Admit it, summer did a number on your house. Kids home from school, too many activities focused on fun to leave time for housework, and indoor/outdoor living have left your house in a bit of a state. If this is relatable, let’s reset your house for Fall!
I’m a believer in living life to the fullest and catching up on housework later. Well, it’s later. Fall is here, so it’s a nice time to let your house breathe before we get into the madness of a holiday season that is just around the corner. Your house needs a reset before you decorate for Fall (and then Christmas).
But how do you reset your house for Fall? To me, that means doing things around the house that you never think about doing but still need to be done. You know the things. Those tasks that you think about once every few months in passing and then promptly forget about? That’s what I’m talking about. I’ve thought of those things for you, compiled a nice list for you to follow, and given you the start of a new season to use as an excuse to get them done. Come reset your house for Fall with me (don’t worry, I’m doing them too!).
10 Easy Tasks to Reset Your House for Fall
Trash cans
When is the last time you cleaned your trash cans? If you’re like me, it’s been a while. An easy way to start to reset your house for Fall is to just get out your sanitizing spray and some rags you don’t have any emotional attachment to and go around your house cleaning those trash cans. My first stop is going to be my daughter’s diaper pail because ewwww. Don’t forget the outdoor cans that go to the curb on trash day too. For this job, ditch the rags you used to clean the indoor cans and opt instead for the garden hose. My 4-year-old actually loves this job, so delegate if you can!
Dust
I really try to stay on top of the dust in my house, but I’m going to be honest, I never dust as much as I truly should. But the change of season is a great reminder to dust all the things that I might forget to dust on a routine basis. Perhaps you did it during your Spring cleaning, but you haven’t done it since. The baseboards/chair rail is a perfect example of something to dust now when you reset your house for Fall that you don’t do on a weekly basis. You can also look at the state of the pictures and art on your walls. Could those use a quick swipe? What about all your tchotchkes on your shelves? Find yourself a microfiber cloth and get to work!
Cabinets
I just recently looked at the cabinets in my kitchen and was appalled at the state of them. They needed a wipe down in the worst way, and 10 minutes later, I felt so much better about my life. So first, take a look at your kitchen cabinets. Are they in desperate need of a little love? If so, don’t put it off, just do it now as a great step to reset your house for Fall.
If you’re feeling a little bit more motivated, go ahead and open those cabinets and take a look inside. In addition to the outsides of my cabinets looking a hot mess, the insides weren’t much better. In fact, that’s an understatement. The snack cabinet in my house was out of control. I took 20 minutes and tackled it and man, what a relief! We can now easily find what we are looking for and I know when we are running low on things. 20 minutes well spent.
Windows
In my house, my husband is the window washer. About twice a year (Spring and Fall), he gets himself a bottle of window cleaner and a rag and goes around to clean all of the windows in the house. He does the inside, he does the outside, he even wipes the sills and the frames. He’s a gem, I tell you. Grab yourself a spray bottle, or even better, a husband, and get the windows tackled as you reset your house for Fall.
Fireplace
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, please get your fireplace in shape when you reset your house for Fall. Make sure there are no leftover ashes hanging around from last winter’s fire, remove any detritus that may have accumulated near the fireplace, and get your firewood ready to go.
If you have a gas fireplace, I’m jealous.
Sofa
Now is the time, people. Vacuum your sofas! This is especially good advice if you have pets. At a bare minimum, just take your vacuum wand to your sofa and get any hair and crumbs up. If you want to do a little bit more, sprinkle a little baking soda on the sofa and let it sit before you vacuum. If you really want to give your sofa an overhaul, give your sofa a once-over with an upholstery cleaner. I’m partial to Bissell’s Little Green machine. It’s so easy to use, it doesn’t take up a ton of room to store, and it gets out any stain I’ve asked it to remove. This is another job you can delegate to the kids. My 4-year-old practically begs me to clean the sofa whenever he sets eyes on the Little Green machine.
Oven
Oh, the dreaded task of cleaning your oven. I didn’t want to suggest that you clean your oven when you reset your house for Fall, but then I looked at the state of my own oven and knew I had to add it to the list. Y’all, my oven was in rough shape. But with just a little water and a pumice stone, it’s now much nicer to look at and much less of a fire hazard. Seriously, you just need a little bit of water and pumice stone. Dip the stone in water and go over your oven with the stone in a circular motion. Gunk be gone!
Washing machine/dryer
I use my washing machine and clothes dryer almost every day. I’m very much in the one load a day camp where laundry is concerned. That means that these appliances get gross, and pretty quickly. It’s a good thing that neither one really takes a whole lot of time or effort to clean, so this task was an easy one to add to my list to reset your house for Fall.
For the washing machine, get some Affresh. Throw in a tablet and set your washing machine to the “Clean” cycle. If you don’t have a dedicated cycle for cleaning, just set it on a long cycle and use hot water. Hit the start button. When the cycle is complete, wipe the inside of the washing machine with a clean rag. Voila!
The dryer takes a little more work, but it’s fun work. In addition to wiping the inside of the dryer drum, you need to clean the lint trap. I’m not just talking about wiping the screen after every load. No, you need to deep clean that thing. It’s amazing how much lint find it’s way into the crannies of the dryer lint trap. Now I’m sure you asking yourself if I have a recent head injury because I said this was fun work to do, but just you wait until you get what might be my favorite purchase in the last several years. You absolutely must buy yourself a dryer vent cleaner kit. It comes with a brush and a vacuum attachment. I start with the brush to get the bigger, more obvious chunks, and then I go in with the vacuum attachment. Your dryer lint trap will shine and you’ll be so satisfied with the gunk it removes.
Dog bed
If you have a dog, this is your friendly reminder to wash his or her bed. Personally, I’m really good about washing our dog’s blankets regularly. Her bed, on the other hand, is not something I remember to throw in the washing machine on a regular basis. This is bad, because her bed can get pretty stinky. Your furry friend will thank you if you wash the dog bed as you reset your house for Fall. You might even get a lick or an extra snuggle out of it.
Junk drawer
I have saved perhaps the most intimidating task on the list for last. The dreaded junk drawer. Every house has one. I don’t care if you’re the cleanest, most organized person on the planet, you need a place to stash random things that don’t have an obvious home. Enter the junk drawer. And try as you might to keep it organized, it gets messy. Stuff gets put in there that does have a better home. Trash gets put in there by your children who would rather not walk the extra three steps to the trash can. You amass duplicates of the takeout menus you most often reference. Basically, life happens, and you need to go in and clean up your junk drawer every once in a while. Cleaning out your junk drawer is a perfect way to reset your house for Fall. I mean, when your junk drawer is in good shape, you just feel like you got a fresh start.
Other posts
Looking for other ways to help with housework? Check out these posts:
I wish you all a great start to the Fall season! Let us know what you’re up to this Fall in the comments below or over on Instagram @sarainseason. If you need some inspiration for things to do this Fall, check out my Realistic Fall Bucket List.