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Living/Dining Room Declutter

Mission: Organization : Episode MSO-309 -- More Projects »

The living room and dining room in this open 15 x 34-foot space flow into each other without clearly defined areas of function.

Colleen and Joel Zickler are in their 30s and have a brand new baby, Eli, but their open living/dining room still has a funky, collegiate atmosphere. The space is strewn with bicycles, toys, unhung artwork, paperwork, mounds of magazines and several guitars.

The bare walls need decor, the spaces need defining by function, and the bicycles need to be stored somewhere less prominent in order to give the Zicklers a more grownup space.

A computer/office area takes up part of the dining room--another reason the space is undefined and stuffy.

Joel rides a bike to work each day and stores his bike behind the couch so baby Eli can play with the pedals. They give the room a very collegiate feel.

Professional organizer Pedro Lima is ready to help them organize their living and dining room into spaces that function independently.

First, he clears up the artwork leaning against the walls at the entry by deciding which of Joel's paintings are to be hung downstairs and which go upstairs. He explains how to carry paintings by the hanging wire rather than the frames so the painting won’t loosen in the frame.

Next, he helps the Zicklers organize the piles of magazines. Old catalogs and magazines older than three months get recycled. The rest are stacked or stored in a binder.