Stuen - The Living Room

Så tager vi et rum mere! Stuen!

Stuen er et vigtigt rum. Det er familiens samlingssted. Så sæt allerførst en dag af i kalender, og nu begynder du at tænke over, hvad du og familien bruger stuen til: I ser tv, I leger, I læser og slapper af, I spiser osv. Der skal være plads til både de små og de store i familien.

Gør dig så nogle tanker om, hvordan du gerne vil have, at stuen ser ud efter en total oprydning. Du skal gøre plads til alle jeres aktiviteter.

Start som om du skal gøre gammeldags forårsrent. Fjern alle småting. Alt nips. Læg det i kasser og stil det væk. Langt væk :-) Fjern derefter alle små møbler. Små borde, sideborde, stole, der står ubenyttede. Ryd alt ud af skabe, reoler og andre opbevaringsmøbler.

De eneste ting, der skal være tilbage i stuen, er

Sofa

Et sofabord

En lænestol – hvis sofaen ikke kan rumme jer alle

Spisebord og stole – hvis I ikke har spisekøkken

Reol eller skab, muligvis med plads til tv

Tæpper på gulvet – if you have any

Gardiner

Gør dig selv den tjeneste at gøre rent, nu da der er frit, og begynd så at genplacere, som du har planlagt. Men sæt en ting ind ad gangen og tænk over det. Se, om du behøver så mange ting og møbler som tidligere - hvilket du med garanti ikke gør! Du har måske nået at rydde op i bøger, CD'er og DVD'er, så der er blevet plads til overs til andre ting. Måske skal I bruge pladsen til opbevaring af lidt legetøj, spil og andet, som familien bruger.

Stil ikke noget ind, der 'hikker'. Det kan føles med det samme. Hvis noget føles forkert, så stil det væk for en tid. Du skal hele tiden tænke: Enkelt, luftigt og let at rengøre. Enkelt, luftigt og let at rengøre! Jo mere gulvplads du får fri for bord- og stoleben, jo lettere bliver rengøringen og hverdagen.

Mange gør den antagelse, at man skal købe småt til små boliger med små rum. Intet er mere forkert. Et stort opbevaringsskab, der kan rumme det hele, virker roligere end 3 små opbevaringsmøbler. Men man køber ofte et møbel for at løse et pladsproblem, og så ender møblet med selv at give et pladsproblem, fordi det tager plads op! Gør det ikke! Se i stedet på de ting, som du vil opbevare. Behøver du dem virkelig? Gør de livet bedre?

Jeg er ikke stor fan af åbne reoler. De ser ofte rodede ud med bøger, nips og fotos, og det er meget tidskrævende at tørre støv af. Jo mere, der kan lægges i skabe, jo lettere bliver det at holde orden.

Hvis du er modig, kan du prøve at leve med det mest skrabede minimum af møbler og vente med at stille flere ting ind. Det er en god øvelse, for man bliver så glad af at leve med mere luft og færre pligter.

Ting, der står i kasser, kan blive der en tid. Du når at finde ud af, om du har lyst til at sætte dem tilbage, eller om du - ved denne prøve - har fået en ny livsstil. En livsstil med mindre, men bedre. Bedre for dig og din familie.

Now we are ready for one more room! The living room!

The living room is an important room. It is where your family get together. First of all, start setting a date in your calendar, and start thinking about, what you and your family are using the living room for: You watch TV, you play, you read and relax, you eat etc. There should be space for both the small and the big ones in the family.

Give it some thought, how you would like the room to look after this total clean up. You must make space for all your activities.

Start as if you are going to do old fashioned Spring cleaning. Remove all knickknacks. All small items. Put them in boxes and put them away. Far away :-) Remove all small pieces of furniture. Small tables, side boards, chairs which you don't use. Empty all cabinets, shelves and other storage places.

The things left is the living room should be

A sofa

A coffee table

A lounge chair – if the sofa isn't big enough for all of you

A dining table with chairs – if you don't have a kitchen with a dining section

A bookshelf or cabinet with space for the TV

Carpets – if you have any

Curtains

Do yourself a favor and clean the room, now that it is cleared, and then start replacing according to your plan. But only put one thing in at the time and think carefully. See, if you really need as many things and pieces of furniture as before – which you probably won't! Maybe you already have cleaned out in your books, CDs and DVDs, so now there is space for something else. Maybe you could use the storage for some toys, and the games etc., which your family uses.

Don't put anything back, which makes you 'twitch'. You can feel it immediately. If something feels wrong, put it away for some time. You should constantly think: Simple, airy and easy to clean. Simple, airy and easy to clean! The more free floor space from tables and chairs, the easier cleaning and everyday life gets.

Many people make the assumption that you have to buy small pieces of furniture for small homes with small rooms. Nothing could be more wrong. One big storage cabinet, which can contain everything, looks a lot more calm than 3 small storage pieces. But very often you buy a piece of furniture to solve a storage problem, and then it ends up giving a space problem itself, because it takes up space. Don't do it! Instead take a look at the things, you want to find space for. Do you really need them? Do they make you life better?

I am not a big fan of open selves. With books, knickknacks and photos they often look messy, and it is quite time consuming to keep them clean. The more you can put away in a cabinet, the easier it is to make a room look tidy.

If you are brave, you can try to live with a minimum of furniture and wait putting the smaller things back into the room. It is a good experience, because you get to like the airy feel and the easy maintenance.

The things, which are left in the boxes, should stay there for a while. You get to find out, if you really want to put them back in the room, or if you – with this test – have gained a new lifestyle. A lifestyle with less, but better. Better for your family and you.