One Part of Your Living Room You Only Have to Clean Once a Year

The phrase “out of sight, out of mind” is usually employed, at least in the context of cleaning content, to instill a sense of guilt, like you should be ashamed for not cleaning something you don’t ever see.

Shame is rarely a powerful motivator. And I’m not sure that every “out of sight” area of your home needs to be scrubbed within an inch of its life on a weekly basis. Sure there are spaces in the kitchen and bathroom where cleaning is a part of good home hygiene. But if you only get to the dust bunnies under your sofa once or twice a year, it’ll be fine (pending the presence of pets or kids who might crawl under there).

Whether you clean under your sofa regularly, or haven’t done it since you assembled the sofa, today’s a day to give that area one good, solid deep clean.

Let’s go…

For today’s assignment, you’ll really just need a vacuum, and the upholstery brush attachment if you have one (plus maybe a wet mop if you want to really clean the floors under the sofa).

Here’s how to get it done:

• Start by thoroughly cleaning your sofa in place. Remove all the cushions that you can and vacuum in and around every crack and crevice.
• If you’re able, pull your sofa away from the wall so you can access the entire floor where it usually sits. (I realize this step is dependent on a lot of variables — space, ability, the size of your sofa — just do what you can!)
• Pick up any large debris you see, then vacuum the area under the sofa. If you have a rug in this space, vacuum the rug itself, then lift it up and fold it over to vacuum the floor underneath as well.
• If you’d like, now’s a good time to wet mop the floors in this space.
• Before you push the sofa back into place, vacuum the sides and back of it with your upholstery brush attachment.
• Push the sofa back into place and replace the cushions, then give it one more vacuum all over.

Today’s mission is quite a lift (kinda literally), so just do what you can. The goal is to feel good about finally cleaning this one “out of sight” place.

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