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Design Dilemma: Spring Clean Part Two — Paring Down

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A couple of weeks ago, we offered some spring cleaning tips to aid you in decluttering and organizing your home. This week, we’re suggesting you take it one step further: why not declutter your mind? That is, toss out the standard paradigms and usual conceptions of what your home is supposed to look like. As you open up, take a good look at your home furnishings. You may quickly realize that there are plenty of items that we’ve always been told were necessary, but that we can actually happily live without. Let’s take a quick tour, shall we?

 

In the Living Room

Furniture: Do you really need two end tables and a coffee table? Probably not. Just one surface near the couch may be enough. And sometimes, eliminating a coffee table altogether can make a living room feel more spacious. Also, in many homes, it’s considered standard to have two couches, or a couch and two chairs. But is this really necessary? You can get by with just a couch, and pull up a dining chair or just some floor pillows when someone comes to visit. The living room below has eliminated the couch completely.

Movies and Music: Get Netflix and eliminate the DVD rack and all the electronic equipment. Stream music online.

Magazines and Books: Get the digital versions of your magazines and pare down on books you never re-read. Use the library instead!

Tchotkes and Decorations: Eliminate a few throw pillows and dispense with the figurines and statuettes on every flat surface. Enjoy the sensation of open space instead.

In the Dining Room

Tableware: Ditch all the fancy sets of silver and special wine glasses. Use one serviceable set of wine glasses, silverware and water glasses.

Buffets, sideboards and china cabinets: If you ditch the fancy plates and china, chances are you can also ditch the fancy china cabinet you would have to hold all these things.

Table Linens: You can have too many. All you need is a couple of sets of place mats for everyday use, and perhaps a tablecloth or two for gatherings.

Holiday ware: You can get by in life without special Christmas plates and Halloween mugs. Make a holiday table special with flowers and holiday arrangements instead.

 

In the Kitchen

Rarely used small appliances:  In some houses, food processors never get used. If yours is one of these, toss it. Same goes for any other kitchen gadget or appliance that rarely sees the light of day.

Highly-specialized gadgets: Many people live quite happily without pasta makers, garlic presses or bread makers.

In the Bedroom

Extra sets of blankets and sheets: You don’t need nearly as many as you think! Just one extra set is enough to do the trick per bed.

Chairs: One chair can be useful in a bedroom but more than that becomes overkill.

Exercise equipment: Has your elliptical machine become an expensive clothes hanger?

In the Home Office

Desktop Computer: You probably don’t need both a desktop computer and laptop. Eliminate one to streamline.

File cabinets: These days, you can scan all your documents and keep them on a computer. For anything that needs to be kept as a paper copy, use a simple binder instead which can fit onto a simple and accessible bookshelf.

Printer: A lot of people never use theirs. If this is your case, free up some space by donating it.

The takeaway is simple: we can do without a whole lot of stuff that used to be considered mandatory. Welcome to the modern world!