Here’s How to Spring Clean Your Furniture to Make It Look Better for Longer

With Spring Cleaning for Your Mood, we’re helping you get your housekeeping done no matter what state of mind you’re in. For 20 weekdays in April, we’ll focus on cleaning a new area of your space, with three different ways to get it done—so it’s easy to stay on track even when you’re busy, tired, or away from home. Sign up with your email now and enjoy a better space by the end of the month.

Your home should support you. Literally. The seats you sit on and the tables you prop your life upon need some spring cleaning love—maybe more than anything else in your space. Sure, you wipe and vacuum from time to time, but today is your moment to really fortify your furniture and keep your favorite stuff looking sharp.

Regular cleaning and maintenance of your furniture isn’t just going to keep things looking good. It can also help your pieces last longer—which saves money in the long run.

So what are you in the mood for today?

You don’t have to intensely clean every single piece of furniture within your four walls. But if you’re choosing the deep dive route today, you should commit to addressing a chunk of the pieces that you use and touch in the course of a regular day.

Here are some things to consider:

• Sofas
• Coffee table
• Accent chairs
• Accent tables and consoles (like the entryway table and TV stand)
• Dining chairs and table
• Desk
• Storage furniture (dresser, wardrobe)
• Bed frame (you can skip the sheets, pillows, and mattress for today)
• Nightstands

For each of those items, you’ll want to use this three-pass process:

• Clean: Wipe down surfaces, fronts, and legs. Vacuum the undersides and hidden crannies of your pieces. Vacuum all over your upholstered pieces, including under the cushions. Launder any slipcovers.
• Maintain: Tighten legs and handles. Spot-treat any stains. Remove pills from fabric. Address any repairs that need to be done.
• Treat: Polish wood furniture, condition leather, or apply any other semi-annual treatments your pieces require.

Depending on how much time you have to dedicate to the task, choose one piece of furniture in your space to give the three-step “deep clean” treatment above. Clean, maintain, and treat that piece, as needed.

Trust your brain to know what needs to be done the most. Wherever you are, close your eyes and think about your furniture, until you zero in on one thing that nags at you: a stuck drawer, a visible chip, or a spot that won’t come out. Your mission for today is to make a plan to fix it, and do one thing to set that plan in motion: buy a product, set a reminder, or make an appointment.

Visit the Spring Cleaning for Your Mood page to check out all the assignments so far. Download the PDF calendar so you always know what’s coming. And sign up with your email so you’re always on track: