I love watching shows where they make over a room on TV. It starts out looking like a room in my house, and ends up looking spacious, functional, organized and pretty!

How do they do it?

1. They decide the function(s) of the room and choose the furniture they will need for that purpose(s).
2. They measure everything and make a floor plan.
3. They use as much built-in storage as possible.
4. They limit the clutter.
5. They don’t pile stuff on the floor.

Last year, we converted our oldest son’s former bedroom into an office for two and a sewing/craft room with room for a play pen! I ended up with boxes on the floor along the wall and under the tables. I kept bumping my elbow on a shelf unit and hitting boxes with my feet.

This year I asked Mr. Frugalfish to build me two closet-sized shelves, since I had boxes stacked in the closet that kept tipping over.  When he finished, I loaded them up. I was able to move all of the boxes up off of the floor.

We purchased a tall, narrow bookcase and replaced the long short bookcase that I kept hitting my elbow on. I was able to turn it and place it behind my chair next to a filing cabinet.

When my girlfriends came over, I took them to the office to show them my new shelves. They each said the same thing…

“Wow, I love your drapes!”

What? I bought the drapes last January and I showed them off them. I realized that clutter hides the things of beauty in a room.

As you are decorating for the holidays, look at the stuff on the floor. Can you put it in a closet, under a bed, or better yet, give it away? Then you will see the things of beauty in your rooms.

My newly uncluttered office.