photo credit: Bob van Ooik via photopin cc
The temperatures are rising and so are our moods and desire to get moving more. Though we may do a fine job of maintaining our living areas we need to on occasion do something more than just a cursory cleaning. It’s time for a thorough spring cleaning. Here is a check list of things we should give attention to so that we can become more organized and make sure that our homes – especially the living room which is most often our homes first impression – are truly clean:
- Start by de-cluttering your living room. In many homes this is the first room seen when a guest enters your home so making sure this room is pristine is essential. A 15 minute sweep of the room to get books, knick knacks, plants, et al off of tables and window sills will help you clear this room for the actual spring cleaning you need to do.
- Dust from the top down – where the walls and ceilings meet and any ceiling air vents.
- Clean the ceiling fan and wash any light fixtures. Use a damp rag and Murphy’s Oil soap to remove grime from the fan blades. Carefully wash away crud, dust, and bugs from and light fixture coverings.
- Wipe down the walls and wash off any scuffs or marks. Clean any wall art or picture frames being careful not to spray any liquid on the frames or glass directly. Spray your cleaner on a lint free cloth and use that the clean the frames to prevent water leaking underneath and ruining your pictures.
- If you haven’t already take down all your draperies, window shades, or other window coverings and wash them per the manufacturer’s directions. Soap and water may be ok for some shades, but heavier draperies may have to be dry cleaned.
- Dust your window sills and clean your windows with a streak free window cleaner.
- If you have bookshelves remove all the books one shelf at a time starting from the top and dust the books and the shelves.
- Now it’s time to dust and clean your furniture and any entertainment appliances – end tables, coffee tables, entertainment center, television, stereo, game systems. Again, make sure you are working from the top down.
- Clean your carpets, rugs and upholstered furniture. After months of winter traffic, dirty hands and feet, dust from indoor heating systems and who knows what else it may be wise to contact a professional carpet and rug cleaning service that uses heavy duty specialty equipment sure to suck all the nasties out of your rugs and upholstered furniture.
- Wash and dry your doormats inside and outside your doorway.
- For hardwood floors – sweep up all your dust from the cleaning process, use a product like Swiffer Sweeper to pick up smaller dust particles then mop your floor completely with Murphy’s Oil Soap or other hardwood appropriate floor cleaner before you replace any rugs or runners.
Though this list is geared toward the living room specifically it can be applied to some extent to all the rooms in house, except maybe the kitchen :).
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Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Green Choice Carpet Cleaner. This post contains affiliate links which may result in monetary compensation for this blog if clicked.
Firstly, I’m a mom and wife. Professionally, IT consulting is my job and blogging is the outlet for my passions. I write about things that affect the everyday life of a stay-at-home parent or any parent for that matter such as parenting, relationships, discipline, the media, product reviews, giveaways, social media, food, cooking, gardening and anything else that might come my way.
