October Monthly Room Challenge - Front Entry and Living Room

[sunnysandiegan]

Before we even get close to the holidays, how about we take care of some projects in the living room (or family room) and front entry areas?

My front door opens into a very small foyer (raised 4-foot square) that is completely open to the living room and the staircase. This is the area where everyone who comes to our house sees -- even just standing at the front door. I usually keep these areas neat and orderly at all times because of the visibility and traffic patterns. However, the last few months have been so busy, I have let these areas get rather messy.

Here's my to do list for October:

1. Clear off bookcase by recliner. Damp dust it. Thoughtfully put items back.

2. Clear off "coffee table" (technically an Ikea toy box) and evaluate it's usefulness.

3. Dust and vacuum weekly.

4. Mop cork floor once or twice.

5. Scrub banister and front doors.

6. Touch up paint throughout this whole area (foyer/staircase/living room/downstairs hallway).

7. Research new window coverings for living room. Been asking around.

8. Research new furnace.

9. Find something decorative for the inside of the front door to cover old holes.

10. Clean sofas, recliner, stairs, and upstairs hallway - borrow, rent, or hire professionals.

11. Clean windows. Gasp!

12. Clean blinds. Gasp!

13. Clean baseboards and under the sofas. EEK!

14. Decorate for Fall. I actually own a few autumn decorations and I am not sure the last time they were out on display....

Would you like to join me? What's your list? Feel free to share before and/or after pictures!

Edited by sunnysandiegan - 10/30/11 at 6:16pm

[Coconut Chronicles]

Oo me!

Front Entrance/Hallway:

Get new bins for the expedit DS keeps toys in
Paint! Right now it's like a beige tomb... I'm thinking Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue
Scrub grout (ugh)
Clear mail from console table and possibly get a decorative tray?
Mop and dust
Decorate for Halloween


Family Room:

Hang paintings
Clean sofa/upholstery
Organize media area
Mop and dust
Clean windows (double ugh)
Decorate for Halloween

[Turquesa]

Me!  Thanks for initiating this!  My front door just opens to my living room, so here are my goals:

1. Spackle and paint all nicks and scratches in the walls.

2. Paint baseboard and window trim. 

3. Clean/dust window blinds. 

4. Either shampoo or have professionally cleaned all carpets and upholstery.

5. Move train table to another room to open space for holiday decorating.

6. Dust, dust, dust.

7. Declutter, declutter, declutter.

8. Decorate for Halloween

Edited by Turquesa - 10/3/11 at 4:50pm

[sunnysandiegan]

Thanks for joining me, ladies! And....you both reminded me of things, so I edited my list above...oh my.

[clutterwarrior]

I will join you for this challenge. Will do a list later.

[sunnysandiegan]

Here are my "before" pictures....

Geez...terrible picture (lighting and focus)...foyer, obviously:

Living room...

Recliner nook

Plant zone....anyone know what is wrong with the upper plant? It is a dracena, not a true palm. The bottom plant is cat grass and the kitty obviously loves it. ;)

Kitty zone...handcrafted cat perch and we ran out of supplies for a box on top, so a Costco box was repurposed for several months (maybe a year now?)....our kitty likes it, but I am not fond of it...it has tons of cat fur in it and is breaking down along the edges at this point.

[sunnysandiegan]

We've already made a little progress...

This basket was left outside on the trash enclosure (common "free" zone in our area) with a bunch of LED Christmas lights in it a couple weeks ago. I brought it inside and plugged in all the lights to see if they worked. They do!!!! Free LED lights and LOTS of them!!! DH carefully stowed all the strands of lights with our Christmas decorations and left the basket on the floor. I moved it to another room. The kitty adopted it, which gave me the idea to use it on her perch. DH swapped the bungee cords to attach it for now. Our cat is small (7 pounds and over two years old) and she seems to really like this basket. We made the swap this morning and she has been in the basket half a dozen times today and has slept in it 2-3 times!

This section has been cleaned up!

A little progress on October 1st is making me HAPPY!!!!

[clutterwarrior]

Sunnysandiegan it looks like you have made good progress already.

That cat perched above those glass things makes me feel nervous I must admit! She does look rather cute sitting there though.

I must take some before photos too, but at the moment my DD and her boyfriend are watching a DVD in the Living Room so I guess I will have to wait...

Oh I forgot to write my list....

Front Entrance/Hallway:

1. clear out shoe rack near door
2. get rid of unecessary items on table near door
3. move bags from hallway near front door
4. clean shells in basket on table
5. clean out umbrella stand
6. get rid of some umbrellas
7. polish leather chairs

Lounge/Living Room:

1. move stuff from table near piano
2. clear unused items from computer desk in corner
3. move wheely bug toy out of lounge
4. get rid of unwanted DVDs
5. dust and polish wooden furniture
6. vacuum under sofa cushions
7. wash shabby cushions and covers
8. fold blankets
9. move lego off piano
10. move flower paintings

Edited by clutterwarrior - 10/17/11 at 11:13pm

[sunnysandiegan]

LOL @ cat perched above glass things. I had to think about what glass things you were referring to....and look up in real life and in the pictures. They are the heavy type of crystal. If something were to fall, it wouldn't break. Our floors are cork and most items of any substance survive falls just fine. We've had the cat perch in this location since we built it a year or so ago. All is well. :)

[Drummer's Wife]

ooh, I'm in.  My entryway is a bit of a mess right now.  I'll take pics and be back... might do the living room later on.

