By, Elisheva Blumberg, Lubicom Marketing Staff

We are all familiar with spring cleaning. Too familiar considering the extreme cleaning some of us do before Passover!

But what about fall cleaning? Does the change of season call for an all-over clean-up? Should we take this opportunity to purge and declutter? Absolutely!

Why now?

The kids are back in school

With the kids spending their days in school, fall provides the perfect opportunity for uninterrupted spurts of cleaning (without the steady stream of muddy sneakers barging in and out of the house!)

Holiday hiatus

After the month-long High-Holiday season in early fall, the month of Cheshvan provides a built-in pause that we can use to do an in-depth cleaning. By the time Chanukah rolls around (in a few short weeks!), your home will be all clean and ready for family gatherings and parties.

Pleasant cleaning weather

The summer heat has a tendency to make us too sluggish to work, while the dreaded chill of winter is even more immobilizing. 

Like springtime, Autumn grants us clear, brisk, and energizing weather that makes cleaning (almost) fun. So throw open those windows, ventilate your home, and get set on giving your home a fresh start.

YOUR FALL CLEANING ROUNDUP:

It’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all cleaning checklist. After all, no two families or homes are the same.

To get you started, here’s a list of cleaning tasks specific to the fall season. Read through and feel free to pick and choose the chores that make sense for your home.

1. Clean and store summer gear
Even if you’ve already unpacked from your summer getaway, there may still be spots you’ve overlooked. Grains of sand inside your daughter’s flip flops? A sticky suitcase you forgot to wipe down? How about the camping gear you’ve been meaning to put in storage?

Keep all your summer items looking good as new by giving them a wipe-down and storing them safely over the winter. 

2. Take a coat closet inventory

If your closet space is limited, scrutinize all the closets throughout your home and see that they’re ready for the cold season.

If you have limited closet space (don’t we all?) you’ll want to put away the light jackets, summer rain ponchos, and summer shoes. Swap the lightweight gear for heavier weight winter coats, boots, and scarves. This is also a great time to take stock of your winter gloves and make sure you have at least one matching pair for each child so you don’t have to scramble for winter gear once the cold sets in.

3. Take an inventory of your children’s clothing

If you have young children who change sizes every season, now is the time to comb through their summer wardrobes and decide what to save, what to donate, and what to recycle. 

Clear out their closets and drawers of clothing they won’t be wearing again to make room for winter clothing. As you sift through everything, make a list of winter essentials your child will need for the upcoming season, i.e., tights, undershirts, thick socks, snowsuits.

4. Beds and bedding

Flip or rotate mattresses around the house. Wash pillows and blankets, and swap out your thin duvets for warmer bed linens.

5. Change the batteries on your detectors

Experts recommend changing the batteries on your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors at least once a year (some say twice a year). A good way to remember this is to change the batteries whenever you change your clocks.

6. Scour your pantry and freezer

Take a guess: what is the oldest thing in your freezer right now? Is it potato kugel from Sukkot? A half-opened package of hot dogs from a summer barbecue? A long-forgotten quiche from Shavuot?

Chances are, your freezer is full of leftovers waiting for their turn to be consumed. Empty both your freezer and pantry, and take stock of what you can use before it gets freezer-burnt or stale.

7. Give air vents a good dusting

You know those grilles in the wall that your heat and air conditioning come out from? Check them out — if they’re covered in dust, you’ll want to break out a dusting cloth or even your vacuum to clear them out. This will prevent dust from filling the air when you turn on the heat.

8. Exterior maintenance

Before harsh winter weather sets in, you might consider hiring a professional to clean out your chimney, service your heating system, and clear your gutters. This way, your home will be best prepared to handle the upcoming snow, sleet, and freezing temperatures.

9. Prep your garage

Now is the time to free up space in the garage so that come winter, you’ll have ample space to park your car. Also, you may want to reshuffle your summer equipment (think bicycles, scooters, and lawn mowers) and bring the winter gear (snow blowers, shovels, sleds) to a more easy to access spot.

Though not as common as spring cleaning, fall cleaning is a process you won’t want to miss. Think of yourself as a hibernating bear and your home as your den! A thorough autumn cleaning will make your home a warm and cozy place in which to spend the cold months ahead.