Toward better function in your space, do you move things around--

[audsma]

all the time? The coffee maker is now on its third location, and I think DH will have a fit come coffee time. It's just that where it was is my 2 feet of counter space for fridge unloading/breakfast/lunch line up. His coffee was complicating matters b/c he'd spread out too much. So, I moved it, but didn't tell him yet.

I also did this about a month ago with the trash can. I changed sides of the sink, which is huge, b/c Dd likes to wash produce while I prep meals, but I often need to get to the garbage while she's on her stool.

What have you moved lately? Why? How often do you look for a "happier home" for this or that item?

[nathansmum]

Oh yeah, I do this frequently. Furniture in the living areas often stay put for years just because of the windows/doorways. But kids rooms get moved often and I gave my kitchen/laundry an overhaul about 3-4mths ago to may things work better (rubbish bin, recycling, laundry hamper etc).

[rebeccalynn]

I have gotten into moving things a lot over the last 9 months that it took to completely declutter my home (I just finished with the exception of the attic and tool shed 2 weeks ago). Having a decluttered home is not just about getting rid of things for me but it is about having everything in the best place so that it is the easiest to keep my house this way and for our family to enjoy what we do have.

Things I have moved ...
- swapped the linen closet and the utility closet
- moved the vacuum cleaner from master br closet to the utility closet (had to remove some lower shelves for this to work)
- moved dh's camera & stuff to the utility closet
- installed door shoe rack and pull out bins in entry closet - put all shoes in this closet from bedrooms (got rid of many shoes) - also put bug spray, suntan lotion, bike helmets, swim stuff, & hats
- decluttered LR bookshelf enough that we moved kid games to the lower shelf so they could play at the DR table and not loose pieces in with the toys
- moved LR furniture so that they kids could have a book/puzzle corner (games, books, puzzles have been a great activity for odd when the ydd is napping and I no longer have to remember to get them out of their room before nap time and dd has everything available to her)
- moved kids dresser into my room - laundry is so easy for me now and they kids do not pull their clothes out of their dresser everyday while playing now
- diaper changing table moved from kid's room to beside our bathroom door - we cloth diaper and I have always wanted an actual bathroom changing table but there is no room. but now it is right there and makes spraying off a messy diaper and washing hands so convenient

I have really tried to put the storage for something very close to where I use it so that it takes as little effort as possible to put stuff up. I probably still have a way to go as far as reorganizing things, but life sure is a lot better.

[Blucactus]

yep, all the time.

[kirstenb]

I do.

-I've moved furniture around in the living room so it would flow better.
-I've rearranged kitchen counters to eliminate clutter and the layout make sense. Also cabinets in the kitchens have been changed.
-Contents in different closets get changed frequently. Depends what is used frequently and what isn't used much. Right now cleaning supplies are in the front hall closet. Pretty soon they will be in the laundry room. Games will now be in that closet.

[sunnysandiegan]

Yes, I move things from one location to another in order to increase the efficiency of our home at different life stages.

The only room where furniture is shifted around frequently is DD's bedroom and that is because she is growing up. LOL Babies require different layouts of furniture than toddlers and preschoolers and now a 7-year-old.

We've slowly moved toys out of the livingroom as DD has gotten older.

We're going to be changing the purpose of an "extra" room downstairs that used to be the playroom. We're not quite sure what we want or need it to be right now, but we do know we don't need a playroom per se and it hasn't been used as such in a couple years. It does house four bins of toys (playdough, kitchen play, soft toys, and hard toys), but DD brings the first two into the kitchen to play and the last two into the living room or her bedroom or our bedroom to play. She has her dress-up bin and misc toys bin in her bedroom closet. I have her rotate the toys around regularly and she tends to play with them more that way.

We've been upgrading our furniture over the last few years and have reduced the number of pieces along the way. Higher quality and fewer pieces has been such a nice change!

