Hey y’all, today’s post is all about more small organized changes I’ve been making. My husband recently bought me some new living room furniture for our 23rd wedding anniversary. We’ve actually been looking for awhile, ever since we painted our living room last year. Of course it took us awhile to find the right one for the right price but we finally did it. It was quite exciting that we found it on our anniversary weekend.
As you can see someone’s already made themselves at home on the new furniture.
As with anything new that comes into my house, it usually requires some kind of organized changes. Here’s how my thought process goes down in case you were just dying to know 🙂
Small Organized Changes in my Living Room
Once we had the new furniture in, I started tweaking the decor a little bit. That’s when I realized I wanted to put my blanket away and didn’t have a “home” for it. All winter the blanket has sat out on the couch but with spring around the corner I wanted to be able to tuck it away. I didn’t want to put it away for good in the linen closet just yet because up here in northern Canada we still have at least another month of winter, yuck.
The obvious spot for my cozy blanket was in the awesome basket I keep under my coffee table. Some of you will know that this basket has been in my life and under my coffee table for many many years. I bought it at a grocery store of all places and it fits just perfectly.
This basket has been storage for so many things. Here are just a few of the ways I’ve used it in the past.
baby toys
crochet projects
homeschool supplies
games (this was the most recent use)
I decided I wanted to replace the games with my blanket but that left me to figure out what to do with the games. We have a games cupboard in our rec room but I do like to keep some more frequently played games upstairs in our living room. That’s where we often play them so it makes sense. I looked around my room and my eyes settled on this other storage piece also in my living room.
This piece is old from Canadian Tire. I like the storage it offers. The bottom two drawers hold candles and tealights. The top drawer holds some of my favorite CD’s. I decided to replace those CD’s with the games. Definitely a good spot for them.
Now I had to figure out what to do with all my CD’s.
I stood in the middle of the living room scanning around. My eyes landed on the library bin beside my CD player. Duh that would be a smart place to put them but did I really want to give up my library basket?
(This table sits in the hallway just outside of the living room at the top of the stairs)
Dilemmas, dilemmas. And then it dawned on me. Why in the world was I wasting time trying to find storage space for CD’s…THAT I NEVER USE?!!
It made absolutely no sense at all. I got so caught up with trying to find homes for everything that I didn’t stop to evaluate if what I was trying to find a home for was really necessary. How often do you do that?
I could have gone on for the next couple of hours moving and transferring one thing to the next space, then that thing to the next space and on and on. Just to make space for something I didn’t really need. Oy!
Are you paying really attention to the stuff you are trying to find a home for? Does it really need a home? Could instead you do without it?
I looked at those CD’s and realized that any song worth keeping was already on my iPhone. I didn’t need them and immediately went over and dumped them all into my donation station. Whew! As a result, my library basket got to stay right where it was and where it was already working for us. And my blanket finally has a proper home.
So that’s how I went about making a few organized changes to my living room. I hope you liked taking a peek at how I continue to work out some of these small organizing decisions. It’s all about the choices.
Always make your space work for you and your present life, not your past 🙂
See also in this small organized spaces series:
Cathy says
Good deductive reasoning! Love your common sense approach to organizing. So are you keeping the CD player now the CDs are gone?
Laura Wittmann says
Haha, I wondered if I would get this question. I have a pretty big Christmas CD collection so I need it to listen to all of those. However I may find another spot for the CD player during the off season 🙂
Verena says
Thanks Laura for these blogs on small organized places. They make sense and are inspiring. Making lots of changes at my place. 🙂
Laura Wittmann says
Oh that’s awesome Verena, this is why I continue to do this. Thank you for encouraging ME 🙂
Donna R says
So why are you keeping the CD player if you just got rid of the CDs?
Laura Wittmann says
Great question Donna! I use it to listen to my huge Christmas CD collection lol.
meryl says
My husband bought some furniture for the living room December 2016. He bought a loom. The only room in the house with enough space for the (relatively small) loom was the living room.
He has since added a rolling cart for his supplies, a small trash pail, a gate leg outdoor table from Ikea, a stack of large plastic boxes for his woven pieces and yarn storage.
The agreement is that it again becomes (mostly) a living room from the middle of December to the middle of January for Christmas decorating.
Nothing of course has been removed from the room, only added to it.
He has wanted a loom longer than I have known him (45+ years). How could I say no when he found one we could fit into the house and almost afford.
Sabrina Mix says
Hi, Laura!
I think you should change the message used in the feeds of your posts. It says that if the content is not on your page or in your mailing list, it’s a copy. However, I read your feeds in my feed reader and it can not be considered as a copied content, isn’t it?!
Laura Wittmann says
Thanks for the heads up on that Sabrina, I changed it 🙂
Verena says
PS I love the couches…perfect fit.
Julie @ Houzz Mag says
I am in LOVE with this post! Thank you, this has been wonderfully helpful. So much stuff. I love how you have organised small things in your living room.
Mary Jane says
Hi Laura Could you tell me where you purchased your new living room furniture? I have been looking for quite a while and price is a consideration. If you could tell me, I would appreciate your help.
Laura Wittmann says
It was from a small furniture (non-chain) store here in Alberta, Canada. Are you in Canada? The brand name is Dynasty if that helps at all.
Mary Jane says
Hi Laura Thank you for replying to my question about your couch. I do live in Canada. Did your couch come with any matching pieces? I thought I saw a matching chair or loveseat in your photo.
Laura Wittmann says
Yes I bought both the couch and matching loveseat. They are a nice size for a small living room, not too big.
Janet Barclay says
I was wondering the same thing! I’m pleased to see that Dynasty Furniture is available at quite a few stores in my area (Hamilton, Ontario).
Laura Wittmann says
Good to know, thanks Janet!!
Seana Turner says
Great idea to slide an attractive basket under the coffee table. It really is wasted space, and it’s the perfect place for some toys or a blanket. Often families struggle to have a space that is “clutter free” for relaxing, but also has a few toys for when everyone is all together in the space!
Laura Wittmann says
Thanks for stopping by Seana! I love my coffee table basket so much 🙂
Olive Wagar says
What a fabulous basket!! And I love the concluding quote–definitely one I will share with my clients and give you the credit!!