1.    Tidy. Tidying the living room will get you off to a great start, as most of the dirt in the room will be pretty invisible to the glancing eye. Tidiness however, means that the place looks in order, and you will feel positive about carrying on with the cleaning and getting the whole thing done effectively. Be sure to remove all items that belong elsewhere, namely crockery, and ensure that any books left out are tidied away, but not put in the shelves, as they are likely being read by someone in the house. 2.    Dust. Dusting the room will mean that the air feels fresher, and there will be a certain change in the mood as you get rid of the grey fluff that gathers all over the place. You should dust form high to low, ensuring that you don;t miss any spots. Use a feather duster on a long handle to get the spots that you can’t reach, and use a dusting cloth for the rest of the room. Be sure to deposit the build up of dust on the cloth into the bin regularly, as otherwise you won’t be cleaning, just spreading dust around! If you dust in any other order, you will most likely find that the dust settles in places that you have already cleaned, and this is the opposite of efficient cleaning! 3.    Clean the sofas and arm chairs. There are two parts to this process. Firstly, remove the cushions form the sofa or armchair that you are attending to, and give them a good shake over the floor to remove any crumbs and dirt that may have collected there. Take the vacuum cleaner, and vacuum in the gaps under the cushions, ensuring that you get rid of everything that has become stuck in there. Do the same to the cushions just to be sure. Once you have gotten the sofa dust free, you should have a look for any unsightly stains that the sofa may have collected on it’s upholstery. If you feel that there are a couple of marks that you would prefer get rid of, then take a little soapy water, and have a little scrub at it. Be careful not to damage the fibers, as otherwise you will potentially have a much worse mark on your hands! There are upholstery cleaners available that may be a little more effective than the detergent and water, but if you can’t get it out with that combination, then you are likely going to be better off with a professional clean! 4.    Once the sofa is all dusted off, then you will have lifted all the dust in the room in to the air. This means that you can polish the surfaces and metal work in the living room, which will give it a nice shiny gleam. Be sure to move things as you polish surfaces, as otherwise the overall effect won’t be as good, and dust will be left around certain items on shelves and sideboards. 5.    Vacuuming the floor is the last step, and this should be the case with all cleaning, as otherwise you will be knocking dust and dirt on to the floor and will have to keep re-cleaning it! Getting the last of the dust up off the floor means that you can safely look back on a clean living room as you walk out of there, safe in the knowledge that the room looks its best.