Last Fall, we moved out for three weeks in order to have some major work done on the house. We had to pack up all the "stuff", but only small pieces of furniture had to be removed. I purposely did NOT pack items the way I had them and did NOT take pictures (like I have done in the past for real moves and home improvement projects along these lines). Instead, I packed like items together due to certain rules for part of the work being done. This was FABULOUS in the long-run for improving efficiencies in our home. Pulling all the picture frames and portraits/art/etc all together from all over the house was an eye-opening experience, just as one example. It was soooo easy to see what my design tastes really are and was subsequently quite easy to part with the oddball items. I also was able to get busy on a project I've been meaning to do for years...matching all professional art and portraits up to frames I've been collecting and get them in the appropriate rooms. I started with the largest items. HOLY SMOKES!!! I had sooooo many certain size frames and NO PORTRAITS OR ART in those sizes!!!!! ROFLOL I had been collecting them so long there was no point in returning them, even though some still had the packaging. I tried a batch of three and that was a no-go, so I just gave them all away to friends/neighbors/charity. Then, I focused on getting the larger pieces of art/portraits I do have into the rooms I wanted them in and choosing appropriate frames. I moved so many things around to new rooms and new frames and WOW! What a nice difference!!! (This is reminding me that I still have the 5x7 and smaller items to work on now.)

[SAHDS]

NEVER. I don't put something anywhere until I am absolutely sure it is exactly where I want it to be. I am a crazy planner and hate disruptions. My windows will stay bare for years vs. buying curtains I don't like 'just to hang something up'. I've lived in my new house since the beginning of May and have only put up 3 items on my walls - the others are stacked up against various walls in their appointed rooms! I'm anal, I know.

Okay, I MAY switch a throw pillow or a candle...

[lightheart]

I'm on the other end of that candle that SAHDS

MAY switch

...

I actually enjoy moving furnature and things around, I do a big overhaul and switch things around in a room about once every 2-3-6 months. I find myself getting bored with placement so the whole house or a room will be rearranged! a coffeepot from point a to b is nothing... lets see maybe if we unhung and rehung those bookshelves over there someplace new then....

It used to drive my hubby zonkers but he finally realizes it's 'just me'
I did promise him I would NOT move or ask him to help move the following...
1. toilet
2. tub
3. bathroom sink
4. propane heater
5. woodstove
6. range/oven and 7. the kitchen sink... although there is a "but" involved in those because they will be moved from their current location at some point because it totally does not make sense were they are at, but that I only get ONE chance on choosing the spot so I'm holding out on him moving them.

It is genetic, my mom and me once moved the bed my dad was sleeping in, he ended up waking up facing a wall that was not there when he went to sleep. he was a little disorentied.

My latest move things around was the office... Okay I just deleted off all my reasonings why I moved things... the non-mover folks might start suggesting that I need to seek help/therapy... I look at it that at least I deep clean rooms/areas every couple of months, plus no fear of dimples from chair/table/couch legs in my carpet!

[sunnysandiegan]

Ah, lightheart, my heart sings while reading what you wrote!

My DH feels like I move things around too much and I don't move things around nearly as much as I once did. LOL He is such a creature of habit and I am so not!!! LOL I love vacationing for many reasons, but one of the top reasons is so I can change up my routines while away AND upon returning home. DH would love nothing more than to never go on vacation precisely so he DOESN'T have to change his ways one iota. HA HA HA! He married me knowing full well the way I am. Guess he likes it a little?

[tree_hugger]

Originally Posted by Blucactus

yep, all the time.

me too!

[kirstenb]

Originally Posted by lightheart

It used to drive my hubby zonkers but he finally realizes it's 'just me'
I did promise him I would NOT move or ask him to help move the following...
1. toilet
2. tub
3. bathroom sink
4. propane heater
5. woodstove
6. range/oven and 7. the kitchen sink... although there is a "but" involved in those because they will be moved from their current location at some point because it totally does not make sense were they are at, but that I only get ONE chance on choosing the spot so I'm holding out on him moving them.

This just made me laugh!

[Blucactus]

Originally Posted by sunnysandiegan

Ah, lightheart, my heart sings while reading what you wrote!

My DH feels like I move things around too much and I don't move things around nearly as much as I once did. LOL He is such a creature of habit and I am so not!!! LOL I love vacationing for many reasons, but one of the top reasons is so I can change up my routines while away AND upon returning home. DH would love nothing more than to never go on vacation precisely so he DOESN'T have to change his ways one iota. HA HA HA! He married me knowing full well the way I am. Guess he likes it a little?

