1. Gather your tools: To clean an octopus, you’ll need a sharp knife, a cutting board, a pair of kitchen scissors, and a container for the cleaned parts.

2. Prepare the work area: Make sure your cutting board is secure and that your tools are clean and easily accessible. Place a large bowl nearby to hold the cleaned octopus.

3. Rinse the octopus: Begin by thoroughly rinsing the octopus under cold water. Gently scrub the surface to remove any debris or slime, ensuring the tentacles are cleaned as well.

4. Remove the beak: The beak is a small, hard mouthpiece located at the center of the tentacles. Using your fingers, locate and grasp the beak, then gently twist and pull it out. Discard the beak.

5. Cut off the eyes: Using your kitchen scissors or a sharp knife, carefully cut around the eyes to remove them from the head of the octopus. Be cautious not to puncture the ink sac located below the eyes.

6. Remove ink sac: Position your knife below where you removed the eyes and cut horizontally across the head. The ink sac should be visible—a small dark pouch within this upper section of head matter. Slowly cut around it and remove it carefully and discard.

7. Clean inside head cavity: Once you’ve removed and discarded ink sac and innards from inside of head cavity, rinse head under cold water, rubbing gently to eliminate remaining debris.

8. Turn head inside out: To ensure all internals have been removed from head cavity, turn it inside out by applying gentle pressure on edges—it should resemble an open bag when complete.

9. Rinse whole octopus again: After turning head back to its normal state (outside in), rinse entire octopus under cold water once more.

10. Cut into desired portions: You are now ready to prepare octopus for cooking. With a sharp knife, slice between each tentacle and head, creating separate pieces. Then, trim any remaining membrane and skin if desired. You can also cut the entire head into smaller portions.

Your cleaned octopus is now ready for cooking! Follow your chosen recipe to create delicious octopus dishes like grilled tentacles, stews, salads, or even fried calamari. Enjoy!