Everybody spring-cleans after spending several months stuck indoors. However, here’s an idea: try fall cleaning in preparation for your annual hibernation. Spending just one weekend during the early fall cleaning and organizing will make your winter more comfortable and prepare your house for seasonal entertaining.
From the recently vacated bedrooms of new college students to the formal dining room where you plan to hold Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, there is space throughout your home ripe for a good cleaning and organizing. The sooner you get to it, the sooner you will be ready for the upcoming holidays.
Organization in the Kitchen
If your kitchen tends to be a focal point for gathering during holiday celebrations, you are not alone. Therefore, a great place to start your fall cleaning is here. There are two things to pay attention to – making plenty of space for your guests and making it easy for you to prepare and serve food.
Make space for your guests by removing unnecessary objects. For example, many of us reserve a corner of the kitchen counter for stuff that has no other place. Think of it as the counter-top equivalent of a junk drawer. The thing is, you can find space for all of this stuff if you step back and take a few minutes to think about it logically. All of those bills? They should be on the desk next to your computer. Those five sets of car keys and the dog’s leash would be better mounted on the wall near the door rather than lying on the kitchen counter.
Once you have the clutter out of the way, spend an hour pulling things out of the cupboards and reorganizing. Group your kitchen equipment and utensils in a way that makes logical sense. In one section put all of your place settings. Reserve another area for your salad and serving bowls, utensils, and cookware. Grouping things according to their use will make a lot of sense to you the first time you cook after organizing.
Children’s Bedrooms Are Next
The children’s bedrooms are where they will hang with their cousins or friends during holiday gatherings. As painful as it might be for them, cleaning and organizing their personal spaces will make everyone’s life easier. Fall is a great time to pull out everything the child owns, going through with a commitment to discard a certain percentage – say 25%. Not only will this provide more space in the bedroom for fall gatherings, but it will also prepare the room for the influx of Christmas gifts.
As for the rooms vacated by new college students, avoid the temptation of filling them up with storage items. Remember, your students are going to need a place to sleep while they are home on the holidays. If you can make a room more spacious by getting rid of unused furniture or old, worn-out bedding, do so before Junior comes home. He or she will appreciate a cleaner and more organized bedroom after spending an entire semester in cramped quarters.
Fall cleaning is an excellent way to prepare your home for both winter hibernation and holiday celebrations. If you have cleaned this previous spring, it should not take too long either. Just one Saturday should be sufficient to get your house ready to go.