Visual Spring Cleaning Guide - The Living Room

It's Spring! And you know what that means? We get to fucking clean shit!

WOO-HOOOO!!

I know everyone is excited as can be. But really this is once a year, so let's all bitch together about how much it sucks, pull our big girl panties on and snort a whole bunch of meth* to be the most productive spring cleaners ever. 

*actual meth use optional

Let's take a look at what we will be cleaning in the living room, shall we?

The Good Husband and I spent one Saturday morning cleaning a rearranging the living room. We were able to dust every fucking surface and reorganize in a way that made the living room look awesome.

If you recall the TV and entertainment center were on the wall to the right of this photo. And it was horrible for flow. All the traffic had to walk in front of the TV to get to the dining room and kitchen or the bedrooms and bathroom. When we moved in, we actually had the TV on the wall where the couch is now and that was a stupid idea. With the TV on the wall on the left of this photo, it helps to create a space for viewing the TV and for the kids to play on the floor and the wall where the TV once was will become a sitting area with a bookcase, chair, lamp and small table and chairs for the kids (once we finish our debt snowball and have money sometime next year.)

So rearranging the living room was a great excuse to clean everything from top to bottom. Here is what we did:

1. Dust the ceiling and corners
2. Dust the vents and fans
3. Wipe down walls
4. Remove and clean all art and photographs from wall
5. Take down draperies, curtains, blinds, etc, to wash or have cleaned 
~TIP: Prolong the life of your curtains by spot cleaning immediately when dirty. Vacuum weekly with a brush attachment on your vacuum cleaner or shake outside for delicate fabrics. Follow the instructions on the tag for machine washing or dry cleaning.~
6. Wash all windows
7. Dust and clean all lamps and knickknacks (Don't forget to dust the light bulbs!)
8. Dust down and clean all furniture
~TIP: Consider having your upholstery dry cleaned. The couch was the first thing TGH and I bought when we moved in together 12 years ago. It is holding up really well for what we paid for it. We have never had it dry cleaned but this year was the year. Having dirty, sticky little fingers all over it and a dog that sleeps on it all day justified the professional cleaning. They even repaired a small rip in one of the cushions. It was well worth the money spent and will be able to go a few more years until we need to do it again. If you cannot remove your covers, spot clean immediately when dirty, vacuum weekly and consider buying or using fabric protectors like scotchgard.~
9. Remove and dust all books from bookshelves
10. Remove and dust all movies and cds ~See how I organize mine here~
11. Clean any mirrors (N/A)
12. Clean the switchplates
13. Clean the outlet covers
14. Dust and wash the baseboards
15. Clean flooring
~TIP: In addition to vacuuming daily and spot cleaning when needed, spring is the time I like to shampoo the carpets. Just don't do this more than once a year with a professional cleaner or you run the risk of ruining your carpet.~

That wasn't so bad, right? 


Bask in your hard earned clean living room and remember that you are fucking awesome!