Comprehensive Guide to Deep Cleaning Your Living Room

You’ll need garbage bags, a long-handled duster, glass cleaner, furniture polish, microfiber cloths, and a vacuum. You may need other things, like a mop, or leather cleaner, depending on your situation.

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Or a podcast or something. This is going to take awhile. You might as well enjoy yourself.

Now is not the time to be sentimental. At the same time, you don’t want to completely stall out here because you couldn’t decide whether to keep that old photo of your high school swim team. Move quickly through this process.

You can clean these in the laundry, or take them to a dry cleaner, depending on the care instructions that came with them.

Take out all of your afghans, blankets, pillows, and throws, and clean them according to their instructions.

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Time to use those trash bags again. Like before, be merciless about what you do and don’t need. But at the same time, don’t get hung up on this step.

Vacuum the inside of the drawers, wipe them down inside and out, and put their contents back – in a more organized fashion than when you started.

This is good advice for cleaning any room, and we’re ready to start cleaning this one in earnest.

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This is why we clean top to bottom. Get all that dust on high. We’ll knock it out for good later.

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While you’re poking around on your ceiling anyway, do a sweep of your light fixtures. While you’re at it, check the batteries in your smoke detectors, Carbon monoxide detectors, and the like.

You might want to use a broom to clear away cobwebs, while you’re at it. But even if there aren’t any, you at least want to clear dust out of the corners.

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Get a damp cloth and run it along the trim on at the ceiling level. Take care of any smudges, and if any paint needs touching up, now’s a great chance to do that.

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Turn your attention to the art on the wall. Dust off the frames. Clean glass, when applicable. Same goes for mirrors, and anything else you might have hanging.

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Turn your attention to the window blinds. Use a dry sponge for fabric blinds, or a damp cloth for wood blinds. If you’re pressed for time, or if your main concern is dust, you might get away with a dusting instead of a full cleaning.

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Turn your vacuum to the windowsill, or for extra thoroughness, try a damp cloth. You might also want to get that grunge between the window and the screen. If you’re feeling extra sassy, consider removing and cleaning the screens.

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Use Windex or a similar window cleaning solution. You can also use dish cleaner, but be sure you make it extremely diluted – we’re talking one teaspoon for two gallons of water. Otherwise, you’ll get soap residue stuck to the windows, and be worse off than when you started.

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Take a damp cloth to the doors. Be on the lookout for scuff marks in particular. This is also your chance to clean fingerprints off of the door handle.

Yeah, it’s tedious. You can probably skip this if you really want to, but this is a guide to deep cleaning, after all, so we have to mention it.

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If you do decide to wash the walls, it’s a great opportunity to check your paint for dings, nicks, and smudges, and repair them as you see fit.

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Obviously, you don’t want to use ammonia or anything caustic. But you can get away with a lightly damp cloth or a dusting. Use a microfiber cloth for screens, like your television. Be gentle. But be thorough.

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Cable management is important, and those little suckers behind the TV sure do attract a lot of dust. Unplug, clean up back there, and make judicious use of cable ties.

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When was the last time you cleaned your remote? Yeah, that's what we thought. Take the batteries out, and clean it with a cloth dipped in rubbing alcohol. Then soak a Q-Tip in alcohol and use it around all of the buttons. If you still have a landline somehow, disinfect that, too.

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You’re about to clean the furniture, and all those gross spaces behind it.

Any wood furniture gets the cleaning treatment. Clear out your bookshelves and desks. Dust each piece, or wipe it down with a damp cloth. Consider adding polish or oil, if you’re so inclined.

We’re going to take care of the seating now. Lift your cushions, and vacuum out all the crumbs that have collected in your sofa.

Now take a microfiber cloth to your seating and your soft furniture. Use oil for leather furniture, if appropriate.

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Now’s your chance to get revenge on all those dust bunnies that keep making the cat sneeze.

We’re almost done! We started at the top, now we’re here! Use a damp cloth, like before. If you want to check and fix the paint, the baseboards are more likely to have problems than the upper trim is.

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You can vacuum everywhere. Just be sure to use the appropriate attachment for carpet vs. wood or tile. Consider shampooing your carpet, or mopping wood or tile. If you’re a “clean the grout with a toothbrush” person, now’s your chance.

You probably put your furniture back as you moved it around to vacuum under it. If not, put it back now. This is also when you replace your decorative items and window dressings. And you’re done! Congratulations!