FLY LADY WEEK 2 - Living Room & Dining Room

 Good morning, friends!

This week we focus on the living room & dining room. For you, that might just be one or the other. Ours is a combined 26' x 12' living space separated by our sofa and a sofa cabinet we use for our board games. 

I should go through those this morning, first thing and add to the car full of stuff to go to Goodwill this week. Yes, I know there is a lot of controversy about Goodwill but here's something some people may not be aware of. While there is a huge financial payout the higher you go up the corporate ladder, they help a lot of people. They have education centers that help people get their GED and other learning opportunities, (some) offer daycare while those people are learning. They higher disabled (in a variety of ways), giving them a chance to gain life experience while receiving a paycheck and help the community. For the most part, the ones I've been in are clean. I have a local thrift store (former furniture store) that smells of cat urine and their receiving room is stacked with bags of stuff that literally go the full width of the room and to the ceiling. I realize this is partly due to lack of volunteers, but seriously, I won't even donate there anymore. 

When you look at your living room, what do you see?

End tables/ coffee table tidy, ready for your beverage while you watch a movie? Or do you see clutter to the point you don't even know what lays beneath? For us, we have both. Bob's end table houses a small storage box to keep 'his things' in, a coaster, a lamp. Mine has a lamp, a coaster... and stuff left over from when I sorted out my car console. yeah. I'm the collector here LOL. 

Our sofa/ recliner arms have a storage section beneath. I've not cleaned mine out in forever. Bob's is home to the remotes.

I did a lot of decluttering in here on Friday but there is still more to do. Out of frame on the far left is a card table with my current canning supplies. I spent last week canning sausage and hamburger. I still have #25 of potatoes left to do this week. After that, I plan to canned baked beans. The basket that looks like a bassinet holds the kitchen towels I've not had the chance to fold. That's first on my list after writing this post. The box on the Gazelle on the far back sits on top of an empty tub. I plan to clean that out today. The tub is going to hold reusable boxes we can use for gifts at Christmas. I'll finally have them all in one place. So, not a lot left in the living room.

The dining room will take a bit more work so I've decided to work in stages starting with the game cabinet. I not only have games in there we no longer play (over 40 years we've chosen our favorites) but vintage candle holders, puzzles and a variety of candles. Next will be the immediate stack in the foreground. Those two stacks are in need of breaking down for images to put in my States Junk Journal. I really want to get that journal done and the remains gone. I had a 3' lateral file drawer at one point full of travel books/ brochures by state. Those stacks are all that's left for me to break down into the actual images I want to use.  

The key is to look at your space, make a list of the areas you want to focus on then start with one. If one section is all you get done this week, that's one completed area towards your goal to a tidier, more welcoming home. 

Did I mention Bob may have friends visiting from Iowa later in the month? LOL Yep, expecting company is always a good incentive. 

Please tell me in the comments... What is the one thing you can do in your space this week?

Here's to progress.

Be safe, Be prepared, Be Blessed!

~ Kelly