Fall Cleaning!

I don't know what it is about this time of year, maybe the cooler weather, everyone going back to school or back to a solid routine, it's hard to say for sure.  Whatever it is, it seems to bring out this primal urge in me to go through all my closets and purge, clean all the windows and even *gasp* baseboards in my house, organize my kitchen cabinets, etc.  Whether all this is actually accomplished, on the other hand, remains to be seen!  This is my third Fall season in our house, and I am really excited to get started.

The windows are first on my list to tackle.  They were largely ignored this Spring, due to my settling in as a new Mommy.  I like to use a solution of water with ammonia, and just a few drops of dish soap (too much, and you'll have too many suds).  I wash the windows with a terrycloth rag, and then use a squeegee and a microfiber cloth to dry them.  This combination usually leaves me with beautifully clean, streak free windows!

My oven and fridge also get a good rub down this time of year.  The oven, thanks to my recent escapades with homemade cinnamon rolls, already got checked off the list.  I have a self cleaning oven, so it's really just a matter of running the clean cycle, and then wiping it out with a water/vinegar solution.  For the stove top, I disassemble it, and then spray the parts individually with oven cleaner.  All the crusty crud wipes right off!  I don't even break a sweat.  :)

I try to clean out my fridge every other month, just to help me keep track of what I have on hand so that I don't waste as much.  I just do a quick wipe down, and throw away anything that's expired, or should be relegated to science research.  Cleaning it out in the Spring and Fall usually isn't so bad if I've stayed on top of it the other months.  I do take the crisper drawer out (my fridge only has one drawer), and wash it out, as well as defrost and wipe out the freezer.

This is also the time of year when I go through closets, and the attic storage to gather things to take to Goodwill, or the crisis pregnancy center.  A good rule of thumb for me when it comes to clothing is, if I haven't taken it off of the hanger all season, I won't wear it next season either.  The exception to this rule for me this year has been clothes that I am still working to fit back into after pregnancy.  I usually am able to purchase one or two new things to wear each season, so I figure I should be able to donate at least that much.

What about you?  Do you have any tried and true cleaning tricks that you pull out for Fall cleaning?  What kind of things do you put on your list?  I'd love to know your secrets!

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