House Cleaning Services Via Me

As our summer season changes from summer to fall, it is time to make out that fall house cleaning checklist for the house and the garden, which is via me in my house. I love the autumn, particularly because of the beautiful leaves and then there is also football. It is an exciting time of the year as we make plans and move closer to the holidays. Living even in northern Florida, autumn means this is the first time in a long time that you can stand to be outside long enough to get some of those chores down, like washing windows.

I make two lists, one for the indoor jobs and one for outside chores Plan to do the outdoor chores on a good weather day. These are the things that will be on my outdoor list and hopefully we will complete a decent portion of them.

List of jobs for the outdoors in autumn:

• Clean patio furniture and make sure the grill is in top notch shape.
• If you have children, then their summer toys should be cleaned.
• Gutters need to be looked at and cleaned if necessary.
• Clean the windows and this could obviously be on either list, but while you are cleaning the outside window, check the caulk and re-caulk if needed. Use a 32 oz. spray bottle with about 1/3 cup white vinegar and 1/4 rubbing alcohol and you can add a tbsp. of dishwasher liquid.
• Install weather stripping around doors if needed.
• Drain and store garden hoses so water won’t freeze inside them when winter arrives.
• If you have a fireplace, have your chimney flue inspected and cleaned if necessary.
• Clean your outside air conditioning unit (see video below)
• If you have bulbs that need to be dug up or planted, this is the time. Don’t cut back bushes as this stimulates growth which can kill the plant when the cold weather begins.
• Our hot water heater is in the garage so this is the time to drain sediment.
• We have plants sitting outside that will have to be brought in to survive.
• Garden shredders are a great way to get rid of fallen leaves and they help fertilize the soil for nest year.

Now we will move on to the inside of the house:

• Use a professional carpet cleaner and get your carpets cleaned as they should be cleaned every 6-8 months anyway and you want them clean for the holidays. Schedule this by early October so you have good dry weather for them to dry faster.
• If you have wood or laminate flooring, clean and shine it thoroughly, moving furniture as necessary. If you have tile floors, of course, you do the same thing and scrub them until they shine.
• Wash all throw rugs.
• I assume you cleaned the inside of the window and window sill when you did the outside.
• Focus on your house from top to bottom, which means checking your air vents, cleaning over head fans and light fixtures.
• Draperies need to be cleaned, they may just need vacuuming or you may wash them or dry clean them as necessary. If they say dry clean don’t take a chance on washing them. Wipe off drapery rods.
• Also, clean Venetian blinds (a job I don’t like to do but??).
• Vacuum upholstered furniture completely; move the furniture and clean under as well. If you’re lucky you’ll find some change under the cushions! You may want to get your furniture professionally cleaned.
• Turn your mattresses front to back and end to end to equalize wear. Wash the blankets, mattress pads, comforters, pillows and bed spread if you haven’t done that lately.
• Polish all the wood furniture and this is a good time to actually wash all the knick knacks instead of just giving them a quick dusting.
• Spots on the walls may need to be wiped clean and cobwebs in corners are another thing to look for.

We’ll devote new paragraphs for the bath and kitchen as this is where the scrubbing begins.

• In the bathroom, bath and shower wall must be scrubbed. Wash shower curtains if you have them.
• If you have tile there are numerous special cleaners (environmentally friendly products) to remove hard water stains and mildew, plus products to give them a shinny appearance.
• If you have shower doors the thing I do for hard water stains is to scrub with the glass cleaner I wrote about above, and finish with lemon oil that would normally be used on wood. The doors will be clear and shiny when you are done.
• Scrub tubs, sinks and toilets as you probably already do. Clean mirrors and the light fixture.
• Finish up by cleaning the floor using the method called for and put down some clean throw rugs.

In the kitchen, start at the top and work down:

• Light fixtures need to be washed, as well as, kitchen curtains.
• If you have some displays sitting on top of cabinets get them down and wash them, plus clean the top of the cabinets.
• If you haven’t had everything out of your refrigerator for a cleaning lately, this is the time to do so. Wash all the shelves, drawers and shelves on the refrigerator door. When you are done on the inside, wash down the whole outside, including pulling the refrigerator out from the wall. A lot of dust and dirt can get on the copper hosing on the back and under the refrigerator. Vacuum the condenser coils.
• Most people have a self cleaning oven, and I am certainly thankful for mine as cleaning stoves is another thing I am not fond of. If you don’t have self cleaning the easiest thing to do is use a spray cleaner and let it sit overnight. The rest of the stove and hood need to be wiped down as well. Make sure you clean around the oven dials as dirt can build up there and it isn’t always too visible.
• The fronts of cabinets need to be washed or cleaned in whatever manner is appropriate. Clean the counter tops and all those things we have sitting on top, such as toasters, jar openers, microwaves, canister sets, coffee pots, and so forth.
• Really if you haven’t used an appliance in a week or two you probably should find a place for it inside a cabinet as clear counters are more attractive.
• Another good idea is to re-organize your spice cabinet as you are probably going to be doing a lot of cooking for the holidays and make sure your baking supplies are in order...

• If you have a central vac (I wish), empty the central vacuum’s collection area.
• Clean electronic air cleaner elements before the heating season begins.
• Check humidifiers and clean as needed and replace the filter.
• Check your washer hoses for bulges or cracks. They can use replacing every year.
• Check you dryer exhaust tube and vent for built-up lint, and other debris. It is good to have a furnace inspection in the fall.
• If you live where it snows, buy your salt and get it stacked up now before the ice is on the sidewalk.
• Keep a supply of furnace air filters on hand so you can change them monthly as needed.

I didn’t talk about attics, basements or garages as you know what you need to do in those areas. If you start the cleaning routine soon and space out the activity it won’t seem so overwhelming and you will feel like you have made a big accomplishment when you have finished.

Children of any age ought to help. Often the little ones want to help and are more in the way than a help, but it is all part of the family working together. This is great training for your children. Children can be responsible for their bedrooms with your guidance. They can be given their own chore list as well, and then they cross off the chores as they complete them.

It feels good to look around your house when things are clean and neat.  You have places in mind by now for the Christmas decorations.  Now it’s time to polish silver and plan those holiday meal!

The copyright to this article is owned by Pamela Oglesby. Permission to republish this article in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.