Prepare your living room for Spring
It’s almost Spring and you can smell it. People are getting excited about the warmer temperatures and being able to enjoy the outdoors. It’s the time to start again – fresh! This week, we’re continuing our spring cleaning and we’re taking on the living room. Get it ready for you and your family but also for your friends to come visit (unannounced).
Declutter, declutter, declutter
It’s the golden rule. Before you organise or clean anything, declutter first. You can involve everyone in the family and make it a game. Give everyone a box or bag. The decluttered items will go in there. Who can declutter the most within 5 minutes? Set the timer! Go!
TV/media unit
- Do you still have DVDs or videos but no player?
- Do you have remote controls but not the matching TV, DVD player or game box?
- Still have a receiver from a previous provider?
- Do have cables (and more cables) but don’t have the device anymore?
If you’ve answered yes to any of these, declutter them. You can sell DVDs, maybe even videos. For ease, you may drop them off at your local donation centre.
Couch
- Are there any torn or stained cushions?
- Do you have any blankets which are ripped or torn?
- Are any of the chairs broken?
If yes, throw them out or mend these. Set yourself a deadline to get these mended or the chairs fixed. For example, bring the cushions to the tailor in the next 2 weeks. If you haven’t done it within that timeframe, they become clutter and should go.
Books
- Do you have multiple editions of the same book?
- Are there any books you don’t like or don’t want to read?
- Do you have books which will you not read again?
Those where you’ve answered yes, donate or sell them. Depending on the genre and how well they’re maintained, you can give them to your kid’s school library or your local library. Also, if you have old books, your local museum or university may be interested in them. Plus, there are also more and more local “help yourself to a book” places popping up.
We struggle to throw out books. For us, no book should ever be thrown out (unless it’s missing half of its pages and then it should be recycled). Rather, give someone else the joy of reading.
The top down approach
This is a rule that you can use for any room. Start with a top down approach. This stops you from having to clean an area multiple times as dust and dirt falls downs.
Top level
- Dust off the top of all shelves and cabinets
- Dust the ceiling fan, if you have one
- Check all lights and replace as needed
- Dust the ceiling lights
- Dust the air conditioning vents
- Clean all windows and balcony/garden doors
Eye level
- Dust any tall art work, figurines and decoration
- Dust any bookshelves, pictures, clocks and whatever else is on your living room walls
- Wash any curtains and clean blinds and shades
- Dust any large plants (you may even want to re-pot them if they’ve grown their current pot – another weekend project)
- Clean all mirrors and the glass of your pictures
- Dust all electronics
Waist level
- Dust the lamp shades
- Dust any figures and decoration
- Vacuum the couch and chairs, lift up the seat cushions and be surprised what you’ll find
- Treat your leather furniture
- Wash the cushions and blankets
- Clean coffee and side tables
- Dust any plants (like above, re-pot if necessary)
- Dust the radiator
Floor level
- Create a box where your kid will put all toys go before they’ll go to bed
- Dust the air conditioning vents
- Dust baseboard
- Vacuum and wash any smaller rugs
- Steam clean the larger rugs and carpets (or hire a professional to do it)
- Take out the trash
- Put all donations in your car and drop them off (before you’ll drive them around for the next 4 months)
- Sweep through the living room, then mop the floor
You can tackle these different activities in one session over the weekend. Alternatively, you may want to do it for 15 minutes every day of this week. You’d be surprised how much you can actually achieve during this time. Turn your music on (no TV please, you know where that leads to… right, nothing!) and get started.
Isn’t it wonderful to have your living room ready for Spring? It’s clutter free and clean. You can start enjoying the warm rays of sunshine coming into your living room.
Tell us how you got on with this week’s spring cleaning of your living room. We’d love to hear your experiences. So leave us a message!
Until next time,
Agni