7 Days to A Cleaner More Organized Home – Part 2 – Livingroom and Diningroom

The idea behind these seven days is to bring back some order to your home. You will tackle an area of your home each day. These are quick cleanings, not deep cleaning. To make this program work you should keep up the order in your home by putting things away each day. Start off the morning with a clean slate.

So let’s continue.

Don’t forget to have a piece of paper and a pen or pencil handy. This is where we will keep notes on small items we can hopefully find in the surplus of our homes or if not pick up at a very reduced cost (think Dollar Store here) to help the room along.

Also keep making note of and putting aside any items you know you would like to get rid of. Don’t overdo it, we’re just cleaning here but if something catches your eye have a central place to keep it until Saturday or go on and dump it.

Today: Livingrooms and Diningrooms

Get a large basket and a garbage bag. A Laundry basket works well for the basket part. Put them at the entrance to your living room. If your living room and dining rooms connect put them between the two. Put a dust rag, or duster in your back pocket…Okay just the dust rag and duster and put them on the coffee table or a flat surface in your first working room which in this case we will say the living room.

Go around the living room in a clockwise (or counterclockwise) order. Pivot and toss garbage in the trash bag and things that don’t belong in this room in the basket. If you have a large room put these items in close to the area you are working in so you don’t have to walk to dump things in.

Straighten books, magazines, and couch cushion as you go.

When all done with the straightening and tossing grab the duster and dust all surfaces. Get the hanging pictures too. With a duster it goes quickly but it’s not as thorough. Our goal here is quick. We’ll add regular dusting to our routine in the future (right?)

Do you have pets? You might need to do over the couches with a damp sponge or a sticky roller. I do damp sponge and I keep the couches covered in pet friendly throw blankets because cats are sneaky and will get up there when you aren’t looking.

Now vacuum. No, no not under the couch, just in front of it. Get the middle of the room and any exposed areas.

Do the exact same thing in the dining room. Dust the chairs. If you are caught in the trap of using your dining table as mail or bill paying central get a small rectangular flat basket, the side of paper. You can find all kinds in the office supply store. You just want somewhere to regularly stow these papers and go through them once a week (or more often). Toss all the mail and/or bills in there. Make it look neat. Toss a pen on top for making notes.

So did you notice anything you might like to have to help the your livingroom or diningroom? Sometimes I have a large basket or two I’m not using that I can add to the livingroom to help contain magazines or newspapers. In the diningroom I placed a small basket on the end of the table because not matter what I did mail and odds and ends would end up on the table. So that has solved the clutter problem for us. Remember not too much. Our goal is to enhance not overwhelm.

Next up the bathrooms…..