The Art of Decluttering

If you’ve had a home for a while, and especially if you have kids, chances are clutter is a bane of your existence. From stray toys underfoot (who can forget stepping barefoot on a Lego piece for the first time?) to simply a cumulative ugliness marring your home’s look, we at American Furniture Galleries bet you’re looking for spring-cleaning tips. While the time is opportune with spring just around the corner, we’ve found that these tricks to make your home seem more organized work well year round. We draw our inspiration from diverse sources, everything from top Western designers to customer feedback over the years to the ancient Chinese belief in feng shui (pronounced fung shway). The last includes the idea that clutter literally blocks a life-giving energy, called chi, producing deleterious effects that seem like plain bad luck! Tripping over your clutter would be unfortunate indeed, so let’s get started on that cleaning.

Stack the Stuff You Need Now and Stow the Rest

If you’ve got hips you don’t want to emphasize, you stay away from dresses with horizontal lines or patterns, right? This optical trick works in your home too. Try choosing furniture and wall art that emphasizes the vertical instead, such as poster beds or curio cabinets. Now, consider rotating your household items and even memento displays seasonally, not just for the holidays. Try gradually changing over from the wintry theme of hearth and home to outdoor and beach stuff now that the warmer months are fast approaching. If you need someplace handy to hide all the stuff rotating out of your room, consider an accent cabinet.

Lose the Excess

The Japanese-born maven of tidying, Marie Kondo, has a simple Shinto-inspired rule for decluttering. If an item no longer brings you joy, toss it out. Perhaps you no longer need the item but treasure the memories. Do some soul-searching, then start filling the discard pile or bin to give to your favorite charity, for instance. One bit of wisdom: if you don’t regularly use it AND it’s easily available in stores, why have it wasting space in your home?

For furniture to fill your home the right way once it’s straightened up, stop by our Sacramento, CA store.

Outdoor Furniture Ideas for Spring

Now that February is upon us with its teasings of spring on the occasional nice day, let’s plan ahead a bit for when the weather is most amenable to entertaining on your porch, patio, or deck. Outdoor furniture adds immensely to your enjoyment of your home. Take in the fresh evening air as the sun sets, making your barbecued delights, drinks, and company all that more special. At American Furniture Galleries we keep outdoor dining sets and other accessories so affordable that having seasonal-themed outdoor decor is now possible. Here are a few insider tips from designers to give your spring outdoor gathering some “pop.”

Celebrate the Good Weather with Bolder Colors

Earth tones are nice, but spring with its renewal of life and accompanying riot of color in the flowers etc. calls for something much for exuberant. Go for either warm (reds, burnt orange, electric yellow) or cool (blues, greens) colors as long as they stand out! For example, the outdoor sectional shown above practically cheers with its confident hue welcoming the lengthening days and rising temperatures.

When the Weather’s Great, Break Out the Rugs and More

A cool way to make your deck or patio seating set look even better in the spring is to do as you would indoors with a sturdy area rug, preferably in a bold pattern with assertive colors. If you have any questions whether a rug is suitable to move outdoors even if only temporarily, don’t hesitate to ask us!

Give Your Patio or Deck a Good Cleaning!

Wash away all the gunk and debris that winter has left behind by giving your outdoor party area a good power washing. Be sure to get to your outdoor umbrellas and seat cushions too as they can get mildewy in storage. If your cushions are white, a dose of bleach might freshen them up.

For all your outdoor furniture and accessory needs stop by our Elk Grove, CA store for incredible bargains every day!