After Sukkot is a perfect time to start fall cleaning. I have created a FREE after Sukkot fall cleaning checklist printable to make your fall home maintenance as breezy as that Autumn wind.
For fall cleaning tips, homemade cleaner recipes, and a list of essential cleaning supplies, keep reading!
Do people do fall cleaning?
With the fall appointed times coming to an end, and back to back celebrations and gatherings with them, our attention as Biblical homemakers now turns more inward, to our homes, and cozying down for the winter months ahead.
If you haven’t been intentional about fall cleaning before, you have likely still participated in some aspects of fall cleaning. For example, two natural homemaking tasks many of us find on our “to do” lists in fall are packing away the summer gear and bringing out the winter gear.
With a little intentionality, after Sukkot fall cleaning becomes a comforting and natural rhythm of the homemaker’s year, a literal dusting away of the dryness and heat of summer, and a symbolic transition from a season of activity, busyness, and work to a season of rest, quietness, and closeness with our families.
After Sukkot Fall Cleaning Tips
To save your sanity and make your after Sukkot fall cleaning more efficient, consider the following cleaning tips:
Clean or organize one thing at a time.
Doing a fall deep clean of your home needn’t feel intimidating or overwhelming. Just as we read a book one chapter at a time, tackle your fall cleaning with systematic, steady, and consistent effort. Apply yourself to just one task at a time.
Take a whole week— or even a whole month— to work from the top down, room by room, and even unit by unit, (such as one shelf, closet, or desk at a time).
There are no rules about how quickly your fall cleaning must be done; you needn’t even feel obligated to have all of your deep cleaning done before having guests over. (Tidiness and general cleaning routines are sufficient for guests.)
We deep clean out of self-respect and conviction of stewarding well what YHVH has entrusted to us. In fact, as you invest yourself in the care of your home, you will feel a motivating sense of investment in yourself— a sense of accomplishment and self-dignity that you as a human being are worthy of a clean and comfortable home and that you as a homemaker are valuable and necessary to the functioning of your household.
(Yes, I did just argue that deep cleaning is an intrinsically meaningful form of self care.)
So shake off the intimidation! Break down the whole project into whatever is manageable to you.
Focus on at least one part of your plan each day, and before you know it, you’ll find that not only have you completed your fall cleaning goal— but you have a certain satisfaction in your job well done, too.
Regular home maintenance makes deep cleaning easier.
Needless to say, when the counter is full of dirty dishes, the ceilings and baseboards are the least of our concerns.
A regular home cleaning and laundry routine makes a huge difference in keeping the home generally maintained and never (or rarely) in a massive disaster.
If you first implement a regular home maintenance routine, when it’s time for fall cleaning, you won’t feel the pressure to either a) neglect the daily chores for the deep cleaning tasks or b) scramble hectically and madly to somehow do two major cleaning projects in one day.
Before beginning your fall cleaning project, take one or two weeks to enact a daily chores and laundry routine. Once that plate is spinning, you can add in a fall cleaning task (you decide how large or small) each day.
Overall, your fall cleaning will be much less stressful and hectic when you have a regular home maintenance plan in place.
If you haven’t already established regular cleaning habits and routines in your home, you may find me sharing about my homemaking routines in the following video helpful.
Take inventory of what’s in your home.
We can’t manage everything, and so we have to choose what we are willing to manage. As you do your fall cleaning and are already handling most of the things in your home, take the opportunity to assess whether they’re things worth handling.
Does it have a purpose (function, beauty, or otherwise)? Do you use it? Does it have a home within your home?
When a room begins to look like a tornado has ripped through it, or a drawer can never seem to stay organized, you know that room or drawer needs some major declutterring and minimizing.
This fall, we’re going for cozy— not chaotic.
Some items may be donated or sold. Some may be packed away while you decide on its value or until a home can be made for it (such as by setting up another bookshelf).
Declutterring as you go about your fall cleaning will help keep the home tidier day by day with less effort— and you might end up making a few extra dollars off the items you resale, too!
Work smarter.
Consider that professional cleaners exist because they are able to make cleaning as efficient as possible (and therefore, more profitable for them). As a homemaker, you can imitate some of the techniques professional cleaners use to work smarter.
For example, instead of sweeping floors and then wiping out cabinets, (and then having to sweep the floors again), work from the top down.
Use the gift of time by allowing your cleaners to sit for 5-30 minutes on surfaces while you do other tasks; your surface will be much easier to clean when you come back to it.
Use an “s” curve to quickly and effectively wipe surfaces.
Many professional cleaners share the tips and tricks of their trade in blog posts and YouTube videos, so consider reading and watching a few before getting started with your fall cleaning.
Involve the whole family or hire help.
If your children are old enough, or if your husband is available, include them in the fall cleaning. Dedicate one or two hours each Sunday to knock out some of your fall cleaning.
On the one hand, many hands make light work. And on the other hand, when we work together as a family, we build camaraderie and deepen our bond with one another.
Everyone feels like a valuable contributor to the family when the praise music is blasting and you’re all dipping sponges into soapy buckets of water and wiping down the trim together.
You might also consider hiring out some of the work. Many cleaning services offer deep cleaning services. You may even find it motivating to work on one task as the cleaner works on another.
Here’s a budgeting tip for next year: If you would like to have help with deep cleaning, get a quote from a cleaning service in your area. Divide that total by twelve months, and then set aside that amount each month. When fall cleaning rolls around again, you’ll have the funds to hire help!
Homemade Cleaner Recipes
I have primarily used two homemade cleaners in my home for the last decade. One is a DIY all purpose cleaner with Dawn, and the other is a homemade window and glass cleaner with vinegar (which also neutralizes and removes sap around the wood stove!). They are the best homemade cleaner recipes I’ve found!
DIY All Purpose Cleaner with Dawn
DIY all purpose cleaner works well for everything from surfaces to the floors. For heavily soiled surfaces, it is most effective when allowed to sit for at least 5 minutes before wiping.
Combine in a spray bottle:
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon dish soap
Homemade Window and Glass Cleaner with Vinegar
Your windows and mirrors will sparkle with this homemade window and glass cleaner with vinegar!
If using a rag, I like to spray this cleaner on to my rag, wipe down my windows and mirror with the wet side of the rag, and then use the dry side of my rag to wipe the window or mirror completely streak-less. If using a squeegee, I spray the cleaner directly on to the windows and mirror and always have a streak-less result!
This is also my go-to cleaner around the wood stove where sap may have dripped.
Combine in a spray bottle:
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
Essential Cleaning Tools & Supplies
I’m a pretty minimal homemaker and cleaner. Over the years, these are the cleaning items I have found most helpful.
- Homemade Cleaners- all purpose cleaner, window/glass cleaner, baking soda for deodorizer
- Cobweb & Ceiling Fan Duster (or rag- also useful for general dusting- not my exact one, but similar)
- Window/Mirror Squeegee (or rag— not my exact one, but similar)
- Broom & Dustpan (one for indoor use, one for outdoor use!)
- Vacuum with air filter (I have the white one)
- Mop with dusting sweeper (great for walls/ceiling, as well as the floor!)
With these fall cleaning tips, homemade cleaner recipes, basic cleaning supplies, and
you’re equipped to take on an after Sukkot fall deep clean!
Many blessings and shalom!
Raquel
Comment below! Share a helpful cleaning tip with the community.
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