34 Weeks of Clean! Week 8- The Living Room

I don't know about you but I for one am happy to be moving on from kitchens and dining rooms.  I tend to want to eat in those places! ;)  Hopefully by now yours are sparkling clean, a little less cluttered, AND are staying that way.  Let's remember, all the cleaning and tossing in the world will not help us if we do not work hard to keep it that way.  If we fail to put things where they belong, we achieve clutter.  If we buy more things to fill in spaces, we achieve clutter.  Make it your goal to not add back to your new spaces.  Just enjoy the void for a while.  You may be surprised at how good it feels.

So this week - the living room.  The more formal one, that is.  Family rooms/dens are for another week, so some of you may actually have a week off.  Or can use this time to catch up if you need to. We won't judge!

Our living room is really not formal in this house, it is actually where we spend most of our day.  It is also the room you walk right into when you come through our door so I work hard to keep it pretty straightened.  That being said, there is always room for some changes and deep cleaning was for sure in order.  You will see what I mean!  So here we go-

Your assignment- Clear the clutter and DEEP clean!

• Start up and work down, so for us that means ceiling fans.  UGH!  Notice that my 17 year old is on the ladder, not me.  Some chances are just not worth taking, especially when you are the lone parent for a while.  She said she was just fine living with dirty ceiling fans, but she did them for me anyway.  (Thanks Princess!)

• Wax/dust furniture.  Not just the top like I assume most of us do weekly, but ALL OVER!  We actually used a furniture cleaner as opposed to a wax or dusting spray to get the job done.

• Wipe down all of the knick nacks you have on said furniture and put only half back! ;)  Now is the time to get rid of the things that are just taking up space.  Look at it this way, the more you have sitting out, the more you have to dust each week.

• Vacuum off your lamp shades.  I am amazed at how dusty they can get!

• If you have leather furniture, now is a great time to really wipe it down.  We love ours, but just like other non fabric surfaces, little fingers get it dirty. If you have cloth furniture, vacuum it.

• Wash blankets and any throws you have laying around.  You can even take this time to switch one out for one in another part of the house.  Sometimes just a simple change can make you feel better about your space.

• Pull the furniture out from the walls and wipe down all the baseboards.

• While the furniture is out from the walls, vacuum around the edges of the carpet.

• As as long as all the furniture is out from the walls, rearrange.  Oh, wait, that may be just be me!  ;) Remember, this family moves a lot.  Emphasis on A LOT!  So when we get to stay in one place say, for more than a year, we tend to get antsy and rearrange furniture.  True story - when my oldest was about five and daddy was gone for a few months, I rearranged the living room. She stood in the middle of the room crying, "put it back, put it back, daddy won't like it!" Don't ask how she reacted when I painted!  Luckily, she is now the Queen of Rearranging and I am happy to say did not cry once during this project!

If you move furniture around a lot, you need these Sliding Robot things!  We love them!

• On to windows.  UGH!  Can I just admit right now I LOATHE mini blinds?  YUCK YUCK YUCK. They may serve a purpose but they get so dirty.  We are in a rental and I am pretty sure that these have never been cleaned.  To prove my point I am going to show you the cleaning cloths - do not judge.  I am pretty sure that this was not good for my daughter who is allergic to everything environmental.  Some day I am going to NOT have blinds, only curtains.

  -Two quick tricks- if it is easy to do, just take the blinds down, stick them in the bath tub, and bribe pay your kids to scrub them!  Tell them it is like pool fun, but better.

  - If you are too lazy to do that, just spray them down while still hanging, start from the top and scrub away.  I do this and it usually works just fine for me.  Make sure that after you finish the blinds you raise them and clean the windows since they will now be gross, too!  Ask me how I know this!

• And about those curtains.  When is the last time yours were washed?  Fess up!  We have very few hanging for two reasons.  The biggest is because I refuse to buy curtains to fit every window of every house we live in.  The second is because as much as I like the look, they do collect dust and are not the best for our oldest and her allergies.  Anywho- if you have them, take them down and wash them. You may even decide to leave them down for the season and let the light shine in!

• Lastly, give the room a good vacuum.  Now is an even better time to steam clean your carpets! We own a steam cleaner attachment for our vacuum, but if you do not see if you can borrow one from a friend or rent one- many grocery stores even do this now.  Cleaning carpets twice a year is a good habit to get into and can extend the life of your carpets! If you have wood floors, sweep and mop.

Are you tired yet?  I am!  As you can see, I had two helpers and this was not a quick project.  But as I sit here typing a recap I can look around and smile- it looks tidy, smells clean, and says WELCOME!

And despite the fact that I almost messed her up and got a week ahead of her, Kemi from Homemaking Organized has a sweet printable for you to spruce up your living room.  Have I mentioned how great she is?  Hop on over and print it out, and tell her how talented she is!

Your turn to work on those Living Rooms!  Can't wait to see what you do.

Week 7- The Dining Room

Week 9- Books

In the meantime, how about linking up those dining rooms or leaving us a comment of how you did!

An InLinkz Link-up

Until the next assignment, HAPPY CLEANING and many blessings!