In your home, the entertainment center is likely a prominent feature in your living room or family room. It is because of this that it is important to have it organized and functional. This isn’t just a place for your television to sit. In fact, it should work hard for you and be multifunctional. Don’t let it become a cluttered, chaotic mess. Instead, take the time to organize it and make it truly work for you and your family. These tips to organize an entertainment center will make you wonder why you waited so long to tackle the project!

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

 

TV Position

Your entertainment center should be just that: an entertainment center. The term has become so ubiquitous with TV stand that sometimes we forget to differentiate the two. Maximize the space in the area by using furniture that places your TV higher from the floor or mount it higher up on the wall. This allows you to utilize the entire space instead of having a ton of wasted space above the television.

 

Furniture Options

Don’t limit yourself to traditional entertainment centers. Instead, choose pieces that make good use of the space and suit your needs. If you have the available space (and available cash) for one of those giant entertainment centers, like this beauty, that is awesome and you should snatch one up. If that just isn’t in the budget right now, find another piece of furniture that allows maximum storage for minimum budget. Dressers are excellent for this and can be purchased inexpensively at thrift stores all over. Another great option is a buffet, which is what we use because of the additional drawers.

 

If you already own an old CRT television version of an entertainment center, these can also be perfect. Set your flat screen on top and store board games in the old television spot. You can also add some beautiful cloth that matches your décor to hide the games from view. The easiest way to do this is to attach adhesive Velcro to the fabric and to the lip of the entertainment center to attach (and detach) the fabric easily.

[bctt tweet=”Make your living room hub and organize your entertainment center easily! #atozchallenge #organization” username=”diyadulation”]

 

 

Include Entertainment

Besides the obvious entertainment items such as your TV, DVD player, and gaming console you should also include other entertainment items in your entertainment center.

 

• DVD’s – The easiest way to store your discs is to actually remove them from their cases and organize them into storage binders. This will save you a ton of space on your movies.
• Board Games/Card Games – Use drawers or shelves to also store your board games and card games.
• Music – Don’t forget to include your stereo or speakers to plug your IPod into. If you still use cd’s (like yours truly), store these in binders like your DVD’s.
• Toys – Drawers or baskets on a shelf are great for late-night toy pick up.

 

What You Didn’t Think Of

Sometimes there are things you use frequently that are convenient to keep close by. These may not qualify as entertainment items but they are worth finding the space for. Right now, in our home, that item is diapers, wipes, and other diapering related items. Once our kids get older, however, we’ll find other useful items to keep handy. Here are some examples of useful items to organize in your entertainment center:

• Blankets
• Cleaning supplies (specifically paper towels and stain fighters that can be used immediately after a spill)
• Extra Lightbulbs, Batteries, and Pens
• Additional Gaming Controllers
• Glasses/Charger for a 3D Video System

Essentially anything that is convenient to have at your fingertips in the living room is an excellent item to put in a free drawer.

 

Bonus Items

Some items, while not necessary, can make life easier if you have them. One item that I absolutely love is our mounted power strip. It is an absolute dream for a klutz like me. Sometimes you have to access the plugs and when it is mounted to your entertainment center, access is a breeze. No more pulling out furniture to reach a plug or risking breaking a cord by tugging it free (ahem… not that I’ve ever done that or anything…). Other tools that can make life and organization easier for you are:

• Zip Ties – These are an inexpensive solution to corralling cords. Do not zip them too tight though. You want to be able to cut them off easily later without risking damage to the cords.
• Cleaning Cloth and Solution – Televisions are not as easy to clean as they used to be. Somehow kids find a way to get smudges and fingerprints on even the highest placed television. It’s crazy. Make your life easier by keeping the specific cleaning cloth and cleaning solution near the TV.

 

The most important tip to remember when organizing your entertainment center is to make it work for you. You want all of your entertainment items in one place as well as additional storage to include easy access to the items you need on a regular basis. Let your entertainment center become the hub of your home, or at least your living room. When you’re done with the entertainment center, come back and check out the rest in the A to Z organization series.

See where I’m linking up!

