# Fall Cleaning



## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

Its bitten me again cince it has gotten a bit cooler.

I don't really do spring cleaning cause I want to get outside too bad to waste it in the house. The thought of being cooped up during winter in the house that is so dusty and dirty makes me want to clean now. 

I worked all day on the house yesterday and it looks really good right now. Lots more to go yet though. Does anyone else do their deep cleaning mainly in the fall too?


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

I do spring and fall. Living on a farm with kids and dogs it certainly needs it more than once a year -- heck, more than twice but I am just not one of those people that enjoy cleaning so I do it when I'm motivated and twice a year is about it. 

Here though, the spring temps usually come before we can actually get outside much. When it first warms up it's still snowy and muddy -- and usually a mixture of both so there's plenty of time to open windows and clean. 

In the fall it's for the same reason you mentioned I feel like I need to do as much as possible while I can still have the windows open. I hate being cooped up all winter and it's worse if the house is dusty and dirty.


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## Chief Cook (Apr 24, 2011)

Let me put it this way: In summer I dust, in the Fall I dust a little more and enjoy the windows being open pretty much all day, in the Winter I ash, and in Spring I dirt. Ah such is the life of a domestic goddess in SE New Mexico. 
Around here if you don't like the weather you wait thirty minutes and see if you like it better. The ONLY thing you can really count on is that the Wind will BLOW starting a noon everyday in the spring, and then pretty much anytime the rest of the year!
HAPPY CLEANING!!!


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## thequeensblessing (Mar 30, 2003)

I'm one of those ones who deep cleans in the Spring and the Fall. I especially enjoy the fall cleaning though as I guess I do something more akin to nesting than just cleaning. I know I'm going to be like a bear in a den, cozy and snug, all winter in this house and I want it to be comfy and clean and well-stocked. I entertain indoors more in the winter too so if I'm having people over, I want it clean! 
I have to clean in the spring too as the woodstoves leave dust everywhere and even though I try to stay ahead of it throughout the winter, I feel like there's always dust somewhere, so in the Spring, usually in April, I give the whole place a good cleaning. I'm not so concerned with the comfy/cozy/snuggy thing in the spring as we spend a great deal of our time outdoors.


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## MoonShine (Mar 17, 2003)

Yes, I love to do a good deep cleaning in spring and then again in fall. I have been doing just that. In the spring, you need to clean from the house being closed up all winter. In the fall you need to clean from the house being open all summer. I have been cleaning up the outside, too. So much stuff laying around from the summer and I washed down the house/porch/patio while I was at it.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I do deep cleaning at least twice/year, primarily Spring and Fall. Leading into the colder weather, it is great to be prepped in every way, and do enjoy spending time more indoors when it is tidy!


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## Tommyice (Dec 5, 2010)

I don't have a set schedule. The windows are being washed constantly--the dog's nose is always rubbing against them when he looks outside. Rugs are cleaned constantly 'cause of the dog. Hmmm. I'm starting to see a pattern. Now if I could get him to help clean, all would be good.


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

I washed one and a half walls so far. Two windows, the frames only yet. Part of a ceiling. Then moved furniture to get to another wall. Got the curtains in the washing machine.
Now I am digging thru box's to see what is in them & see what I can get rid of. Got rid of one box yesterday.

Its all bits and pieces but it will add up.


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

Well I got rid of another box of junk and dropped a bag of stuff off at the Salvation Army. Now I have a bit more space in my bedroom. Only about a foot by a foot area but I can see Floor (Yay) its getting cleaner every time I attack an area.

Its supposed to get a bit warmer this week so then I can begin on cleaning out my shed.


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## Chief Cook (Apr 24, 2011)

Isn't it funny how we get inspired by each other! Thanks for the encouragment, this little rock house really needed it! I got the front porch cleaned up and ready for the wood box. Then attacked the area around the fireplace. It is sooo ready for the first fire! Then I heard a noise on the front porch and took a look. The (wild) turkey hen had decided to hang out on the boards over the roof! (Ripped the roof off and it is still off.) Trust me she will not get to make a habit out of that!!!! Happy Cleaning!


