Weekly Living Room Cleaning Checklist
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Whether you’re cleaning a living room used to entertain guests or cleaning the family room hangout, this checklist covers every surface.
Steps to Clean Your Living Room
I recommend reading through all the steps below. All of my house-cleaning checklists are divided into sections for adaptive cleaning. If you can do the whole thing in one session, that’s great. If you are low on time or energy, or you’re cleaning while going through health issues, do one section at a time at your own pace. Or get the family involved, especially if it’s the room you all use.
Equipment and materials
- Microfiber cloths
- Glass cleaner
- Furniture polish
- An extension duster to reach high areas
- Two bags or boxes
- A vacuum with dusting, crevice, and upholstery attachments
- A mop (optional)
Step 1: Straighten up.
- Let the light in by opening all the curtains. Give them a good shake to dislodge dust. If you have blinds, dust them before opening them.
- Pick up the trash and put it in one of the bags or boxes. Set it aside.
- Gather the clutter that belongs elsewhere and put it in the second bag, then set it aside, too.
- Put away items that belong in the room into their respective storage locations.
Step 2: Clean hard surfaces.
- Get dusting. Use a damp microfiber cloth to dust. If there’s a TV in the room, clean the screen properly. Now, work the room from left to right, top to bottom, and dust the window casings, furniture, and decorations. Try to pick up items as you dust them and dust beneath them, too. Be sure to get lamps, including their bulbs and shades.
- Polish furniture with a dry, lint-free cloth.
- Polish glass. When your cloth feels damp from glass cleaner, change to a dry cloth to prevent streaks.
- Do smudge patrol by cleaning the light switches, door knobs, and door jambs.
Step 3: Clean soft furnishings.
- Vacuum soft furniture using your vacuum’s upholstery attachment to get up crumbs and other strange things that accumulate under seating cushions. Next, vacuum the back, sides, and front of your sofa and chairs.
- Vacuum around the base of walls and heavy furniture using the crevice attachment.
- Vacuum lampshades and throw rugs using the dusting attachment.
- Now vacuum the floor using the regular vacuum head. Move footstools, ottomans, and floor lamps as you work and clean beneath them, too. (Yes, dust accumulates around the base of these things and builds up.)
Step 4: Finishing touches.
- Spray the room with air freshener if you’re using it.
- Put away your cleaning supplies and vacuum.
- Throw away the box of trash you’d gathered.
- Return other items from the box of clutter that belongs elsewhere to their appropriate locations.
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Is there a safe way to clean flat TV screens?
Hi Lori,
I have an entire post about how to clean electronic screens, including flat screen TVs.
Hi Katie,
Thanks for your website and tips. I’ve recently discovered it and I’ll implement many of your recommendations.
I haven’t found yet and DIY for dust repellent on your website (however I haven’t finished navigating through it). Dust is my biggest headache!!!
Do you have any formula you recommend? On the net I’ve found for example water + fabric softener, or water + vinegar + olive oil, or even dryer wipes… any thoughts or recipes based on your own experience?
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Diana
I don’t have an actual dust repellant because most of them quite simply don’t work. My approach is by cleaning to remove as much dust as possible. I’ve written about how to reduce household dust and, for a deeper cleaning, how to clean your own air ducts. Both should help. 🙂
Thanks!!! ????
I have purchased the 30 day plan.i was wondering when do you do the weekly routine
Is it after the whole 30 day plan is complete or is it after the daily task and what’s on the 30 day plan for the relevant day you then do one of the weekly plans.
First off, thank you for buying my book! The 30 Day plan in my book is for people who prefer working from a book, not a blog. There’s a monthly maintenance schedule in the book that includes the weekly cleanings so you can keep things in order after you’ve finished the plan.
Hi Katie, love the name lol its my 7 year old daughters name! I love your lists! I’m considered to be a clean freak and although I can clean without a list, this just keeps my day a bit more organized. I did your weekly bathroom and bedroom list yesterday and plan on doing the kitchen and living room list today. Then I’m going to be nice and tackle the kids rooms tomorrow, after that it’ll be up to them to do it. I was wondering, what, if you have one, is your nightly cleaning routine? Come night time, I’m ready to just hit the couch with a book but it seems like when my husband and kids are home, by time I go to bed the house is in complete disarray!
I don’t have a separate nightly cleaning routine. After 6, I don’t do anything. My husband and son know to put their things away or the next day those things will be “missing”, which means they have to work to get them back. It’s amazing how diligent they get about picking up after themselves once you start implementing a rule like that.
Dearest Katie,
Great cleaning routine list! Very well composed. It is the hardest part always to gather the clutter that remains there after reading it etc. But it works well and we feel good after it’s done.
Enjoy your weekend together and hope you stay warm.
Hugs,
Mariette
Thank you, Mariette!
Gathering and eliminating the clutter truly is the most difficult part, I agree. It seems as if we get blind, in a way, to just how much clutter we’ve accumulated. But, oh, once it’s gone and we realize how quickly we can clean what’s left is a joy!
Warm wishes,
Katie