Energize Your Living Room

Nate Berkus, decorating guru, gave tips on ways to Energize Your Living Room in USA Weekend. We all need a pick-me-up this time of year!

Here are his top tips on making changes...

Hide The TV.

“I understand. I take in my fair share of prime time. But you want this space to be a place to sit and chat and hang out, even when the TV is off. If possible, put the TV in something so you can close the doors. And, by that, I don’t mean you have to have one of those huge entertainment centers. I’ve found beautiful antique armoires — check garage sales, vintage stores and flea markets — and altered them so a TV could sit inside [they work with flat-screen as well as older TVs].”

Rearrange The Accessories.

“You find something — a candlestick, a vase, a bowl, anything — you bring it home and put it out in your house. Five years later, that item is still sitting in the same spot! By just rearranging your tabletops, you give an entirely new look to your room. Start by taking everything off the surfaces and putting it all on one table. Then, start put?ting it back in new ways. When you group the items differently, the entire room takes on a new energy.”

Swap Out Furniture.

“Just moving the sofa to another wall and repositioning the chairs can make a room look entirely different. Try placing a bench, two stools or two chairs across from the sofa. This allows people to sit opposite you when visiting so you don’t all have to cram onto the sofa. It makes a world of difference in this space.

“But don’t stop there. Swap out end tables with ones from a different room. Go room to room and really look at each piece you have and think about where it might work better. Your furniture will suddenly feel new again.”

Divvy Up The Chores.

“When your home is in order, you are in order. I think you just breathe easi?er in a home that is chaos-free. So enlist the help of your family. Make a chore list and divvy it up. Don’t neglect the lampshades. They tend to get dusty and make the whole room look a bit tired. If you each take a room, you’ll have the place cleaned up in no time, and you’ll feel 100 times better about how your interior looks.”

Put Lights On Dimmers.

“This will allow you to soften the lights and the space in the living room. While you’re at it, change your lampshades. Going from white to soft natural linen can make the room look tailored.

“Also, add candles. Everyone looks better — not to mention younger — by candlelight. I just added flameless candles to my home, and they’re on a timer. It’s a great way to return home.”

Declutter for 2010!

From the FLYLADY.net....

How to Declutter

Remember: You cannot organize clutter - you can only organize the things you love!

When to Declutter: Decide how often you are going to declutter a zone. Do a little every day - use a timer. But be warned - this can become compulsive! Once you get started you will want to clean like a banshee! Don't burn yourself out! Only do small amount at a time. The house did not get dirty overnight and it will not get clean overnight. When you set the timer you can only do two sessions at a time. This goal may seem unattainable right now, but you can do it in little pieces. In a couple of months, the whole house will be decluttered.

Decluttering Equipment: You will need garbage bags, boxes, magic markers, and a dust rag. Label the boxes "Give Away", "Throw Away", and "Put Away". Line the "Throw Away" box with a plastic garbage bag.

Set your timer: for 1 hour (or 30, 15, or 10 minutes - it does't matter how long). Just do the job as fast as you can and do not pull out more stuff than you can put away in that length of time. This means just one drawer, one closet (or even one shelf in one closet), one magazine rack, or digging under just the furniture in the zone. Not all of them at once!

Start at the entrance to the room: Then, work your way around the room clockwise. Do not skip a spot. Whatever happens to be next, just do it.

Declutter Away!
With boxes at your feet and dust rag in your waistband, start off by cleaning out and getting rid of the things that do not belong in this room. Put garbage in the "Throw Away" box, donations in the "Give Away" box, and stuff that goes somewhere else in the "Put Away" box. Don't worry that you do not have a place for everything right now. By the time you finish you will. That's a promise from FlyLady!

What to declutter?
Things to ask yourself as you get rid of your clutter:
Do I love this item?
Have I used it in the past year?
Is it really garbage?
Do I have another one that is better?
Should I really keep two?
Does it have sentimental value that causes me to love it?
Or does it give me guilt and make me sad when I see the item?

Cleanse this room of everything that does not make you SMILE.

Sing this song: "Please release me, let me go" as sung from the stuff's point of view. It needs to be loved by someone and if you don't love it - GET RID OF IT!

Get rid of the garbage!
When the "Throw Away" box gets full, pull out the garbage bag, close it, and put it in the trash can, the pickup truck, or wherever you keep your garbage. Put a new garbage bag in the "Throw Away" box and keep on Flying until the timer goes off.

Donations:
When the "Give Away" box gets full, seal it off, and put it in your car. The next time you are out, you can donate to the area thrift shop. Do not save your clutter for a yard or garage sale, you will be blessed by giving it away. The value can be deducted on your income tax. Remember you are trying to get rid of clutter - not relocate it somewhere else in your home. Now, grab another box, label it "Give Away", and get back to work.

"Put Away" Stuff:
When the "Put Away" box gets full, take the box in your arms and run around the house (good thing you have shoes on - right?) and put the items in the room where they belong. If they have a place, put them there, if not put them in the room where they logically belong. By the time you have finished you will have a place for everything and everything will be in it's place.

Timer Goes Off:
When the timer goes off, you have to put away all the boxes, but first you have to empty them all. Go as fast as you can.

Practically Glamorous

Sometimes life is not always so glamorous. Here are a few products that make dirty work just a little bit more bearable. Some of my top favorites are:


1. Tide stick


There is virtually nothing that the tide stick can not get out. Now, they have a mini tide stick that fits perfectly in your purse.


2. Swiffer Sweepervac

"Swiffer SweeperVac gets it all-big and small-in any room of your home. It uses the Swiffer Dry Cloth to trap and lock dirt, dust, and pet hair, and then uses a vacuum to pick up the big stuff." It is so easy to use you can use it daily for your in between cleaning.


3. GE smart light bulb


There are so many reasons that I love this light bulb. Just by switching over it can save up to 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than the typical light bulb. "If every household in the U.S. replaced ONE light bulb with a GE Energy Smart bulb, we would save...
A combined national total of $600 million a year in energy costs.
Enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars." The reasons to make the switch are good for you and the environment!


4. Folex


FOLEX is a Water Based Non-Ionic Surfactant. It will get virtually ANYTHING out, even red wine!