Rainy fall days are the perfect time for cleaning up and out around the house

Rainy fall days are the perfect time for cleaning up and out around the house
                        
I love fall, but maybe not for the same reasons some of you do. I’m not big on bonfires, nor hayrides, nor mulled cider. When it comes to fall, I am all about the cold rains, the wind – anything that makes it ever so nice to be indoors. Because when the dark clouds gather, I am all about turning on the lights and throwing open the doors. The closet doors. The cabinet doors. The pantry doors. It’s too nasty to do anything outside, so weather like this gets me all in the mood to start the Fall Purge. I should probably warn you, tales of the Fall Purge are not for the fainthearted, nor for those known to thrive on clutter. Hoarders need not apply. My urge to purge probably was born out of my tenant years, when I moved nine or 10 times in the course of a decade. As a singleton with a one-year lease, I liked the idea of changing the scenery. This required semi-regular packing and since I had only one or two friends with pickup trucks, this meant shuffling off any nonessential items. I like the Fall Purge. It makes me feel 20 pounds lighter without all that exercising and eating right stuff. This is how it happens. Feel free to copy. I start at the “back” of the house, the wing housing two bedrooms and my office. I pick a room and methodically go through all the drawers, wastebasket at the ready. The rule is “if it hasn’t been used in a year, out it goes.” This means old papers, completed projects and stuff without caps (dried out anyway). This move also requires movement of stuff from desk and tabletop, so it’s a prime time to squirt a little cleaner and wipe. The key here is to be willing to part with things. If there’s a question regarding toss versus use, put all that in a nice pile and return to it later. Second time around, make a decision. The same is true for closets. There was a day when I had two full-sized closets jam packed with clothes and, you guessed it, I had fewer than a dozen “favorite” outfits. If you’ve been thinking about getting rid of some items, start with the summer stock. I guarantee by next summer, you will probably have forgotten all about it. Ask yourself: how many pairs of black pants do you need? You can only wear one pair at a time, right? Ditto for shoes. Bag it all up and donate it to a worthy cause. The items that are worn out need to be pitched. I don’t shop Goodwill looking for your 15-year-old Rush concert shirt (completely faded, except for stains). Let it go. Once purged, everything seems larger, so I don’t get claustrophobic when I clean – top to bottom, by any means necessary. With the radio on. Everything goes better with music, or sports talk radio. The bathroom and kitchen should not be exempt. Ratty towels make great cleaning rags. It’s also a perfect time to check for expiration dates. Neither medications nor spice rack staples get better with age. Out they go! And you can immediately inventory what you’ll need to replace and buy it on your next outing. This works with cleaning out the refrigerator, too. Remember, mold is not a basic food group. While I’m purging, Husband cleans up outside, in part to stay out of the way and in part because cleaning is contagious, if it’s not raining too hard. He can take cover in the covered spaces like the garage and the covered patio. Every bit counts. Give yourself a time limit, so you don’t burn out and give up. If that means doing a little on two different weekends, so be it. When you’re done, you can sit in front of the fire, mulled cider in hand, the scent of clean in the air. Relax... Christmas is just around the corner.


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