Down Pineapple Lane

Outside my sliding glass door is a beautiful wooded area. All summer it has been beautifully green, and the leaves whistle with the wind.

But now it is becoming a different kind of beautiful as green gives way to yellow. I’m sure that red and orange are not far away. Don’t you love fall?

It is a great time for many things including apple festivals, pumpkin carving, leaf raking (and jumping, of course), fall color tours, etc. I suppose there are parts of the country that get to enjoy none of these. I’m so sorry!!!

But you can join in on this next list of “fall to-do’s.”

1) Clean out closets. The kids are in school and there is no one to distract you.  As you trade off the summer clothes for the fall clothes, purge those closets of unneeded clothes. “Unneeded” is defined as too big, too small, tattered/stained beyond repair or out of style.  Those clothes that stay get stored appropriately.  ”Appropriately” is defined as clean, folded/hung in containers (hopefully clear) and labeled with the name of owner and size (if for a child). Wool garments need protection ~ moth balls or cedar.

2) Clean house.  I understand “spring cleaning,” but I’m a “fall cleaning” person. Maybe it’s the allergies, maybe it’s the coming holidays, but either or both reasons work for me.

Allergens cover everything in the house if you have windows open during the summer and early fall. It’s time to get those out before you close all the windows for the winter.

As for the holidays, is it just me or does anyone else see that the last quarter of the year is in holiday overload? Nevertheless, I’m not complaining. But I do like to have a clean pallet before I start decorating which starts in September and carries on until January.  And then the house looks so bare that I decide to decorate some more.

Which brings me back to “fall cleaning.” I don’t need to outline that ~ everything is cleaned from top to bottom.  My favorite all time cleaner is ammonia water. My spray bottle holds 22 ounces, so my proportions are 1 ounce of ammonia: 21 ounces water.

I refuse to have a cabinet full of cleaners for every surface ~ too much space consumed and way too much money spent. The only thing I don’t use the ammonia water on is the carpet, the wood furniture and the plasma screen TV.

There you have it only two things to get done this fall.

While you are cleaning and decorating for those holidays, I recommend that you sign up for a little inspiration. My philosophy is that it’s never too early for Christmas music. Do I hear White Christmas playing anywhere?