5 Things Pro Organizers Immediately Notice When They Enter a Messy Living Room

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If you're wondering whether your living room makes a good first impression or has a cluttered look, you've come to the right place.

Here, three professional organizers outline five key indicators of a cluttered living room. They also offer advice on how to create a more peaceful and inviting space that feels welcoming instead of chaotic.

Meet the Experts

• She is a professional organizer and the founder of Bella Organizers.
• Serves as a professional organizer and the founder of Organizing Huntsville.
• She is a professional organizer and the founder of Neat Freak.

A Cluttered Coffee Table

It's incredibly simple to let your coffee table turn into a catchall for everything and anything. Millie Naor, a professional organizer and the founder of Bella Organizers, has worked with numerous clients who work from home and has noticed that many of these clients' coffee tables essentially serve as a combination workspace, cluttered with paperwork, drinks, TV remotes, and more.

Set up a dedicated space in your home if possible. Small containers and trays can be really helpful for organizing items like remotes and magazines that you often use while sitting on the sofa.

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A Messy Bookshelf

They have a tendency to become receptacles for all kinds of clutter, according to Naor.

"It might be a combination of books, random papers, office supplies, and other miscellaneous items," she says.

Take a few minutes to go through your bookshelf, one shelf at a time, getting rid of anything that doesn't belong there. You might find old books you'd like to sell or donate, mail that can be recycled, and documents that need to be filed away in a folder, among other things.

Overly abundant pieces of furniture

Many people strive for a welcoming living room, but having too many furniture pieces can detract from the space. According to Kristina Pinkerton, a professional organizer and founder of Organizing Huntsville, one common pitfall is an overabundance of small furniture items in the living room.

She indicates that a room that consists of unmatched chairs, side tables, or ottomans can appear disorderly.

Perri Kersh, a professional organizer and founder of Neat Freak, holds similar views.

"When every wall is cluttered with multiple pieces of furniture, there's hardly any room to breathe in the space, no sense of flow, and it's all too easy for things to pile up or get misplaced outside of their assigned spot," she explains.

Kersh advises against including too many surfaces in a living space because it creates numerous places for things to drop, causing clutter to quickly accumulate.

There is a shortage of readily available storage space.

Furthermore, Pinkerton emphasizes the significance of selecting closed storage units in a living room over merely open display units like bookcases.

"Having cluttered countertops, shelves, and surfaces can make it difficult to feel relaxed in a space," she explains.

The organizer suggests also investing in some cabinets or a sideboard to store your belongings. These furniture pieces will greatly help to reduce visual clutter and create a more peaceful atmosphere, according to Pinkerton.

Apparently, there's one thing that stands out as not belonged in space

While many people use their living rooms for a variety of activities, ranging from work to working out, there are certain items that will never belong in this area of the home and can contribute to a cluttered atmosphere.

"I've spent 20 years of my career helping people organize, and I've seen a wide variety of items clutter living rooms - everything from old power tools and outdated gadgets to unwanted bike parts, pet carriers, and unpacked boxes from years-old moves," Kersh says.

A person suggests that by the end of the day, a living room should include a sofa and a coffee table, a television, and a bookshelf or basket to hold reading materials.

The idea of the room is to break down.

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