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## acde (Jul 25, 2011)

spring and fall deep cleaning for me inside and out. I too blame it on the dog


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## ginnie5 (Jul 15, 2003)

fall cleaning is what brought me here! Yesterday I deep cleaned the den. Today I want to tackle the kitchen.....if I can quit sneezing long enough. Seems all the dust I stirred up got to me. I need to clean the ceiling (how does it get so dirty?) and clean out the cabinets.
Oh and I washed walls too yesterday lol! I never want to do that in the spring....just the fall. The kids came in the den yesterday looked at me and said "yep its fall....Mom's washing the walls!"


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

Yesterday it was so nice outside I decided to clean out the shed. Someone please kick me. 
I took just about everything out of it & have it lined up in the yard now to sort into piles. Keep, get rid of, give to my son, yard saleâ¦
Iâm going thru boxâs I havenât seen in 8 years! 
Oh the dirt on the floor and the shelves of the thing was terrible. Swept it up and sneezed my brains out. Found critter poop from something. Probably possums. & old bird nests too.
I for some reason had the thought I could get thru this in one day. Man oh man this might take more than a week now that I started it.


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## westbrook (May 10, 2002)

I never come down here because I am too busy... then I saw it...

"Fall Cleaning"

had to come read what everyone had to say...

KINDRED SPIRITS!

I always do a Fall cleaning and a Spring cleaning. In the Spring I open the house up and clean after being closed for the Winter and in the Fall I do a deep cleaning because I am closing the house up for the Winter.

Sumer- I am doing my outside cleaning too... oiling the wood furniture, picking up shovels and rakes my DM (comes to visit every summer for the summer) has left around... like a scavenger hunt! 

This also means walking the fence line, making sure the fences are still up, no soil is going to erode after a rain and leave a hole under the fence for the dogs to get out chasing what ever predator is lurking.

So much to do.... so little time to get ready for the Holidays.

brook


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

2 full days of cleaning out and sorting thru all the stuff in the shed & I'm still not done. I'm overwhelmed but it has to be done. Stuff is still all over the lawn. My car trunk is packed with stuff to give away to my boyfriends kids. A pile for my son. The yard sale pile. A garbage can full of junk so far & I bet I can fill another one. A box of clothes for the salvation army. Another box of clothes for guys I know who wear XXL.

The clothes line was rocking from all the clothes I washed.

I found stain I can use for a project I'm working on. Stuff to tile a floor I could have used last month when my son tiled his kitchen floor. So many tools and gadgets & brushes and junk I have no idea what some of them are for but I'm keeping a box of saws, wrenches and sockets and all sorts of power tools. I called my brother in law to come and have first pick thru the pile but he was too busy watching football. My kid was too busy with a video game to take some. Another guy friend was too busy also. Looks like I will be having a big yard sale. Hopefully next weekend.

LOL my neighbors are astonished that all this stuff actually fit in my shed.


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## Chief Cook (Apr 24, 2011)

I swear all of you folks just make me feel great! We gave away another table from the shop so it looks soooo much better! My F150 fits in there again!!! I am so happy to be able to park "Smokey" in the shop again. I just hate having to scrape windows when it is cold out side. I thought I had all the summer "stuff" put away and was so proud of myself, until I noticed all the whirrly gigs lined up along the side of the house, just spinning away. Now where will those things fit? DH and I took the AC out of the window today! I cleaned the window and was so happy to be able to see out again. I'm not sure but I think I heard the windows on the west side of the house wimper today. I guess they will get cleaned in the morning! Enjoy the Fall Everyone!


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## snowlady (Aug 1, 2011)

I love fall cleaning! Westbrook, I feel the same way. I love the feeling of being tucked in for the winter.


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## jen74145 (Oct 31, 2006)

I'm another lover of the fall clean! I try to schedule a few chilly nights of food prep too, so I don't have to dirty my kitchen anytime someone wants soup.

