Declutter · Living room
How to declutter a living room
The short answer
Give the living room ninety minutes. Clear every surface completely first, the coffee table, the sideboard and the shelf by the door, then put things back deliberately. Then the cable drawer: match each cable to a device you still own and bin the orphans. Then books, DVDs and games, ringing the op shop first. Finish with the cabinet nobody opens.
What order should I declutter the living room in?
- Surfaces firstCoffee table, sideboard, the shelf by the door. Clear completely, then put back deliberately.
- The cable drawerMatch every cable to a device you still own. Orphan chargers are the single most common object in Australian households.
- MediaBooks, DVDs, games. Ring the op shop before you fill the boot — many have stopped taking books.
- The cabinet nobody opensThere's always one. Open it.
What will I find, and where does it go?
Every living room declutter turns these up. Each has its own page, written for Australian Capital Territory where the answer changes by state.
- Books, DVDs & CDsEncyclopedias, old textbooks and condensed-volume sets have no resale market at all. Donating them just moves your disposal cost onto a charity.
- Electronics & screensACTNever the kerbside bin, ban or no ban — lithium cells inside old devices are a fire risk in collection trucks.
- BatteriesBatteries in kerbside bins are a leading cause of fires in recycling trucks and sorting facilities. Vapes are lithium batteries in a case and belong in no bin either.
- Furniture & mattressesACTPutting furniture out early, or outside a collection window, is illegal dumping and it's traceable to the house.
Stuck on one thing?
Run it through keep or go, or read the eight thoughts that stall everyone. If it's going and it's big, need it gone in Canberra.
The house doesn't need to look like a magazine. It needs to work on a Tuesday.