The Living room is more often than not the hub of activity for your family. It is more likely than not the place where your family goes to relax at the end of the day. It is the place most family members goes to watch a video, play games, do school work and entertain guests.
Because your living room is used so often, keeping it neat and tidy takes a bit of time and effort. Here are a few tips and tricks for keeping cleaning your living room and keeping it looking its best.
Declutter Your Living Room Daily
While many cleaning chores can be tackled once or twice a week keeping your living room free of clutter is a task that should be done daily and should if at all possible involve various members of your family.
At the end of each day you should spend a few minutes removing any dirty dishes from snacks and drinks, removing all trash (such as papers and snack wrappers.), putting away all toys, handheld gadgets, and discarded clothing items and straightening up furniture cushions and accent pillows.
If needed you can spend a couple of minutes dusting or wiping off the coffee table or stands and vacuum any debris from the floor.
That way your room remains reasonably tidy and is more comfortable during the week. It also makes it easier when you do your weekly cleaning of your Living room.
Weekly Cleaning of Your Living Room
Despite your daily efforts to keep your living room neat and tidy this room like other rooms in your home need a more through cleaning at least weekly. By following these few simple tips you can make cleaning your living room a much easier task.
Gather All Your Cleaning Tools Prior To Cleaning
To make cleaning your living room quicker and simpler start by gathering all the cleaning tools you will need before you begin. You will need the following tools.
- Garbage bags for collecting trash
- dust clothes and dusters for dusting
- Damp cloth
- vacuum with any necessary cleaning tools
- Any floor cleaning equipment other than a vacuum if needed
Take Care of the Clutter First
It is easy to clean a room if the clutter is removed before you actually start the cleaning. You will want to pick up any trash that has been left behind from the daily pick up. You will also want to make piles of items that go in other rooms of the house so that you can easily make one trip to each room to take care of items that have been left in the living room.
Put books back in the bookcase, place the remote control for the television in it’s designated place, and straighten any nick-knacks you may have.
Once the room is clutter free it is easier to tackle each cleaning task that needs to be done.
Straighten Up Major Pieces of Furniture
Once the clutter is removed you are going to want to straighten any major pieces of furniture. Start by fluffing any sofa or chair cushions, fold any throw blankets and place them where they go and use a hand vacuum or a vacuum with an upholstery tool to clean any crumbs and debris from the cushions and creases in the furniture.
Taking care of the major pieces of furniture first will allow you to actually see that you are making progress and help to motivate you to finish the job.
Dust Your Room From Top to Bottom
Once the major furniture has been straightened you will need to tackle the dusting of the room. When dusting you are going to want to start at the highest part of the room and work your way down in order to keep from contaminating other surfaces. Here are the areas that you will want to pay attention to
- Use a broom or long handle duster to dust the corners of the room and remove any cobwebs.
- Dust all shelves starting with the highest shelves first,
- Dust fan blades, curtain rods, window frames, and picture rails
- Dust any lamps, lamp shades, (At least once a month remove your lampshades and dust them thoroughly and the light bulbs as well) coffee tables and end tables
- Don’t forget to gently dust the leaves of any plants as well.
Light Switches and Door Handles
Using a soft damp cloth wipe off any and all door handles and light switches to remove any dust or finger prints from these surfaces.
If you have young children you may also want to damp wipe fingerprints from wooden doors or door frames.
Clean Your Window Coverings
Either dust or vacuum window covering such as blinds and drapes. Make sure you use the proper vacuum tool for each task to avoid causing any damage.
Clean All Glass Surfaces
Either using a commercial glass cleaner or by making your own cleaner using white vinegar and warm water. Vinegar and water and scrunched up newspaper will leave any glass surface sparkling clean. Don’t worry about that the smell of vinegar will linger because the scent dissipates rapidly.
clean all your glass surfaces including windows, mirrors, glass over pictures, glass vases and candy bowls.
Vacuum any Rugs and Carpeting
Vacuum any rugs and carpeting in your living room. Even if you have wood or tile floors you may want to use a vacuum tool with a soft brush to vacuum these floors as well. Make sure you get into all the corners and vacuum under any large pieces of furniture.
Mop the Floor if Needed
If your living room happens to have tile or wood flooring then you will want a mop and a good floor cleaner made for your specific type of flooring to clean your floors.
Living Room Cleaning Checklist
- Remove all clutter from the room
- Straighten sofa and chair pillows and fold any throw blankets
- vacuum seat cushions and between the cushions of your sofa and chairs
- Dust the room from the top down including corners, shelves, picture frames, curtain rods, stands, plants, lamps and lampshades
- Wipe down door knobs and light switches
- Clean your window coverings
- Clean all glass surfaces
- Vacuum all rugs and carpeting
- Wash any tile or wood floors
Final Thoughts
A clean living room doesn’t have to mean hours of scrubbing and organizing. With a few simple habits and some clever shortcuts, you can keep your space looking great with minimal effort. Try out these tips, and before you know it, cleaning will feel less like a chore and more like a quick refresh.
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