Fall Cleaning

You've heard of Spring Cleaning. It was something our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did every year. Of course, it was a necessity for them...after months of being cooped up in the house with a fire place or coal furnace, everything would have a layer of stuff on it that could only be called "goo". And goo is grosse. (Smokers might notice a yellowish tinge of something here and there...that's the very same goo I speak of.)

In this day and age, spring cleaning is less important. After all, we have electric and natural gas heating, which is far less dirty. But could you imagine fall cleaning?

To me, fall cleaning is a way of getting rid of all the crud before being locked inside with closed windows all winter. All of that crud makes it an invitable home to dust mites that will make flu season worse, insects that might want to over-winter, and other, larger, four-footed pests. It will also give you an opportunity to give your windows and doors a good looking-over and see if they are tight against a winter chill.

What is that crud anyway? Some of it may be dirt. A large part of it will be human dander. Yes, your skin. And dust mites are sitting inside of it, munching away. Nasty, huh?

Start at the top. And I really mean "the top". The crease made between the wall and the cieling, particularly in the corner, is a favorite place for young spiders to begin spinning their webs. I find this job is made easier with the attachments on the vaccum cleaner. The tops of ceiling fans will be disgusting, as will the tops of curtains and the tops of window and door frames. You might even want to go so far as to take your curtains down and launder them.

The more you head downward, the more it will seem like regular cleaning...a good dusting of all furniture, books, and nick-nacks. But then...you'll need to clean out drawers, cabinets, and closets. Remove everything and clean out the drawer. Remove the drawer and clean the dead space behind it. Move the large peices of furniture that you normally wouldn't vaccum under and clean not only the floor behind it, but the wall and the back of the furniture itself. Pull pictures off the wall and make sure there are no spider webs behind it...clean the picture frames. Tame those dust bunnies!

Turn your mattress over if you don't do it weekly (I hope to God you are at least cleaning your sheets weekly). You'll also want to clean the grating of heating/air conditioning duct, and even the window sills between your storm window or screen and your interior window. Don't forget door-knobs either. It might also be a good time to rent or purchase a carpet cleaner and REALLY get that nasty stuff out. Getting one with an apolstery wand will make things even better, but you might be able to get away with simply taking the cushion covers off and laundering them. You might even want to toss throw pillows in the washing machine as well...just be careful with it, as they could loose their shape, and higher-priced ones might disintergrate.

Taking one room at a time, even one week at a time, will make the job seem less harrowing. Yes, you can play the football game while you do this (although I prefer a radio). Don't forget attics and basements...you probably won't need to scrub them perfectly clean, although that would be nice, but a good sweeping, and running the broom along the walls and ceiling, will make a big difference in the accumulative crud over time.

Doing this will also make your house easier to winterize. If you put plastic sheeting over the windows, or caulk around the frame, it is necessary to remove the accumulated dust so that the tape or caulking adheres.

And now...you won't have any little nasties in your house making that nasty flu bug you got even worse. You can motivate yourself by imagining yourself, peacefully sleeping, while millions of little nasties are chewing up your dead skin around you. Not a pleasant thought, is it? And now that you are done, they are banished.