Declutter & Clean for the fall

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Oh… wear a sweater, you say? It’s going to be chilly, you say? Grab your favorite pair of boots today, you say? Don’t mind if I do. I love fall. I love the weather, the activities and even the cleaning (yes, really!)

In fact, today my Declutter Course launched (hurry! It is an open cart and it closes very soon!) It is a 7 day declutter challenge and I will walk you through each room of your house with assignments for the day and together we will declutter your house! It is first come, first served.

Plus, when you use my favorite cleaning products (you’ll find the affiliate links below), your house will smell amazing, too! Ps- if you do get these cleaning products, be sure to buy them this week because they are running one of their great deals where you get these freebies:

Mrs. Meyer’s Fall hand soap
Mrs. Meyer’s Fall dish soap
Mrs. Meyer’s Fall multi-surface spray
Grove Collaborative kitchen towel
60 Day VIP trial

On another note, if your home is decluttered and you are ready to move onto cleaning, we’ve got you covered:

Cleaning Hacks

Wine stain on your table? Never fear! This little hack will fix it in less than 5 minutes–>> Use a hairdryer to remove liquid rings from wooden surfaces and refresh them with olive oil!

Oil on the carpet, rug or your favorite outfit? You can remove oil by rubbing fresh baking soda into the rug with a wet cloth and let it sit. The stain will be gone in the morning.

Not only was the oil a catastrophe, but what if your daughter spills bright pink nail polish on the carpet (or area rug, in our case) while attempting DIY nail art. Don’t panic! You can rub out the stain by using a microfiber and rubbing alcohol.

Crayon on the walls? Yep, we’ve had this, too. And when they write their names they also get a lesson in why they should have been more conspicuous. lol! That’s ok… you can remove it with this trick: using a clean toothbrush, scrub the wall with non-gel white toothpaste (containing baking soda) and rub away the mural. (ps- even better— have your child clean it as a lesson as to why we don’t write on our walls.)

If you break glass (I’ve done this twice this month… not sure what has gotten into me! Both times it was while I was unloading the dishwasher). You can get it off of the floor with bread. Grab some slices and gently press down. It’s best to hand pick the big pieces and then use this trick to pick up the rest. Remember to wrap them in newspaper before you put it in the recycling to make sure no one gets cut.
Ps- keep bread handy when decorating the tree. We have more than a few breaks in early December.

After you’ve prepped your favorite casserole, the corners of your glass baking dish can be somewhat difficult to clean — you’ve spent way too much time at the sink fighting with the sticky corners of these dishes. One of the best kitchen tricks is to rub a ball of aluminum foil mixed with dish soap on these glass dishes to make them sparkle again.

Inside the home:

___1. Banish that summer dust buildup! Use your Fall Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface spray to remove dust from your ceilings, walls, baseboards, and woodwork. You don’t want your guests sneezing 24/7, do you?

___2. Remove your winter clothes from storage. Pack up your light summer clothes and linens and replace them with cool-season items. I love Caldrea’s linen spray — it helps keep things fresh smelling!

Bonus: Get rid of clothes that haven’t seen the light of day in years. Take the declutter challenge (The price is $19.00 right now but goes up as soon as those spots are taken)

___3. Get to that Fall baking! Take stock of your pantry — what spices are you missing for the season,(think cinnamon, nutmeg cloves)? To get your best baking results, replace spices older than sixth months and/or that don’t smell fragrant.

___4. Nest up the oven: If the smell of oven cleaner makes your eyes water, then imagine what it does to the food cooked in it! It’s time to move away from the toxins and make a super easy all natural oven cleaner:
Mix Arm & Hammer’s baking soda and water and coat the oven surfaces with the paste and let it stand overnight. While wearing gloves, use a spatula to remove the paste and wipe clean with a wet sponge. Once it’s clean, you can bake an apple pie (that always reminds me of fall!)

___5. Guests are en-route (and early too, why are they always early?) so make sure the guest rooms are clean, cozy and inviting. Set out some flowers (Mums are a nice choice) and light a candle to make your guests feel welcome. Make sure you have spare toothbrushes and soap ready too, in case they forget!

___6. Finally, I make sure to sweep the chimneys for those cold nights when a fire is a must. I would have the wood set up in the clean chimney pre-guest arrival, so you don’t have to waste time setting it up when everyone arrives. I love having a bright and full fire — adds to the magic of Fall, doesn’t it?

Outdoors and the Garden:

___1. Thinking ahead: plant some beautiful Spring bulbs in well-drained soil as they’ll need 12-16 weeks of temperatures that are 45 degrees or colder. It will be a lovely welcome for warmer weather!

___2. Bring your outdoor furniture in for the season. Store your wicker, iron and other yard furniture in a protected enclosure to prevent weather damage.

___3. Cover your firewood to minimize moisture. Only the top two feet need to be covered, as air should circulate to keep the pile dry.

___4. Enlist the kids to help rake the growing amount of falling leaves. This is a great family chore and activity (not to mention the perfect opportunity for cute pictures!).