A sparkling, spotless living area is something worth celebrating – although this is rarely the standard in most homes. Either life gets in the way, or there are not the right systems in place to mitigate mess, and you are left feeling deflated with your untidy and lacklustre living area. Fear not, there are a number of things you can do to improve the cleanliness of this important space, so follow these six tips and see how you go in transforming your surroundings!

1. Deep cleaning trumps surface cleaning

A surface clean is just that – surface deep. Before long, that hard work will disappear before your eyes and the familiar grime and mess will need to be contended with once more. Instead, use a quality carpet cleaner and buy hard floor cleaner online to actually remove that foundational mess so that you can just tidy thereafter to keep that base level standard. You are not going to see that sparkling end result without deep cleaning solutions and appliances.

2. Get strategic

Do you apply many strategies to your clean, or are you one to just get in there and get started? If you do not see a spotless and sparkling living space, it could be a sign that you are working hard but not working smart. Think about the day and time that your home is most active and prone to mess, and choose your cleaning day based on that. A Friday night clean will soon be a distant memory if Saturdays are manic in your home and result in an even bigger mess than the day before. Putting a cleaning schedule together will save you a big headache.

3. Focus on the right areas

Organising your bookcase in the living area so that all the books are colour coordinated might look great, but it’s not going to bring you closer to a spotless and sparkling area. Cleaning your windows and polishing hardware and shiny surfaces will be noticeable, however, and it will actually go a long way in setting the tone for the rest of the home. Dusting is another job that is not embraced enough, despite how simple it is and how powerful the impact is. Assess what areas are going to yield a greater impact and focus there.

4. Clean your fabrics

When was the last time you washed your couches, rugs, cushions, throws and any other fabrics that inhabit your living area? If you are in the majority, then you might never have done this at all. Taking the time to wash them all will bring some colour and life back to your fabrics, and it might even change the aroma of the room to be a more pleasant one. Ideally, you want to be looking to do this seasonally, and can even tee this chore up with some of your bigger, less-frequent tasks like cleaning your walls.

5. Light sources

If you are reading this as someone who has implemented all the aforementioned tips and unsure why you are not seeing much sparkle – your lighting might be the culprit. Our light sources can directly impact how your living area is perceived.

Natural light is very complementary to space, so be sure to maximise these sources. If you are limited with your natural light, choose artificial lighting that is soft and ambient and avoid fluorescents at all costs. You want the perfect light balance to catch your living area in the right way that you can see and feel its fresh and sparkly atmosphere.

6. Declutter

We can’t discuss cleaning tips without touching on the need to declutter your home on a semi-regular basis. If you have unnecessary pieces of furniture, belongings and general ‘stuff’, then your home has no chance of getting to a spotless state. You don’t have to be too militant, but try your best to cut what you don’t honestly need.

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Will your living area be a spotless and sparkling paradise every day of the year? Of course not. However, these tips will go a long way in achieving a higher standard of cleanliness and will give you more spotless days than you see currently.