This should be one of the easier rooms in the house to clean. If you are like most people you probably do a pretty decent job of keeping up with the living room since that is the room people see most often when coming to your home. And this is a great time of year to clean the living room since a lot of people are movingknick knacks and furniture to bring out the Christmas decorations anyway.
1. Take down all window treatments and wash them (if possible). At least shake them out if you can't launder them or take them to the cleaners. Dust or wash the blinds.
2. Wipe down ceiling fan, if you have one. Remove all the (removable) parts of the light fixture(s). Wash glass shades in hot soapy water and dry. Wipe down the remaining parts of the fixture that cannot be removed.
3. Dust the ceiling first, then dust the walls. Use a rag or an extending duster. A regular (dry) Swiffer also works nicely.
4. Wash door (front and back), door knob, and frame. Don't forget the top of the door and the door frame.
5. Wash window(s) inside and out. Don't forget the sill and frame. Brush window screen with a dry, stiff brush.
6. Vacuum any upholstered furniture. Don't forget to take cushions off furniture and vacuum under them.
7. Move each piece of furniture and vacuum under it using the vac tool to get along the wall. Dust any parts of the walls (including the baseboard) you may have missed before you moved the furniture. Dust the furniture (top, front, back, and sides) before returning it to it's place. Clean any decorative items and lamps on tables. [You can move all the furniture at once or do it one piece at a time.]
8. Dust any remaining items hanging on the wall. Wipe down frames/mirrors, clean glass with glass cleaner. Remove any items from wall shelves, dust the items, and the shelf.
9. Wipe any heating/cooling vents. Wipe light switch plate.
10. Go around room and wipe baseboards with a damp rag.
11. Vacuum floor/rug. Use vac tool to get along the edge of the wall.
12. If you need to declutter: Don't put back any items you don't use or belong! Keep only a few items on top of tables or shelves. This makes it much easy to clean on a regular basis.
13. Nothing should be stored loose on the floor (books, videos, toys, etc.). Find a home for these items-use baskets, drawers, or shelves. We store the kids books in a basket inside of an end table that has a door. We also keep a small basket of toys out as well, but most of the toys are in the basement. If you do keep a lot of toys in the living room figure out a way to keep them tidy. Kids can't be expected to put away their toys if there really is no place to put them!
14. If you have a front entryway, clean that as part of the living room. If you need tips on cleaning out a closet, follow the tips in the master bedroom post. We don't use our front hall closet for coats... we converted it to homeschool storage by adding shelves. We hang our coats by the back door. When we have guests we just put their jackets in the master bedroom. If you lack storage somewhere in your house, seriously re-think the extra space in your front hall closet. At our old house we used the front hall closet for toy storage. Get creative and think outside the box closet. Toy storage, homeschool supply storage, or even extra pantry space are all good options!
The living room cleaning checklist can be found here. Want to keep it looking great?
1. Take down all window treatments and wash them (if possible). At least shake them out if you can't launder them or take them to the cleaners. Dust or wash the blinds.
2. Wipe down ceiling fan, if you have one. Remove all the (removable) parts of the light fixture(s). Wash glass shades in hot soapy water and dry. Wipe down the remaining parts of the fixture that cannot be removed.
3. Dust the ceiling first, then dust the walls. Use a rag or an extending duster. A regular (dry) Swiffer also works nicely.
4. Wash door (front and back), door knob, and frame. Don't forget the top of the door and the door frame.
5. Wash window(s) inside and out. Don't forget the sill and frame. Brush window screen with a dry, stiff brush.
6. Vacuum any upholstered furniture. Don't forget to take cushions off furniture and vacuum under them.
7. Move each piece of furniture and vacuum under it using the vac tool to get along the wall. Dust any parts of the walls (including the baseboard) you may have missed before you moved the furniture. Dust the furniture (top, front, back, and sides) before returning it to it's place. Clean any decorative items and lamps on tables. [You can move all the furniture at once or do it one piece at a time.]8. Dust any remaining items hanging on the wall. Wipe down frames/mirrors, clean glass with glass cleaner. Remove any items from wall shelves, dust the items, and the shelf.
9. Wipe any heating/cooling vents. Wipe light switch plate.
10. Go around room and wipe baseboards with a damp rag.
11. Vacuum floor/rug. Use vac tool to get along the edge of the wall.
12. If you need to declutter: Don't put back any items you don't use or belong! Keep only a few items on top of tables or shelves. This makes it much easy to clean on a regular basis.
13. Nothing should be stored loose on the floor (books, videos, toys, etc.). Find a home for these items-use baskets, drawers, or shelves. We store the kids books in a basket inside of an end table that has a door. We also keep a small basket of toys out as well, but most of the toys are in the basement. If you do keep a lot of toys in the living room figure out a way to keep them tidy. Kids can't be expected to put away their toys if there really is no place to put them!
14. If you have a front entryway, clean that as part of the living room. If you need tips on cleaning out a closet, follow the tips in the master bedroom post. We don't use our front hall closet for coats... we converted it to homeschool storage by adding shelves. We hang our coats by the back door. When we have guests we just put their jackets in the master bedroom. If you lack storage somewhere in your house, seriously re-think the extra space in your front hall closet. At our old house we used the front hall closet for toy storage. Get creative and think outside the 
The living room cleaning checklist can be found here. Want to keep it looking great?- Pick up toys and clutter daily or twice daily.
- If you get something out, put it away.
- Dust and vacuum once a week.
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