How to Reset Your Home in a Week- Day 5 – Living Room

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series 7 Days to a Cleaner Home
7 Days to a Cleaner Home - Day 5 the Living Rom

This is part 5 of the series 7 Days to a Cleaner Home This series details how I get my whole house in company order in the space of 7 days. 

I initially wrote this post in 2012. At that time I was a stay at home mom of one young daughter. A lot has happened since then but the basic details for this series remain the same.

Your Living Room aka Family Room is Easy to Clean

Although in homes with small children, and event teens, the living room or family room can get quite quite messy they are fairly easy to clean and can make the biggest impact on motivating you to clean the rest of the home.

Grocery Bags with Food

So let’s begin…

It’s a nice convenient idea to put together a cleaning kit specified for the particular room you are cleaning. Here is another idea for putting together a cleaning kit for your home.

Living Room Cleaning Steps

Before you begin cleaning your Living Room you’ll need to declutter it. If this is just daily clutter from play or family living it should be easy. If you need some major decluttering I suggest starting with the 30 Day Declutter Boot Camp from Clutter Bug.

Supplies: Garbage bag, basket, dusting spray, dusting cloths, window cleaner (for any mirrors or windows), vacuum)

  • Start by going around your living room, picking up and toss any trash into the garbage bag.
  • Next, put items that don’t belong in the living room (or family room) such as clothing or toys in the basket to be placed in the correct room or area later.
  • Then tidy. Put books back on bookshelves.
  • It’s time to start dusting. We always start dusting any room from the top. Take a long handled duster (oh please say you have one they are so great) and run it along the ceiling corners, over any window treatment tops, over the door jam (if you have one) and behind any doors. You can finish this off this dusting by running your duster along the wall seams and down across baseboards.
  • If you have a window with blinds use your duster and go over each side.
  • Next clean your windows. Hopefully it’s a cloudy day so you don’t have streaks. Follow up by wiping the window sill.
  • Now move on to the seating in the room . Straighten couch cushions, throw pillows, and any blanket throws. If you use couch covers (I do) then remove them for washing (make a plan to put back on by the evening). Do you have pets? You might need to go over the couches with a damp sponge or a sticky roller. I use a damp sponge. The couch covers are perfect if you have pets. My cat doesn’t seem to care about our couch though.
  • It’s time dust any lamps and lampshades. I use a damp sponge for lamp shades. And the a multipurpose cleaner for the lamp bases themselves.
  • Go to the bookshelves in the room and straighten them and dust the exposed shelving in front of them and the books themselves. Have the right tools so you can do this quickly. If you have a lot of books pick up several at a time to dust the shelf and the top and sides of the books.
  • Dust any hanging pictures and paintings (careful). With a duster, it goes quickly but it’s not as thorough. Our goal here is quick.
  • If you have any other flat surface is it’s time to dust and polish with furniture polish. Side tables, and coffee tables.
  • Now vacuum your carpet.  No, not under the couch, just in front of it. Moving furniture is for Spring Cleaning. Vacuum the middle of the room and any exposed areas. If you have uncarpeted flooring in this room then sweep and dry dust it.
  • Lastly, open a window to let in fresh air (or light a candle).

Last Thoughts…

The living room and/or family room is a fairly easy room to clean but let it go without dusting and tidying up and it can quickly get out of hand. It’s one of the first rooms your guests see so do take steps to keep it neat and organized…

  1. Have bins for children’s toys
  2. Recycle newspapers, mail, and magazines daily.
  3. Dust and vacuum often (weekly)
  4. Clean any windows, glass surfaces and mirrors every so often. This will make a difference.
  5. Tidy this room each night before heading off to bed.

You’re done!

Turn out the lights and pat yourself on the back.

Tomorrow get ready to clean the dining room...

Series Navigation<< The Kitchen – Day 3 – 7 Days to a Cleaner HomeThe Dining Room – Day 6 – 7 Days to a Cleaner Home >>

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