it is something that we neglect to see or we stop seeing after a while So quite often we have a mantelpiece if we've got a fireplace So we have the mantel that's over there or it might be also a windowsill or something like that something where you can put things on where we typically put trinkets and photograph frames and candles and all of those kind of things.

[00:24:19] Now, sometimes they can be the easiest places to declutter because we've looked at these things for a long time and we've kind of fallen out of love with them. And so sometimes you can look at a mantelpiece or you can look at a window sill and think, actually, I don't like that anymore. Sometimes they contain exactly the types of things that we've been talking about.

[00:24:37] Batteries, light bulbs, dead plants, all of those random paperwork. But look at your mantelpiece and see whether there's anything on there that you can declutter. If you've got trinkets, if you've got old photographs, if you've got school photographs in cardboard frames that, or photographs that people have handed to you and now they're kind of frayed at the edges and the edges are kind of curled in.

[00:24:57] Is it time to declutter those from your mantelpiece to make your mantelpiece look nicer? Less is more when it comes to a mantelpiece or to a windowsill. So clear that clutter. So it's an easy one to do, but it's one that we often neglect, isn't it, Ingrid? 

[00:25:13] Ingrid: Yes. Yes. And there's another thing, Lesley, that we find on mantelpieces that need to be looked at.

[00:25:19] And that is birthday cards. And I'm like, Oh, I go to a client. I'm like, Oh, whose birthday was it? Oh no, no, no, no, these are the cars from four months ago and I'm like Okay, we're going to need to have a look at this and see which ones are important enough. Do they need to all be recycled? We've looked at them for four months.

[00:25:38] Can they all be recycled? Or is, are there maybe one or two special ones with a very special message that we want to keep, but they, they need to go into a memory box. You can't have these things forever and ever on a mental piece because. It's just, it, it, they all fade away that way. It looks a bit messy.

[00:25:56] So birthday cards is definitely also one to declutter from your mental peace. 

[00:26:03] Lesley: So Ingrid, we come to our number 10 and this is quite an interesting one. And it's a question that we get asked quite a lot about library books. And so. The library books need to be cleared down regularly from your living room.

[00:26:17] You need to have a process. You need to have a place to separate out your library books from your standard books. So you know what needs to go back. So library books need to be decluttered regularly from your living room and taken back to where they belong, which is the library. But in order to do that, we need to make sure that we have that place for them.

[00:26:37] Now, Ingrid, I know that you're a big library book person with your children or you have some. Certainly been in the past. Yeah. So what did you used to do with your library books to make sure that they kept, they were kept separate from the books that you owned? 

[00:26:48] Ingrid: Well, it was mainly the children that, um, did the, the, the library book reading.

[00:26:53] Uh, unfortunately, uh, when they were younger, I did not have a lot of time to read library books, but it was mainly the children's one. So we would have in their rooms, a separate, a place. for them, where they stay together with their friends, basically. So, I would not put a library book in a bookcase. I would have them separately because, although my bookcases were quite neat and tidy, I could probably easily find them because they've got stickers on their back and stuff.

[00:27:23] I just didn't want them to go be amalgamated in the other books in my house. But I see that a lot of people have shelves in their living room with them. Books. They is where the place where they read their living, their library books. So I, my advice would really be either empty one shelf so you, where you can put them all together or have a place or put it together in your magazine basket, but keep them away from.

[00:27:50] Your regular books in your house, so they just don't, because then things get lost. Otherwise you get like, oh, I just found a library book that's like four years old. How, how, how did that happen? Because it got behind something, between something. Below something and then it's out of sight and then it's kind of out of your mind because it's not something that you own, but it's temporarily in your house.

[00:28:15] Lesley: Yes, so right, Ingrid. So, 10 things you can declutter from your living room today. So how many of these 10 things are you like, oh yeah, I've got those. socks underneath the settee that made us laugh so much. I've got those random coins scattered around. I've got my hi fi from 1989 sitting there. Is it time to take some action and look at those things that you look at every day?

[00:28:39] This is the reason why living rooms are quite tricky because you look at them and you stop seeing them. So think about what you've got in your living room that you can declutter today. And do let us know in the comments, cause we would love to know wouldn't we Ingrid, what you have decluttered from your living 

[00:28:52] Ingrid: room.

[00:28:53] Yeah. Living rooms are hard areas to do Lesley, because they have to work super hard. So if this 10 things podcast has helped you a little bit by breaking it down, I think we have done our job, Lesley. So that is it for this week. Good luck with decluttering your living room and we will see you next week for our next episode.

[00:29:14] So thanks so much for listening and see you soon.
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Recent Posts
Episode 407 – 10 things NOT to do when you come back from a trip

Episode 390 – 10 changes that make the biggest impact in your home

Episode 387 – Our 2025 year in review – the big Declutter Hub round-up

Episode 380 – Home, Life & You – How NOT to declutter your home

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Vickie says:

26 May 2026 at 7:18 PM

Today, I specifically looked for an episode that covered the living room because i wanted to declutter the living room. and found this one. I had already decided to let the magazines go. While I was working on the random papers, you two ladies discussed this area. My issue is that our living room works extra hard and I haven't been able to figure out a designated area for paperwork. Any tips on designating an area for paperwork in a small living room? These papers tend to grow legs and climb the dining room table, which creates another place for these random papers to gather and clutter. I have a chronic health condition and my energy isn't always good for daily tidying. Thank you. Also, no socks on our living room floor 😉

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1. Ingrid Jansen says:
  
  27 May 2026 at 9:26 AM
  
  Hi Vickie, thank you for your suggestion. We have added it to our list! Hope you're well and good to hear no socks on the floor 😉
  
  Reply
Episode 185 – 10 things to declutter from your living room

Episode 407 – 10 things NOT to do when you come back from a trip

Episode 390 – 10 changes that make the biggest impact in your home

Episode 387 – Our 2025 year in review – the big Declutter Hub round-up

Episode 380 – Home, Life & You – How NOT to declutter your home

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