However, my family was sick this weekend and my husband is the messiest man! He's great at cleaning, really phenomenal... when he DOES it. Grump grumble fuss.

Whew. It's a catchup day for sure. I have just been doing a baseboard and windowsill whenever I mop, so my deep clean is more a decluttering than a clean this year... having a little boy in the house means I do a heavy clean weekly or we all shall die, lol!


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## goodhors (Sep 6, 2011)

All my cleaning stuff has been for the barns and sheds, fences. With the great weather the past couple weeks, I have gotten a lot done. If we get the usual Fall rains, I NEED the drainage ditches clean for water to run off the fields. I want my fences clean to be hot and no horses trying to eat under them. 

Did some odd jobs like getting my small trees planted out, so they can get growing before the ground freezes. They needed watering with no rain. Also filled some low spots in the yard and paddocks with dirt after scraping off the barnyards layer of manure. Planted grass seed in the dirt and covered with stall cleanings or straw to protect the seed from birds. Should have some nice patches of grass going next summer. Moved a couple LARGE rocks that were ALWAYS in the way for field mowing. They are now in a better place, closing the hole in one ditch to prevent overflow. Put lots of hand-picked rocks around them to prevent washouts.

I also cleaned the garden shed, tossed a lot, moved other stuff out of the way. Gosh, I can walk thru without something touching me now!! Still have to organize the loose stuff in dying boxes, nails, screws, bolts. I have been saving the clear plastic jars, should be enough to get them all contained again. I can sort on a rainy day, now there is room to see what I am doing. Still have the workbench to clean off, also a rainy day job. All the bulky stuff (lawn mower, generator, roto-tiller) has a home under the shelving or was put in the small barn (older door we are saving for garage replacement, screens, lawn chairs) out of the way. Dumped most of the plastic plant pots, trays, old boxes, I will never use them. So nice now I like to just walk thru and enjoy it! Still have to collect the outside statues, birdbaths, but the weather is so nice I haven't bothered yet. 

I have been looking at the house, but that also can be cleaned when weather is outside is not nice. We don't have a woodstove we use, so not so much dust for me. Woodstove is just there in case of power failure. Do need to get the roof heat tape clipped back up, a couple hooks pulled loose with ice load on the plug ends. Pillows off the porch furniture, but I have been enjoying sitting out there in the nice weather.

Need to get the dog clipped and both dogs bathed before the warm day is gone, so they dry quickly. Also need a net over the fishpond to keep the leaves out. Leaves have just started falling here.

Congrats everyone on getting Fall things done!


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## Sumer (May 24, 2003)

Well I finally got to finish the shed overhaul. Been doing a few things a day to sort clean and get rid of the stuff. I got rid of about half what I had in there and now I can walk in and find things. Only a few things left in the yard to put in there for winter. 
Pulled out all the garden plants. Put all the tomato cages away. Cleared off my patio. Dumped out all my potted plants. Folded up the close-line and brought the close pins in the house. Still got the hose out though. 
There is still a bit of tweaking to do yet but if it snows now I'm OK with what is left out.
It got me to clearing out so much stuff. I feed really good about it.


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## Leister Square (Feb 7, 2010)

Okay, I must be missing something! Washing walls? Is that part of deep cleaning? Where do you get the energy? I find myself cleaning myself into a corner and obsessing over stupid stuff, and not getting the whole house nice looking. Anyone else do that? And seriously, do you guys really wash walls? !!!


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## Queen Bee (Apr 7, 2004)

Last week the weather changed--much cooler and damp.. So, I have been inside cleaning... 

I cleaned my bathroom and bedroom including drawers, cabinets and closets... The living and dining room are next...


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## galfriend (Nov 19, 2004)

I'm off 2 days in a row, yeehaww! Maybe it's the weather changing, but I feel a good case of cleaning-hyper'ness! I've been in my kitchen and living room all day, (was that bad) decluttering and deep cleaning. Yes, I even washed my walls! I didn't know there are folks that don't??? LoL


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