Everyone’s heard of spring cleaning, when you shake off the winter. But what about fall cleaning? 

The dog days of summer have ended. It’s time to open the windows to get some fresh air, prepare your home for winter and get ready for holiday festivities.  

If you’re not exactly sure where to start, no worries. Here are handy checklists for timely chores both outside and inside your home.

Outside Your Home

First things first. Clean and store your patio furniture and kids’ toys so they’re ready for warm weather next year. Other chores might include:

• Touch up the paint on doors, windows, other trim, railings, decks and any other painted surface on the exterior of your home. You want to make sure wood is protected from the elements. Use a wire brush to remove flaking paint, and then prime bare wood before painting.
• Check the caulk around windows and doors, and re-caulk as necessary to keep out wind and rain.
• Inspect external doors and garage doors and make sure they close tightly. If they don’t, add weather stripping or thresholds. 
• Drain and store hoses, and install insulating covers on exterior spigots. If you’re in a hard freeze area, hire someone to have your sprinkler systems blown free of water.
• Clear debris from gutters and downspouts. 
• If you have a fireplace or pellet or wood stove, have chimneys and flues inspected and cleaned if necessary. And make sure the damper is closed unless you’re using the fireplace.

Inside Your Home

Fall is a great time to get things cleaned up and organized before the holiday season arrives with all its hustle and bustle. Things will be much less stressful during that busy time if you know exactly where everything is and what you might need to replenish. Here are a few tips to get you thinking about what needs sprucing up inside your home.

Homemaking Chores

• Clean out your refrigerator, freezer and pantry. Toss out old and expired food, including condiments, and clean the shelves with a disinfectant cleaner. 
• Go through all of your cookware and bakeware and see if anything needs to be replaced, like rusty cookie sheets, burned-out pans, missing cookie cutters, bent measuring spoons, etc. 
• If you bake for the holidays, be sure you have enough supplies such as flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, spices and herbs as well as shortening or lard.
• Thoroughly clean the bathroom. This includes the medicine cabinet, drawers and cabinets. This is a good time to make sure any over-the-counter medications you have haven’t expired. 
• If you have children, have them help you do a  toy and clothing purge. Throw away anything that’s broken or torn, and pack up unwanted or outgrown items to donate.
• Flip mattresses, and wash all bedding, including pillows and mattress pads.
• Either clean your carpets or hire someone to do so.
• Clean window treatments and blinds.
• Wash walls and baseboards.
• Clean window sills—this is a good time to inspect for air leaks (see below).
• Replace batteries in smoke detectors.

And don’t forget to stock up on emergency supplies just in case the power goes out.

Home Maintenance

Home maintenance includes all those things you either forget to do or do once a year or only if something breaks. Get a jump on these items to relieve some of the coming holiday stress: Who wants their heat to fail when you have guests?

• Replace all air filters.
• Be sure to run your furnace or boiler before you actually need it to make sure everything works properly.
• If you have oil heating, be sure to have your boiler cleaned for efficiency.
• Check door and window seals for leaks, and add weather stripping or rope caulk as necessary. 
• Take a peek in the attic, and inspect your insulation to see if it needs to be added to or replaced.
• Drain sediment from your water heater.
• Check your dryer hose, and replace it if needed.
• Vacuum the condenser coils on your refrigerator.

There may be other chores unique to your home, but this list should help you get started.

Too Many Chores? Don’t Go It Alone—Bliss Maid to the Rescue!

Love a clean home but have too much to do? Or maybe deep cleaning isn’t your thing. Spend more time doing the things you love and less time with a broom!

• Get ready for winter and the holidays with a one-time cleaning.
• Or schedule our dependable cleaners to come weekly, monthly, bi-monthly or on your schedule.
• We clean based on your needs, matching every home with the right cleaners.
• And every person on our team undergoes a background check and is insured, bonded, trained and certified so you can have complete confidence and peace of mind.

It can be stressful when you have to juggle family, work and cleaning—especially around the holidays. At Bliss Maid Services, we have helped thousands of families spend more time together while enjoying a clean home. 

Call or text us at (918) 779-9171, or fill out this easy form and get a quote today.