Inside: Learn why you should do a Fall Cleaning to declutter, reorganize and get your house ready for the holidays! (Plus get a FREE cleaning goals worksheet!)
We all know about Spring Cleaning…. but have hopped on the Fall Cleaning train??
Total honesty– I’m not sure if Fall Cleaning an actual “thing”, but over the past few years I’ve been hearing some buzz about it which has me stoked excited because I’ve been Fall Cleaning for the past 6 years!
I noticed that even though Spring Cleaning is great, it’s not really during the season that I need it to be.
What I really need is to get cleaned and organized before the holidays and winter sets in. So say hello to Fall Cleaning and goodbye to holiday stress!
What is Fall Cleaning?
Fall Cleaning is a way to declutter, reorganize, and deep clean your house before the winter months set in!
Let’s face it, with Winter comes a blanket of slumber.
I almost never want to do anything around this time of year because I’m always so busy with the holidays. and when the holidays are done, all I want to do is recuperate!
My goal for Fall Cleaning is to get ready for holiday visits, clear the clutter that comes along with storing Christmas gifts, and deep clean certain areas of my house that I know are going to be heavily utilized (like the kitchen for family meals and the bathroom for frequent visits)!
Fall Cleaning gives me the ability to focus on my house before all of the craziness of the holidays begin!
I wanted to share with you in-depth the reasons why I Fall Clean (and why you should do a Fall Cleaning too!)
Let’s dive into Fall Cleaning!
10 Reasons Why I do a Fall Cleaning
The main goal of Fall Cleaning is to get ready for the Holidays!
1. Make my house clean and inviting so my family feels at home and welcome
One of the main reasons I do a Fall Cleaning is to prepare my house for holiday guests and visitors.
Whether I’m hosting a family dinner, a cookie party, a church gathering, or if the in-laws are staying with me for a couple of nights- I always want to make sure my house is guest-ready!
Doing one major sweep of my house is so helpful because it reduces the need to have to get your house ready before each time someone comes over (which usually is a lot around this time of year!).
During this time, I assess each room in the house and see what needs to be changed, what needs to be cleaned, check to see if there are any furniture damages and that everything is still in working order.
Then I use my trusty Cleaning Goals Worksheet to record everything that I need to do around the house according to each room.
If you’re anything like me and are a stay at home mom with a toddler on the loose, then odds are there are going to be a couple of things that need replacing.
But you don’t want to switch up your whole house solely because you have guests over and ruin your children’s play areas.
You simply want to address the things in your house that have needed some attention for quite a while now but that you just haven’t got around to doing. That is why I love Fall Cleaning!
2. Deep clean my kitchen to prepare for Thanksgiving and holiday baking
I don’t know about you but my kitchen sure gets utilized during the holiday season! There are baking dishes and travel containers that aren’t used at any other time of the year except holiday season.
I use Fall Cleaning to not only go through my kitchen cabinets but also take out any kitchen dishes that I use only around this time of year. Maybe there’s a cookie decorating box that you store all year long but only take out for Christmas cookies. Or maybe there’s a crockpot that you hardly use but only use to make delicious hot cocoa.
I also use this time to deep clean my stove, my oven, the cabinet under my kitchen sink, and the refrigerator.
3. Clean/reorganize my bathroom to prepare for holiday guests
Another room in my house that is going to get A LOT of use during the holiday season is the bathroom.
I use Fall Cleaning to:
- clean the tub,
- maybe re-grout if I have to,
- clean out the medicine cabinet,
- stock up on bathroom toiletries that I know my guests will use
I make a list of everything I need to buy to get ready for the season, such as an extra shower gel if I know I’m going to have a lot of overnight guests. Or stock up on toilet paper and get a new toilet brush.
I also take this time to redecorate my bathroom for the season.
I love to change the bathroom décor based on the seasons! I change the shower curtain, towel color schemes, and hand soap.
In the Summer I have a cute Finding Nemo shower curtain that looks like the ocean, use blue and yellow hand towels, and a lemon scent. But in the Fall, I put up my striped shower curtain and change all of my hand towels and floor mats to burgundy and burnt yellow.
BONUS: Grab your Free Fall Cleaning Checklist to help you so you can plan, track, and accomplish all of the things that you want to get done around the house! CLICK HERE TO GET IT FREE!
