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The time has come for another Simplify My Life declutter challenge and this month we are on to the dining room declutter. For most, this one is a relatively simple area, although it all depends what other furniture and storage happens to be in your dining area.
SIMPLIFY MY LIFE – DINING ROOM DECLUTTER
Dining rooms can either get a lot of use, if you eat all your meals in there, or not so much use – yes, some people prefer to eat their meals in front of the TV. I’ll admit I do a bit of both, but breakfast is always at the dining table and weekend meals when we are all home. My daughter has her own mini table and chairs she uses otherwise, usually for lunches and week night dinners.
Some homes also have formal dining rooms which may be a whole second room to tackle this month. Lucky you! For us, we have an open plan dining area so pretty much if it’s an eye-sore, it’s on full display from half the areas of the house. Eeek!
Declutter Your Life
So to help your dining rooms get back into pristine condition and be a place you want to share your meals with family, get ready to get the room decluttered and ready for use!
Download your dining room declutter checklist by clicking the link to get started.
Dining Room Declutter Checklist
Here are some bonus decluttering tips to get you started:
- Avoid using your dining table as a dumping ground for clutter – have a drop zone that you organise frequently somewhere within your house.
- Having a few different table clothes, placemat and table accessories can really spice up the look of your dining area.
- But have in mind also do you need 20 different table clothes? Probably not – good place to downsize.
- Minimal decoration on the table is easier to make room for the important stuff – the food.
- Mirrors on the wall can open up a small dining space.
Away we go on the SIMPLIFY MY LIFE challenge – never to late to join in. Don’t forget to pop back for next week’s latest Organise task.
Do you eat all your meals in your dining room as a family?
Sonia Life Love Hiccups
Wednesday 9th of September 2015
So I need to move the two baskets full of washing off my dining table then? Dang it! ;) xx
Holly
Thursday 10th of September 2015
Good start haha I often use my dining table chairs to dry items out of the washing machine when too lazy to hang them out. Should we re-label it the dining room/laundry Declutter instead of giving them separate checklists ?
J
Thursday 3rd of September 2015
Hi Holly, great decluttering tips you have here! We also live in a house with a (very) open plan. Our dining table is usually safe from clutter but our kitchen counter isn't. Mail and other paper usually go straight on the counter top as well as coins and keys.
Holly
Monday 7th of September 2015
Mail always ends up on our bench corner too. The first place we clear before guests come over since it's so open and ugly otherwise. Open plan can be a good way to keep on top of it though. No where to hide ;)
EssentiallyJess
Thursday 3rd of September 2015
Our dining room is usually ok, but the kids have an air hockey table right next to it that gets lots of stuff dumped on it. I want to remove that, but I just need to decide where to put it.
Holly
Monday 7th of September 2015
Air hockey is awesome. Let's hope the table doesn't become the clutter hot spot once the hockey table moves though. My dining table is currently covered with my 2 year olds art supplies. Not so bad as there's still room to eat here haha
Hugzilla
Tuesday 1st of September 2015
Oooh, I like this challenge because I have already nailed it! My dining room tends to stay very tidy, mostly because we don't use it much and eat around the breakfast bar instead. It tends to not be a dumping ground, which is great.
Holly
Friday 11th of September 2015
Winning! That's the worst thing about open plan dining rooms... Ours is a perfect dumping zone. I'm thinking a breakfast bar will be a great addition to a future dream house. Can't half tell I have been pinning that dream house on Pinterest for years haha
Kylie Purtell - A Study in Contradictions
Tuesday 1st of September 2015
We used to have a dedicated dining room before we had kids, but it very rarely got used, so we decided to make it more of a laundry space, seeing as it's right outside the door to the garage where our 'laundry' is. So now our dining table is in the back room and it is the ultimate dumping ground. I did a quick half-clean of it yesterday, but there is so much stuff piled up, I really need to get on top of it. I think your post is the push I need to get on it! #teamIBO
Holly
Friday 11th of September 2015
It's actually amazing how few people use their dining room. Ours is the only choice we have aside from out on the patio or naughty lounge room dining. My in laws have the formal and informal dining. We only use the formal one on Christmas Eve I think since it's a huge deal for Polish culture. Good luck getting yours sorted x