Entertainment centers can be used in just about any room. They’re specially designed to hold televisions and stereo equipment, as well as CDs, DVDs, and other audio/video items. Because of their usefulness, entertainment centers can get cluttered very quickly. naija gist Many of today’s entertainment center units have multiple drawers, slide-out shelves, and additional cabinets. With all this space, it’s no wonder entertainment centers can quickly become messy and disorganized. If your entertainment center is in disarray, here are a few steps you can take to organize things better.
Step 1: Take everything out of your entertainment center
The first step is to take everything out. You need to purge your entertainment center of everything if you want to really get into it and organize everything that goes in it.
Step 2: Discard what you don’t use
Discard everything that you do not use regularly. If you have purchased a movie or CD that you once liked but no longer use, burn it on a computer and dispose of the CD. Next, get rid of your old VHS tapes. Since they are outdated and they take a lot of space in your cabinet, it’s better if you give them to charity. If you still want to keep some of your favorite VHS tapes, then keep the specific tapes you enjoy most and discard the rest.
Step 3: Organize your DVDs/CDs
Undoubtedly, you have a significant number of DVDs and CDs in your entertainment center. The best way to keep them organized is to keep them in some sort of order. Whether it’s alphabetically, by order of use, or some other system, the best solution is to sort them in an order that makes sense to you. HINT: The best way to get your DVDs and CDs in order before you put them in the entertainment cabinet is to lay them out on the floor and organize them there. In order to do this right, you need to know precisely where they’re going to go in your entertainment center and roughly how many you can store in that section. This way you can simply move your DVDs and CDs from the floor to the cabinets without much hassle.
Step 4: Remove or Reduce Knick Knacks
Entertainment centers are a great place to store and display statues, pictures, clocks, and other miscellaneous household items. However, over time, the number of knick knacks you store in your entertainment center can get out of control. So, after you take everything out, figure out which figurines, pictures, collector plates, and other items you can store elsewhere or simply have no business being there. This will help create more space as well as reduce the cluttered look of your cabinets and drawers.
Step 5: Put everything back in your entertainment center
Once you’ve taken everything out, thrown out what you don’t use, organized your DVDs, CDs, and other items that were in your entertainment center, it’s now time to put everything back. The best way to do this is to assign a specific drawer or cabinet for each item. Keep all your CDs together in one drawer and your DVDs in another. Put specific knick knacks in one area, and keep all your electronic devices together.
Have you been given the mystifying task of hiring entertainment for your upcoming corporate event? Are you scared to death by the idea of trying to find something that will be clean, appropriate, and entertaining to the wide variety of people in your audience? Do you feel like your boss and fellow employees will be blaming YOU if the entertainment is not top-notch? You are not alone! As a corporate entertainer and entertainment provider in Houston, I get calls from people every day who are in the exact same position as you are. You want as close to a sure thing as you can get, but how do you find entertainment that everyone will like? Where do you begin to shop? How do you make sure the entertainer will show up and make you look good?
STEP 1 – Evaluate your audience. Take a mental inventory of your group. Are they crazy and loud, older and subdued, or a mixture of everything? This will determine your entertainment choices. For example, a comedian or hypnotist might be great for a younger group, but a corporate magician or entertaining speaker might be better for an older or mixed group. These days, it’s very important that the performer’s act is 100% clean. It is not worth losing your job because the entertainer you hired tells off-color jokes that offend someone in your organization!
STEP 2 – Make a list of the types of entertainers you like, then narrow the list down to one or two types. For example, if your group likes to dance, put “band” on your list. If they like to laugh, list “magician” or “comedian.”
Here are a few acts that I’ve found to work very well at corporate events:
Comedy Magicians – Make sure the magician specializes in corporate events and performs a CLEAN show suitable for adults (no birthday party magicians).
Clean Comedians
Bands -Again, make sure they routinely perform at corporate events! You don’t want Metallica at your corporate function.
Hypnotists – – Be careful here for liability issues in case one of your executives ends up acting like a chicken in front of everyone.
Murder Mysteries -These can be a lot of fun if your group likes to actively participate in the entertainment.
Fortune Tellers – Palm readers, etc. -Make sure they don’t do negative readings or focus on the occult.
Caricature Artists – These are great, because your people will get to take home a cool souvenir.
STEP 3 – Search the Internet. Make sure and narrow your search for the city where your event will be. For example, if you are in Houston, enter “magicians in Houston” or “Houston magicians” or “clean comedian Houston.” The better artists will have websites with video, pictures, and testimonials from other corporate clients that will help you prequalify them before you make the call. You can also take the easy way out and call a talent agency who can recommend a variety of entertainers.
STEP 4 – Call or email the performer for a price quote. Make sure and explain exactly what you want, how many people are going to attend your event, and how long you’d like the performance to last. Make sure and consider the advice of the performer, as he or she probably does this every night and can give you some great tips to make sure the entertainment is a smashing success. I strongly recommend you do NOT shop by price alone. There is usually a REALLY good reason that some performers are more expensive than others! In the end, it’s always a better idea to spend a little more money to get a professional entertainer who is going to make you look good! Make sure and ask for references and follow up on them. Most previous clients will be more than happy to tell you whether or not a particular entertainer delivered the goods.
STEP 5 – Get a contract! Don’t skip this, no matter what! All professional corporate entertainers use contracts. This will give you the peace of mind knowing that the performer will be exactly where he is supposed to be at the time he’s supposed to be there. You may have to pay a deposit to hold the entertainer. Don’t worry; this just ensures that the entertainer is holding the evening for your event and won’t book something else that comes along.