With the night's drawing in, your living room is going to become your hibernating spot for the next few months. Now's the time to give it a deep clean so that it's ready to welcome you for long evenings snuggled up on the sofa in front of the fire.
Follow these seven steps to clean your living room. Once you've done these, you just need to get stocked up on hot chocolate and red wine!
1. Get the vacuum out
Treat your living room to a thorough vacuum, and don't stop after the carpets. Give your skirting, curtains, blinds, light fixtures and fittings a once over too to get rid of dust before you get to work with cleaning products.
Read more: Twelve unusual hacks for keeping your home clean
2. Freshen up your rug
Take your rug outside and practise your forehand swing by bashing out the dust with a carpet beater. This will make the rug look better, smell better and feel great.
3. Wipe away stains
Marks and stains are best tackled sooner rather than later, but there's still hope for those old stains you haven't got around to yet. A mixture of warm water and either dishwasher detergent or white wine vinegar should remove most stains from carpets, rugs and upholstery. And these stain eliminating wipes are effective for wiping away immediate spills.
Buy now: Kilrock Dabitoff Carpet and Upholstery Stain Remover Wipes, £3.49, Lakeland
4. Clean your screen
Get rid of all those child-sized greasy fingerprints peppering your TV screen by gently dusting the screen with a soft, dry microfibre cloth or a disposable duster. Go over the buttons and the back of the TV too to remove unwanted dust. Harsh cleansers will ruin your TV, so use a screen wipe specifically designed for electronics to tackle stubborn smudges.
Buy now: Fellowes Screen Cleaning Wipes, £2.25, Wilko
5. Pick up the polish
Make your tabletops and chair legs shine by spraying them with polish and giving them a good rub with a duster.
Read more: How to clean your mattress
6. Refresh your curtains
The occasional spritz of *famous odour eliminating product* is ok, but you're be using your curtains a lot more to keep your living room cosy over the coming months, so treat them to a proper cleanse. Use a steam cleaner on curtains and blinds, and some can even clean your windows too.
7. Revive your lampshades
Restore your lampshades from grubby to gorgeous with a special lampshade cleaning sponge. It's also great for us on wallpapers and fabrics like suede.
Buy now: Dry Magic Lampshade Cleaning Sponge, £7, John Lewis
And voila! A clean living room just in time for a snug and cosy winter.
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