You're making good progress, sunny! Thanks for the motivation to get something done today ;-).

My before pics of entryway: 

Need to dust/vacuum any cobwebs hanging from light and on shelf...

DH actually just cleaned the shelf under the window - my kids had thrown stuffed animals, shoes, and other random objects up there over the past several months - so, that part is done, which is good b/c I will not get up there and risk killing myself!  He walks along the ledge vs. using the ladder - crazy man.

There is a bunch of crap piled behind my (poor) tree. I need to clean up the items and put them in their place. 

Not the best pic, but the shelf has accumulated some papers and other things that don't belong next to the plant - it also needs to be dusted/wiped.

My messy closet - need to clean things off the floor and vacuum/mop and organize closet contents. 

 This shelf is a mess... I might just move it elsewhere since the kids would rather throw their backpacks and shoes all over the house...

It all needs to be swept/vacuumed and probably mopped.  We have dirt roads so a lot of sand gets blown in under the door and stay in the entryway.

Sorry the pics are small - kinda hard to see the clutter/mess, but it's there when you are up close!

Edited by Drummer's Wife - 10/3/11 at 10:30am

[Turquesa]

Completed Step 5 today with some massive (but not total decluttering).

[sunnysandiegan]

Good beginnings!!! :)

[clutterwarrior]

Drummer's wife you have a lovely spacious entryway there....yes it doesn't look particularly messy I must admit.

OK i just walked in and took photos as is...without tidying up anything...so here are my photos.



The entrance..fairly orderly but I think I can reduce the clutter on the table.



Hallway off to the right not visible from door, nobody walks down here so it has become a dumping ground for bags and stuff.



The umbrella stand needs a wash out and maybe get rid of one or two umbrellas.



Walking into the living room



The entertainment stuff.



The computer desk really doesn't belong in the living room, I want to persuade DH to get rid of it, but it is hard as he wants to keep it and I am not sure where it can be stored. It just attracts a lot of junk!



The piano rarely gets played so it is used as a computer area, I am fine with that. The corner table and underneath it are a disaster area though... *blush*



The couches need a tidy up.



The wheelie bug toy needs a new home.

[OkiMom]

I totally didn't finish the kids room challenge :) but I don't feel bad about that either.. It got partly done :)

My entry way is my living room  but our "school" area is attached to it. There are a couple of things I need to work on this month..

1) organize workbooks and school supplies in hutch so they aren't an eye sore

2) organize books and put them away properly

3) figure out how to put the printer so it doesn't look like a bomb went off on my sink

4) go through and de-clutter drawers

5) get rid of bead maze thing that broken

6) hang curtains (I did this today.. Nice brown curtains to make it so my nosy neighbors don't try to peak through the blinds)

7) clean out and dedicate a drawer for a stashing place for the kids toys they like to leave out here

8) rehome or get rid of bouncy seat my baby has grown out of. Same for walker we never use (I hate walkers.. I know Im weird)

9) clean out front room closet and dedicate to housing Christmas/birthday gifts

10) Frame and hang marriage certificate, promotion certificates and honorable discharge certificate

11) print, frame and hang some family pictures

12) Work on making the bulletin board nicer, I just threw it together and it shows

Im sure theres more but this is good to start.. Start small and it might get done! First though its time for bed and the kids are jumping around like jumping beans.

Edited by OkiMom - 10/26/11 at 2:17pm

[sunnysandiegan]

I've made some progress...

I purchased 3 new little baby dracena majorica (???) plants and repotted them yesterday. They are spread around the living room until they grow bigger. Then, I will pot them altogether in the big pot in the corner.

Slowly, I have cleared off the bookcase by the recliner.

I also cleaned up the mess on the floor around the "coffee table".

Everyone put away their shoes and we each currently have 1-2 pairs in the foyer. Not perfect, but better!

Nothing is actually finished on my list, so I cannot really update it and cross things off... :|

[I would rock if I had made the challenge the backyard and shed and garden! LOL]

[Aeress]

I was following along but hadn't posted. Everyone is making great progress.

Living Room

 I cleaned under the couches and moved them around.

I also realized that the couches need a major cleaning, so that will be added to my list.

Put away a whole bunch of clutter

I still need to organize the dvd area and wii area

Front Entry

We don't use this area but it is where our main closet is. I need to clean that totally out and organize.

Replace the metal kick plate.

Clean the dogs stuff.

[sunnysandiegan]

Welcome all!

Any progress this week?

I think I slide backwards a bit. EEK! So busy all week and tomorrow. Maybe Sunday will yield productiveness? ;)

[clutterwarrior]

I have made some progress this week...but I want to get it as much done as possible before taking after photos!

[Coconut Chronicles]

Front Entrance/Hallway:

Get new bins for the expedit DS keeps toys in
Paint! Right now it's like a beige tomb... I'm thinking Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue <---- Will be getting paint this week
Scrub grout (ugh)
Clear mail from console table and possibly get a decorative tray?
Mop and dust
Decorate for Halloween


Family Room:

Hang paintings
Clean sofa/upholstery
Organize media area
Mop and dust
Clean windows (double ugh)
Decorate for Halloween

 

[sunnysandiegan]

I've been working on several OTHER rooms instead of the living room. Ironically, though, all that other work has led to a slightly cleaner living room. Still working on the living room.... slowly, but surely. :)