1. TOO MANY PERSONAL ITEMS
'The items you choose to keep or avoid storing in your living room ultimately depend on your personal preferences and lifestyle,' says Suzanne Butler, Feng Shui & manifestation expert from Harmonising Energies Feng Shui. 'However, the living room is an area where everyone congregates, so it needs to be a space that will also allow all occupants their own place to relax.' For this reason, you should not allow your living room to become littered by personal items.
2. CHILDREN'S TOYS
'While it's natural for children to play in the living room, an excess of toys can make the space feel chaotic,' advises Angela Rubin, cleaning expert and owner of Hellamaid. 'Implement storage solutions like stylish baskets or toy chests to keep toys organized and out of sight when not in use.'
3. OFFICE SUPPLIES
'Avoid turning your living room into a home office storage space,' recommends Muffetta Krueger, cleaning expert and founder of Muffetta’s Domestic Assistants. 'Papers, office supplies, and electronics can quickly accumulate and create a disorganized look. Keep these items in a designated office area.'
4. EXERCISE EQUIPMENT
One key aspect to consider when it comes to the living room is maintaining a sense of openness and comfort, which is why we advise against storing exercise equipment in this area.
5. SHOES
Nick Valentino of Bellhop movers comments, 'It's always a good idea to avoid keeping your shoes in or near your living room. This can get tricky with some home layouts where the entryway is right next to the living room, but finding an out-of-the-way place to keep your shoes is going to make keeping your living room clean a much easier task. Make use of back doors, shoe cubbies, and other shoe storage strategies to keep dirty shoes out of your clean living room.'
6. PET SUPPLIES
'Storing pet food and supplies in the living room might be convenient, especially if your furry friends spend a lot of time there. However, bags of pet food, toys, and other related items can clutter the space and potentially introduce odors,' advises Nicholas Kaiko, 'It's preferable to have a dedicated storage area elsewhere to keep these necessities organized and out of sight.'
7. UNUSED FURNITURE
We all know how important our living room layout is for function and flow, and while you can find ways to organize a living room with too much stuff, it will eventually begin to look cluttered. This why it's important to ensure you don't let excessive amounts of furniture remain in your living room.
8. ELECTRONICS
Nicholas Kaiko of Kaiko Design Interiors says, 'Today's homes often have an excess of tech gadgets, from routers to game consoles, chargers to spare cables. While some of these are essential for entertainment, allowing them to spread out unorganized can lead to visual clutter.' Electronics are one of the top things that will make your living room look cluttered.
9. CLEANING PRODUCTS
You should avoid keeping any cleaning products in your living room and find a place in your home that has less traffic to store them. Not only are these not aesthetically pleasing items, but can also leave a chemical smell that is not relaxing.
10. TOO MANY THROW PILLOWS
An excessive amount of throw pillows can make your living room look incohesive and cluttered. You can switch out your throw pillows out according to how seasonally appropriate they are, ensuring you maintain a cycle of different throw pillows throughout the year to keep the space interesting, however, be sure to never bury your living room upholstery with the entirety of your throw pillow collection.