Fall Cleaning, How to Clean House After a Messy Summer

Fall, I love fall. It’s a great time of year. The air is cooler after, so many hot days. The air is crisper, after so many muggy summer nights. I just love this time of year. But with the end of summer comes the need for fall cleaning.

With all the busyness of summer coming to an end you might find a few cleaning duties you may have missed over the summer. Cleaning that you have let go in lieu of summer fun. Or am I the only one who did this over the summer?

Now, my house isn’t a total mess. I kept up with the basics, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms. But any extras like window cleaning, dusting baseboards and keeping the clutter down. Just fell by the wayside to gather the dust of the summer.

If you have some dusty areas that need to get cleaned after the all the summer fun, do worry, I’ve got a few tips to help you get your house spic and span in not time.

Fall Clean Up, Fall Cleaning Tips

These tips should help to evaluate the areas that need the most fall house cleaning and help you to get motivated to get it done. When you tackle this forgotten or neglected areas now, there will be less to do when the holidays arrive. Pull up your sleeves and let’s dive in and get our fall clean up started.

1. Survey the Mess

Take a look around the house and see what stands out to you that really needs to be done. You want to start with the most noticeable area or areas of the home that have been let go. When you concentrate on the worst areas first, with your fall cleaning, you can see you are making progress. Progress always keeps me motivated to keep moving forward. So start with something that jumps out at you as you look around the rooms.

For me, I discovered a thick dust had settled on the baseboard. The return air vents are a little hairy, probably from all dog and cat fur. There’re a few spots of extra clutter tucked in here and there that need to be tackled before the get out of hand too.

2. Make a Cleaning Plan

Don’t try to make up for three months of cleaning in one day or one week. Make a plan to tackle one extra task, in one room a day or week. Then get the day’s task done as quickly as you can.

I like to divide my house cleaning into house levels, we have 3 distinct levels in our home. When working on the upper floor I’ll work on one of my main cleaning tasks as I go from room to room. Then when I work on the next floor I’ll do it again. In a few weeks, all three of my main tasks will be done on each floor and the house will be looking great again.

If you don’t have distinct floors to work on, work on one task that needs extra attention on each cleaning day. Soon all your extra tasks will be done and your home will be looking spectacular.

3. Return to a More Normal Cleaning Routine

Once you have the house whipped back into shape, it would be a good idea to add those tasks, you did over the last week or so to your weekly cleaning routine. Keeping up with those extra tasks each week makes preparing for holiday company so much easier.

You might find those extra tasks only need to be done once a month or every other week. Be sure to add them to your regular cleaning schedule.

4. Don’t Take it All on Yourself

It’s always good to have the kids help with daily and weekly tasks. It helps them to feel they are contributing to the family and teaches them the skills they will need for their own homes someday.

At first, there might be complaining, I know that happens at our house, but once everyone gets into the regular routine of cleaning tasks it will be easier for everyone.

Now it’s Your Turn

What’s a tasks did you let go over the summer and now you need to get back to? What’s on your fall cleaning checklist? Leave me a comment and let me know I’m not the only one who took the carefree road over the summer. 🙂

 

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More Home Cleaning Help…

3 Tips to Get You Motivated to Clean When You Don’t Feel Like It

5 Tips to Keep Your Home Clean with Less Effort