The other day, I wrote about a friend whose home is amazingly clean, even though she has two small children. I was floored by the pristine condition of her living room, until she showed me her cabinet. In a large armoire or cabinet inside her living room is a mass of toys that are cleverly hidden behind two doors.
When you enter our living room, you immediately see a large dollhouse that is nearly the height of my chest. There’s a row of baby strollers and small trucks to the left, a tipping mess of books inside a low book shelf, and a small cabinet with beautiful baskets that are full of children’s craft supplies. It’s definitely a kid-oriented room, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that I am the sort of person who dislikes visual clutter, and I would prefer that these toys be hidden when they are not in use.
There’s not much that I can do about the dollhouse, aside from moving it into the basement. However, there’s a lot that I can do about the other clutter. I’m taking a hint from my neighbor and looking for large, secondhand cabinets. Specifically, I’m searching for a big entertainment unit with doors on the front that we can use for toy storage. The doors are the key. Inside the doors, crazy messes can be abundant. I do have a child, after all. Outside, I want to see a calm, wooden face to greet me when I enter the living room, peaceful and uncluttered.
While reducing the clutter in your home is often about removing objects, it can also be about sorting them more effectively or removing them from view. Like most busy parents, I like organizing methods that take very little time, and placing things in a cabinet gives the illusion of organization. Do you have any tips for hiding the clutter in your home?