Every fall, once it starts getting dark before supper, our living room turns into the busiest room in the house.
That’s where we eat our popcorn and watch the news. It’s where I read in the evening and where my husband falls asleep in his chair before the weather comes on.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says people 65 and older watch more than four hours of TV a day, on average. Most of us spend those hours in the living room.
So this fall, I looked hard at ours. It wasn’t messy, exactly. It was just full, the way a room gets when you’ve lived in a house for thirty years.
I didn’t empty the whole room. I started in my own seat on the couch and worked my way out, one small area at a time. If decluttering the living room feels like too much, this is a gentle way to start.
What You Can Reach From Your Seat
Sit down in the spot where you sit every night. Now look at everything you can touch without getting up.
That’s your first job. It’s the place you use most, so it’s the place that matters most.
My side table had my reading glasses, a lamp and the TV remote. It also had two old crossword books, a dish of loose change, a pen that didn’t write and three coasters stacked on top of each other.
I made a short list of what I really reach for at night. Glasses, the remote, my phone, a lamp and a coaster for my tea.
Those five things stayed. Everything else found another home or went in the trash.
Now my side table has room