For many of us, our living room is the most important part of our home. While our kitchens are essential for keeping everyone happy and healthy, they call it the “living” room because it’s where life usually happens.
However, all that living can create a real mess if you don’t stay on top of it. Since almost everyone in the house uses the living room, it’s easy for clutter to pile up, furniture to become dirty or covered in blankets and pet fur, and a general layer of dust to form on any of the less high-touch surfaces.
Luckily, keeping your living room clean is not an impossibility – even if it feels like it right now. Below you’ll find our living room cleaning checklist. This will help you break down the tasks necessary to keep your living room clean into daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. If you’re able to tackle these on a regular basis – or call in support from the pros where needed – you’ll soon be able to go back to just living in your living room (rather than cleaning it!).
Living Room Cleaning Supplies
Before you schedule time on your calendar to clean up your living room, you need to have all the necessary supplies. People underestimate the importance of having the cleaning tools they need in advance; the truth is your cleaning session will be easier and shorter if you don’t pause every few minutes to go grab something else or stop entirely because they don’t have a cleaning supply they need.
- All-purpose cleaning solution
- Window cleaner
- Microfiber cleaning cloths
- Duster
- Trash bags
- Vacuum
- Broom and dustpan
- Mop
- Warm water and bucket
- Sponges and scrubber
- Disinfecting wipes
- Paper towels
Once you’ve assembled all of these cleaning supplies in one place, you’re ready to start tackling your living room and making it a cleaner place to be.
Daily Living Room Cleaning Checklist
You might be thinking: what, I need to clean my living room every single day?!
As with all of our suggested cleaning checklists (like for your kitchen and bathroom), you can decide the frequency that makes sense – but cleaning at least every other day will make more deep cleanings (like weekly and monthly) more manageable. A daily living room cleaning checklist ensures the mess doesn’t build up in your living room until it becomes an uncontrollable monster.
Below you’ll find all the daily chores you need to tackle each day, to have a tidy living room.
Declutter
The living room is one of the busiest rooms in your home, with family members coming in and out of it constantly. You left your coat on the couch after arriving from work, your child left his shoes after watching a movie, and you forgot to clean up the glass you left on the coffee table… You get the picture.
This said, a great first step is to remove any items that don’t belong in the living room and put them in their place. Also, grab a trash bag and pick up any dirty napkins, wraps, and crumbs you can find.
Straighten Pillows and Fold Blankets
We’ve always talked about the difference having a “visually clean” space makes. Since your coach is a much-used piece of furniture, it’s always messy. So, fluff your pillows and arrange them as you like. Finally, fold the blankets and put them somewhere: over the back of the couch, on an armrest, or put away in a wardrobe.
Dust Furniture
Daily dusting might seem like a bit much – but it’s actually more than just about looking clean; keeping dust under control is good for your and your family’s health.
Scan your furniture and wipe down the surfaces with dust. Pay special attention to the tables where you and your family eat to remove crumbs.
Tidy Up the Bookshelves and Desk Area
Whether you have bookshelves because you love books or because you think of them as a nice decor piece, keep them organized and dust-free.
Also, tidy up your desk, if it’s located in this part of your home (If you have a home office instead, we’ve got a guide for keeping that area clean too.) Store your electronics in a cabinet, put pens, post-its, and pencils in a drawer or organizer, and wipe down with a dry cloth.
Weekly Living Room Cleaning Checklist
If you take a look at this weekly living room cleaning checklist, you’ll notice you’ll have to go deeper in your cleaning sesh. Remember you’ll also have to tackle the same chores as in the daily checklist – that’s why doing them daily makes this a slightly easier process.
Dust any Photographs or Artwork
Living rooms are brimming with memorabilia, family pictures, and artwork. While these items definitely add personality and a sense of warmth to the living room, they also are a magnet for dust. Grab a microfiber cloth and wipe down photographs and artwork. Be extremely careful when cleaning the artwork and use a dry cloth.
Sanitize the Television and Remote Controls
The TV and remote controls are objects we frequently touch – and not always with clean hands. (Okay, basically never with clean hands…) Consequently, they’re prone to germs and bacteria. Use a disinfecting wipe and wipe down the front and back of your remote control. Do the same with your TV.
Sweep the Floor
How often you sweep the floor will depend on your habits, but once a week is a good routine to keep the living room in order. If you have pets, you might want to do this chore twice a week instead, depending on how much they shed fur.
Monthly Living Room Cleaning Checklist
In your monthly living room cleaning checklist, you’ll do a deep clean that leaves you feeling like you just moved in. It will take longer as you’ll be going over the tasks from the daily and weekly checklists as well, so assign this cleaning session to a day each month when you have time, probably on the weekend. (Or, book a session with us and we’ll take care of it for you!)
Dust Light Fixtures
Use an extendable duster and swipe it over light fixtures, ceiling fans, and recessed lighting. If you have a ladder and want extra credit, you can use it to reach the fixtures on the ceiling and walls and wipe them down with a dry cloth for that extra touch.
Clean the Upholstery
Cleaning the upholstery requires a bit more planning and care. Not all fabrics are cleaned the same way or tolerate the same products. However, you can almost always rely on a bucket of warm water and a sponge. If you have stains, you can spray a bit of all-purpose cleaning solution and scrub it. Always remember to rinse well!
Clean the Windows
Windows are one of the most overlooked items when cleaning a room. Grab a window cleaner and a couple of paper towels and wash your windows. You can also use a squeegee if you have one.
Vacuum
By the end of your cleaning session, you’ll have raised a lot of dust that ended up on your floor. The best way to remove the dust is by vacuuming. Try to reach every nook of the living room. You can also vacuum the upholstery and pieces of furniture if that’s okay with the type of upholstery and furniture you have.
Here’s a reminder of the places you can’t forget to vacuum:
- Under the Furniture
- Carpets
- Blinds or window shades
Mop the Floor
Finally, if your floor material allows it, you can mop it to live it looking its best. Some people add a disinfecting solution to sanitize their floors and prevent germ accumulation.
And there you have it: a complete living room cleaning checklist to help you keep the most popular room in your home feeling like the sanctuary it is.
While you can definitely start to tackle the daily tasks on your own, you might want help with the weekly and/or monthly tasks – and we can help with that if you don’t want to do them!