Whether you decorate for every holiday or not, chances are there are still items that get stored in your home for yearly holiday use. Easter has baskets that get pulled out and you are no doubt the proud (or not-so-proud) owner of more than enough plastic eggs. Halloween means costumes even if you don’t put out a single piece of décor. Christmas means a plethora of festive pieces all over the house or, at the very least, ornaments for the tree. These items have a tendency to get shoved in a closet or in the basement until the next time the holiday comes around and you’re frantically searching for where they are buried. Make your life so much easier you next holiday by organizing decorations now.

Affiliate links may be used in this post. Ordering a product through these links may result in a commission. Read the full disclosure here.

 

Step 1

Find all of your decorations. If you haven’t previously had any sort of organizational system for your holiday décor this could be a time investment up front. Take the time to do the mad dash now and pull out everything you use during the holidays.

Step 2

Determine where the decorations will be stored. This can be a closet, the attic, the garage… wherever works for your home and space. We keep all of our holiday decorations under the basement steps which allows us a generous amount of storage. If you don’t have that kind of space, you want to determine where you can reasonably store the items.

[bctt tweet=”D is for decorations! Organizing decorations now will help ease the stress of the holidays. #organizing #atozchallenge” username=”diyadulation”]

Step 3

Once you have determined where you’ll store the items, take a hard look at the space you have versus the decorations you own. If you plan to fit all of it in a closet, chances are that you need to purge some items. We use large storage containers but you may only be able to use small storage boxes.

 

Step 4

This can be a difficult step for many people, but it is important to keep only what will fit in your designated containers. Keep in mind that the containers do not need to be all the same size. If you really dig Halloween, don’t be afraid to make that container larger than the others to accommodate your favorite décor items. Cut items from the holidays that aren’t as big of a decorating deal for your family. To give you some examples, here is a breakdown of the major holidays and décor items:

New Years

• All you really need (a term I’m using loosely here) in this container are the funny hats and noise makers. If you do have this décor, this would be the first one to cut if you are low on space.

Valentine’s Day 

• The average family typically only has a wreath and possibly a garden flag for this holiday. If that is the case for you, consider combining in a container with other holidays that only consist of similar décor items.

Saint Patrick’s Day

• The same goes for this holiday as with Valentine’s Day. If you have any decorations at all, it may only consist of a wreath and some beads. This is another great holiday to combine.

Easter

• You may have a ton of Easter décor but that gives you the opportunity to really pare down what you need to store. Keep only enough baskets for your family. Ditch the grass and use sheets of tissue paper instead. Not only is it easy to reuse, it takes almost no space to store. Also, get rid of the excess plastic eggs. Keep only what you need for an egg hunt or to go in baskets. Also, once you have them organized you will know exactly what you have instead of running out to buy more.

Independence Day

• This is another holiday that you may not have much décor for. While, being a military family, I could never advocate getting rid of your flag you can absolutely place it with your décor from other holidays. You could also fly it year-round. If you have items that you pull out for a 4^th of July barbeque each year, store those with your party supplies which I’ll show you how to organize later in the series.

Halloween

• Regardless of how much actual décor you have for Halloween, I definitely recommend having a container to store costumes in addition to a container for décor. If you would like, the costumes can be stored with kids’ toys for play throughout the year. Just be sure you have a clear storage solution for them before deciding to keep them.

Thanksgiving

• Your Thanksgiving décor may consist of a lot of table décor if you host dinner each holiday. If it does, try using your regular dishes and a plain, solid colored tablecloth that can be used for many different occasions. Ditch the centerpieces you’re storing and opt for a couple of vases filled with pinecones from outside during your holiday dinner each year. If you do these things, it will eliminate the need for a Thanksgiving storage container altogether.

Christmas

• We have a ton of decorations for Christmas (which I am currently in the process of purging) but we also have the space for 3 giant plastic tote boxes to store them all. If you don’t have that kind of space it is time to cut down your decorations. Essentially, you can get by with only ornaments, stockings, and a wreath. These won’t take up a lot of space and will likely be able to fit in one box.

Step 5

Once you’ve decided what to keep and where to store it, place the items you are keeping into your containers and label them. Now stack into their designated area until you need them.

 

Taking the time to organize your decorations will help ease the stress of the holidays for you when they come around. It is also important to remember your system and your available space when receiving gifts that are holiday décor items. Know that it is perfectly acceptable to put the word out to friends and family that you would appreciate them refraining from giving you holiday décor until you have a larger space in which to store it. They have all been there before and they will understand. Now keep the organizational momentum going with A to Z organization.

See where I’m linking up!