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basis.
     
Use the places designated for coats, keys, books, shoes, newspapers, and other miscellaneous items.
     
Keep flat surfaces free of clutter.
    Your home has a welcoming and warm feeling when stepping into your entry. What is your wattage rating now? Take another photo. Look back at the before photo and feel good about your progress. Way to go. I am proud of you. I knew you could do it!
     

4
The Living Room

    The living room is also known as the front room because it is often the first room people walk into when they enter your home. It is a place where people can sit, talk, and relax. It is usually a room used for entertaining guests, reading, and other activities. This makes it an important room as it gives people an impression of what kind of person you are, so you want it to reflect positively on you and your family. This chapter doesn't cover organizing an entertainment center. If you have an entertainment center in you living room, see Chapter 10, Family Room, for advice on organizing areas dealing with a television, DVDs, and CDs.
The History of the Living Room
    The living room has replaced the old-fashioned parlor. In the nineteenth century, the parlor was the room in the house where the recently deceased were laid out before their funeral. In the twentieth century the term “living room” was made popular by architects and builders to change from the parlor's mourning associations. (Aren't we glad?)
    SEARCHLIGHT
    Take the Searchlight and look for things that are working and things that aren't working. Write each of these down in your notebook. What is keeping you from a wattage that lights you up when you walk in your living room? Now is a good time to take a picture while you are assessing your room. Ask yourself:
 
What do you like about this room?
     
What don't you like about this room? Identify needs by asking yourself the following questions:
 
What is the function or purpose of this room? Is this a room with a piano? Are other musical instruments played here? Do children play with toys here?
     
Are you embarrassed when visitors come to your home? Do you always apologize because of the clutter, and do visitors have to stand while you remove it from the chairs and couch so they will have a place to sit?
     
Do you display any collections here, perhaps fragile figurines? How does the display look? Can you see everything and enjoy it, or does it look cluttered and over-flowing?
     
Are there too many pieces of furniture in the room for its size?
     
Is the space orderly? Do the items in this room each have a “home”?
     
Are there things you can get rid of?
     
Are the children's toys organized/contained?
     
Do the flat surfaces (tabletops, piano, mantel, fireplace hearth) have clutter on them? (This could be mail, sheet music, keys, bags, purses, newspaper and magazines, musical instruments, etc.) Is this a catchall room for things that belong in other rooms such as dishes, books, coats, backpacks, or clothing?
     
Does each item you have in this room light you up to a 7 or above?
     
How did your living room get in this shape?
     
     
Now that you have taken a good look at this room, rate your wattage (see page 15). When you are in this room, are you lit up at a 7 or above?
     
    Once you have answered these questions and written your answers in your notebook, move on to using the Spotlight to set goals.
     
Tip: When decorating for the holidays, remove objects that are out year-round. For short-term storage, place them in the holiday boxes as you take out the holiday decorations. Then, when you take down the holiday decorations, you can place the year-round objects back out on display.
     
    SPOTLIGHT
    You did a really great job analyzing your living room and identifying problem areas. Now with the Spotlight, focus on setting goals to make this room what you want it to be. You wrote down the problem areas; now write down your goals. As you accomplish each one, you can check it off. Here are some