Cleaning your home is like going into battle with your own house. There’s cupboards full of surprises, coffee stains that will put up fierce resistance, problem areas that you thought were long gone and treacherous conditions caused by dust. It’s a minefield.

How to overcome it? Well, as any good tactician will tell you, the way to win the battle is to come up with a battleplan. A strategy that you believe is so good that your enemies – in this case, clutter and dirt – won’t be able to overcome.

That’s where we’re here to help. Here are five steps to help you clean your home.

Put some music on

First things first – get some upbeat music on. There is nothing more depressing than cleaning with just the sound of a vacuum cleaner and the thoughts of “This is hell” rolling around your mind. Have a look at this cleaning playlist which will help the time fly.

Set about decluttering

The temptation when cleaning is to simply pick everything up and throw it in a closet. Out of sight, out of mind is a technique that might work in some areas of life, but not when it comes to cleaning. Take the opportunity to declutter your home. If you come across clothes you no longer wear or toys that the kids no longer player with, then consider donating or recycling them. By getting rid now, you’ll be ensuring you have less to clean and put away next time the task rolls around.

Be methodical when it comes to dust

Dust is horrible, isn’t it? No matter how hard you try, you always manage to miss a spot. The best way to dust is methodically – go from left to right, top to bottom across every surface in the house, and not just those that appear dusty to you. Something may look clean, but once the sun shifts around or the natural lighting of a room is replaced with artificial lighting from a lamp, you’ll discover areas that looked clean earlier but now are covered in dust. For the faces of framed photos and screens, use glass cleaner to avoid streaking.

Invest in the right equipment for floors

If you are mopping a kitchen or bathroom floor, then start in the furthest corner of the room and move backwards towards the entrance, rinsing the mop after each four-square foot area you’ve cleaned. By working in that way, you’re taking yourself out of the area you’ve cleaned rather than marooning yourself in a corner, surrounded by wet floor. When it comes to carpets, a powerful vacuum or Dry Carpet Cleaner will produce the best results.

Don’t be afraid of what is down the back of your furniture

It’s not enough just to beat down the cushions of your furniture. Use a vacuum to suck up all the dirt and be sure to get right down the back of the sofa. Sure, the prospect of what you mind find down there is a scary one, but you might also be surprised. Who knows, there could be enough loose change for you to be able to hire a professional cleaner for next time? If that doesn’t encourage you to clean the sofa thoroughly, then what will?!