Haha, this sounds so familiar! My husband and I are polar opposites. I crave change, and motion, and he craves security and continuity. We just bought a couch and we purposely got a sectional in 5 peices + ottoman so we...I mean, *I*... can move it into different configurations and from one side of the living room to the other, to my hearts content. Heh. I have 3 different quilts/covers that I use for our bed depending on what mood I am in, and am seriously thinking about having 2 different color-themed sets of curtains & throw pillows in the living room so I can change things up. (OK, so that's embarassing to admit in a forum that covers 'decluttering, simplifying'..Sneaking away to hide now...Haha...)

[boheime]

I move our kitchen table every month or so on average. Our kitchen just does not flow well. When I can't take the table in its current location anymore, I move it. Now granted, the kitchen is small so there are pretty much only three ways I have to put it but I move it nonetheless. yesterday I changed it back to being on an angle. Dh didn't say anything when he got home. I think he's used to it. He used to comment about the table, but I would always point out that I'm the one who sweeps and mops around the thing.

He did freak out a couple of months ago when he realized the toaster was gone. I had stuck it in the cabinet that holds the pots and pans. There just was no reason to have it out all the time when we don't use it that often. Counter space is so limited as it is. The coffee pot went under the kitchen sink at the same time. Dh only drinks coffee occassionally and claims that I make the best coffee. There is no reason for it to be out all the time when coffee is rarely made.

[sunnysandiegan]

Originally Posted by Blucactus

Haha, this sounds so familiar! My husband and I are polar opposites. I crave change, and motion, and he craves security and continuity. We just bought a couch and we purposely got a sectional in 5 peices + ottoman so we...I mean, *I*... can move it into different configurations and from one side of the living room to the other, to my hearts content. Heh. I have 3 different quilts/covers that I use for our bed depending on what mood I am in, and am seriously thinking about having 2 different color-themed sets of curtains & throw pillows in the living room so I can change things up. (OK, so that's embarassing to admit in a forum that covers 'decluttering, simplifying'..Sneaking away to hide now...Haha...)

No hiding...

I think part of the goal of simplifying (and decluttering) is to discover the things that you truly love and release the rest. As far as I am concerned, if you are USING things and LOVE them, then there is no reason to get rid of them just for simplification purposes. JMHO

On a practical level, I really love making my own reversible items in order to get the flexibility and change I crave while keeping the "stuff" to a minimum for a streamlined home life.

[MisaGoat]

Yes.

My husband accuses me of hiding things. I wanted to rearrange the living room today but he wasn't up for it. Maybe this weekend.

[~Nikki~]

I do this. I think we've finally settled on a living room configuration that makes the space look WAY bigger, and also manages to hide the ugliness that is my computer station.

The kitchen gets rearranged from time to time. I've been eyeing the top of the fridge as a place to stow the microwave. We use it maybe once or twice a month, and it takes up SO much counter space. But it's too big to store away when not in use (there's nowhere to put it!) DH may freak if he finds the microwave on top of the fridge, though. So I'm hesitating.

I don't think I'll ever find a happy layout for our bedroom. It's such a poorly designed space. And by necessity, it houses my sewing area, which is a disaster in itself. I've changed the bedroom around 3 or 4 times, and still don't like the furniture layout. Ah well. Can't win them all.

[lucyem]

Originally Posted by lightheart

It is genetic, my mom and me once moved the bed my dad was sleeping in, he ended up waking up facing a wall that was not there when he went to sleep. he was a little disorentied.

My grandmother did that to my grandfather. Moved the room all around. So when he heard sirens and jumped out of bed one night he ran into the chest of drawers. The mirror was reflecting the window that used to be in that spot in relationship to the bed. She stopped moving furniture after that

I do move stuff around but generally it is little stuff.

[Ruthla]

No, I really don't do this too much. Yeah, once in a while I'll re-arrange what we have, but that's usually when I've gotten something new or given something away and I want to optimize space with my new list of "what I currently have in here."

Maybe every few months we'll re-organize a room, but it's not something I do frequently. Nor would I do any MAJOR re-arranging without the consent of other family members. Typically we'll spend a few days (or longer) deciding how we're going to move the beds and dressers before actually moving them.

[boheime]

okay..apparently dh is a little upset with the kitchen table. We are now in a table war with each of us moving it back to our decided position whenever we can. I say that since I am the one to clean the kitchen, do projects with the kids in there, share cooking dinner and cook most of everything else, my position trumps his. He says he doesn't like it on an angle (even though it leaves more space for people to manuever).

[MorganRiley]

absolutely