4. Declutter so I can store gifts that I am giving
To prevent the much dreaded “holiday overwhelm”, I like to start making my Christmas list in October.
This gives me enough time to think about the perfect gift for each person and also helps me keep an eye open for sales. I used to do all of my Christmas shopping in December but one year I started wayyy in advanced and it really helped me reduce the “Christmas shopping overwhelm”.
So now, every time I see something that would make a great gift, I buy it and store it away so when Christmas gets closer I can wrap it and put it under the tree. In order to do this, I have to clean out some closets and extra storage places so I can hide gifts!
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5. Make way for new gifts that I will receive
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I receive really amazing Christmas gifts and then realize that I have nowhere to put it or store it!
Last year when I did my Fall Cleaning, I made a mental note to declutter things that I haven’t used that year and either store it or donate it so I can make room for anything new that I will be receiving.
If your anything like me, after the holidays I have a huge bag or box of new items that I received from Christmas that I don’t know where to put! So, during the cleaning time, I declutter to make room for the awesome and thoughtful gifts that my family and friends will give me.
6. Get cleaning out of the way so I can enjoy the holidays with my family
Another reason I love Fall Cleaning is that it gets all of the cleanings out of the way so I can spend more time with my family and doing things that need to get done. If I deep clean my bathroom, rearrange some items in the room and declutter the kitchen then that’s 3 fewer things that I have to do when the holidays draw closer. The holidays come SO fast and you’ll be happy that you got cleaning out of the way!
7. Get ready guest rooms and rooms in the house that people will be sleeping when they visit
I live in New York City so let’s just say that my apartment isn’t the largest home. But around the holidays my family and friends don’t care about how small my house is…all they just want to all be together and have fun.
Because I don’t have any guest rooms, my family usually camps out in the living room or we’ll put air mattress out everywhere. So during Fall Cleaning, I make sure that I have my air mattress accessible, all the sheets in the linen closet are accessible and fresh/clean, and that I have my extra pillows ready.
At my mom’s house, she actually does have a guest room so during Fall Cleaning I help get the room ready by either changing the curtains or switching out the comforters.
8. Get fall/winter decorations ready when it’s time to decorate the house
Fall Cleaning also consists of getting switching out my Spring/Summer decorations for Fall/Winter ones.
I love to change the candle scents, the living room curtains, the table decorations, and the overall “ambiance” of my house. I don’t get all Christmassy in October, but I do bring my Christmas decorations to the front of my closet so I can have them easily accessible. That way, when it’s actually time to decorate my house I’ll be all ready!
9. Switch Summer clothes to winter clothes
One of the most important things I do during Fall Cleaning is actually clean out my closets and my daughter’s closet.
Once the weather starts changing, it’s time to put away the bathing suits and sundresses and get out some leggings and boots. (Unless you live somewhere in a tropical climate and it’s hot all year round!).
I also use this time to go through my closet and donate anything that either doesn’t fit me anymore or that I haven’t worn in a year. I also do the same for my husband’s closet and daughter’s.
10. Figure out where my Christmas tree is going!
Last but not least, I use Fall Cleaning to figure out how I am going to rearrange my living room to fit my Christmas tree!
When I’m decluttering and rearranging some things in the house I make a mental note to find the perfect spot for the tree this year! Every year my family goes to pick fresh trees so that way I know how tall or wide the tree can be.
Free Fall Cleaning Goals Worksheet
Don’t forget to download the free Fall Cleaning Goals Worksheet!
The worksheet helps you:
- create the perfect cleaning to-do list & cleaning calendar
- track your goals
- keep track of what you want to get done in each room of the house
I’ve used this worksheet for 2 years now and it has helped me SO much! It’s also really great to have a place where everything is written down so your spouse and family can see it too and can help you with your Fall Cleaning.
Trust me, you’ll love the Fall Cleaning Goals Worksheet!
And that’s it! My 10 reasons to Fall Clean!
Remember, when I do my Fall Cleaning it’s usually is done throughout a 4-week span. That’s why I start in the Fall, usually the beginning of October, so I can make sure to give myself enough time to get everything done!
Don’t stress yourself out with everything that has to be done or everything that you want to get done. Maybe your Fall Cleaning looks like something that can be done in one Saturday.
It’s up to you!
Are you ready to hop aboard the Fall Cleaning train?? See you there!
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