Plan Your Fall & Winter Cleaning Checklist
Fall officially started September 22 this year, which means you’re a bit behind if you haven’t started creating your fall and winter cleaning checklist. But no worries! You still have time to prepare your home for Christmas and Thanksgiving because—let’s face it—you’re going to have your hands full with holiday dinners, events, and other festivities.
Our spring and summer cleaning checklists likely came in handy to keep your home clean and organized during the warmer months. Now, we need to repeat a few of the same tasks and add some new ones to the mix to make your space more comfortable and cozier for fall and winter.
Preparing Your Home’s Interior for Fall & Winter
Aside from adding adorable fall décor, are you ready for the changing weather? You can do a few tasks to prepare for the colder season, especially if you have a fireplace (you lucky duck, you!).
Clean the Fireplace
Likely, the last time you lit a fire was almost a year ago. And that might also mean that your fireplace hasn’t been cleaned since then. Keeping your fireplace clean, whether electric, gas, or wood-burning, ensures it’s operational and functions safely.
Follow these safety tips before cleaning:
Ensure the unit is turned off
Take a picture of the components so you know where everything goes after cleaning
Vacuum or sweep your fireplace at least once a week to mitigate any soot buildup
Remove any soot stains on brick with two tablespoons of Borax, dish soap, and four cups of hot water
Check Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If you have a wood-burning, gas, or electric fireplace, you will want fully functioning smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. Why? To protect yourself and your family, of course. According to the CDC, over 400 people die annually from CO poisoning. And over 3,000 people die every year from a fire or smoke inhalation. Bottom line: Please double-check your smoke detectors and invest in a CO detector as an added precaution.
Dust Ceiling Fans
When was the last time you glanced up at your ceiling fans? Better question: When was the last time you dusted your ceiling fans? Hey! We’re not judging you at all. We know busy schedules, kids, friends, and life, in general, can get in the way. Still, fall is the time to clean ceiling fans of all the dust and dirt built up over the summer. Believe us, your indoor air quality and sinuses will thank you later.
Replace HVAC Filters
One of the many fall cleaning checklist line items you may overlook while transitioning from summer into fall and winter is changing or cleaning your HVAC filters. Typically, you’ll want to replace air filters every 3 months. If you have reusable HVAC filters, these should be cleaned once a month. Doing this vital task will help you save on energy costs (your HVAC won’t have to work as hard to operate), maximize your HVAC’s operational life, and decrease dust particles in the air for better air quality.
Clean Baseboards
Now that we’ve discussed some fall and winter checklist tasks that force you to look up, let’s focus on your flooring. You’re probably already regularly sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping the floor. So, we don’t need to include that in our seasonal cleaning list. However, have you given your baseboards attention lately? Dirt, pet dander, airborne pollutants, and more contaminants collect on your baseboards, so they should be cleaned monthly—at least. If they haven’t been cleaned in several months, it’s time to pull out your trusty microfiber cloth for a baseboard cleaning extravaganza!
Preparing Your Home’s Exterior for Fall & Winter
We’re interior home cleaning experts, but we also know how to prepare your exterior for the colder season.
Clean Gutters
Cleaning gutters can be a dangerous and tedious job that should be completed every 6 months to remove debris, standing, water, insects, etc. Leaving your gutters as is can result in an increase in the mosquito population and flooding in your yard (which can inevitably lead to more pests). Add cleaning gutters to your fall cleaning checklist to protect your landscaping and keep bugs at bay.
Store Outdoor Furniture
With lower temperatures rolling in quickly, you don’t have much need for your outdoor furniture. Unless you’re a cold-weather person who prefers the chill of an icy breeze. However, for the rest of us, it’s time to pack up the patio furniture and store it in a safe place for next spring.
Wash Exterior Windows
You may have noticed that your windows look a bit streaky, dingy, and dull. That’s probably because hard water stains have been left behind with those lovely spring and summer showers. A gallon of water and 1/2 teaspoon of dish soap are all you need for a sufficient window cleaner that’ll make the glass shine like new.
Areas to Organize During Fall and Winter Months
Cleaning your home should always be a to-do. Still, organizing should be high on your fall and winter cleaning checklist. Even though it’s not traditionally a cleaning task, it’ll prepare you for the holidays and the new year.
The Closet
Seasonal changes mean you need to store spring and summer clothing to make way for weather-appropriate items. However, if your closet is in disarray, there’s no way you can store clothing efficiently and keep it damage-free. Set some time aside in the coming weeks to organize your closet. Sort items so you know what you’re planning to wear, what can be stored for next year, and what can be donated.
Entryway
We love entryways (when they’re organized)! Your entryway can become a catch-all for shoes, backpacks, purses, hats, and so much more. While tackling cleaning, make a point to organize this space and leave an amazing impression on visitors.
Mudroom
If your laundry or mudroom is the family’s entrance to your home, it’s probably that catch-all area instead of your entryway. You’ll want to organize your mudroom and even create storage options that add function and convenience and help keep the space clutter-free.
Fall & Winter Cleaning Checklist Created? Let Merry Maids® Take it From Here.
With your seasonal cleaning checklist created, Merry Maids® can take over. We also have a comprehensive list of spaces to thoroughly clean and organize, but we want to tackle the areas you care about most. After all, we hope to help you reclaim your comfort and relaxation so you have the energy to take on the world (no pressure).
Request a free cleaning estimate or get a gift card from Merry Maids to help make this seasonal transition easier on someone you care about.
