House Cleaning for Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day weekend is right around the corner, and summer is quickly coming to an end! Although this isn’t the time you would usually set aside for housework, consider spending a little bit of each day tidying up your home. Between BBQs and general leisure, devote some of the extra time this weekend to fostering a happier home just in time for the upcoming fall season. Here’s a plan for doing a few key tasks a day in order to make some significant progress without sacrificing your entire weekend. Happy Cleaning!
Friday: Quick Pick Up
Jump right into your home cleaning on day one of Labor Day weekend to motivate yourself to follow through with each day’s task. On Friday, start with a general pick-up so you can “see clearly” for the rest of the weekend.
Use the laundry basket method for a quick way to pick up anything that isn’t where it belongs. Set a timer for a reasonable but almost too-short amount of time to help you move along as quickly as possible. Afterwards, set a second timer to put everything away. Go room by room to keep the putting-away portion from feeling like too much of a drag.
Saturday: Declutter Your Closet
We know…decluttering the closet is a daunting task that you would much rather skip. We promise you won’t lose an entire day to housework getting organized. Saturday’s task aims to make a difference you can feel every day: Going through your clothes—yes, all of them.
To make the project bite-size, go by smaller categories: underwear and socks, dress clothes, pants, blouses, t-shirts, coats, etc. Pull out everything in one category and go through each item without allowing yourself to contemplate too much. Create donate, toss, and keep piles. Fold everything you want to keep and place them back in drawers or on hangers.
If this sounds overwhelming, don’t stress it!. You should be able to finish refreshing your closet in a couple of razor-focused hours. Try to do it in the morning.
Not only will a clothing purge show you what wardrobe staples you may need to shop for, but your un-stuffed, cleaned-out closet and drawers will be a breath of fresh air every morning.
Sunday: Deep Clean
Sunday is the day to dig in on a really thorough cleaning. Now that your deck and patio won’t be in use as often as before, clean it up easily and effectively. If moss, mold, and algae are visible, use a cleaning product of your choice to eliminate these stains. Additionally, clean the top of the pool cover and the surrounding pool area to discourage mold and mildew stains and spray down the areas around your pool.
If you don’t have a pool or patio that needs to be taken care of, consider zeroing in on two tasks or two categories of things, such as the following:
Bathrooms
Kitchen
Bedrooms
Upholstered furniture (spot clean, remove cushions, and clean under and between them, vacuum)
Appliances (oven, toaster oven, stand mixer, washer & dryer)
Curtains
Anything else you can think of!
Monday: Tackle Lingering Tasks & Add Finishing Touches
Before you unwind to recharge for the week ahead, finish up any things that you were unable to finish on prior days. Load donations in your car, get to that last category of clothes, or finish any deep cleaning task you didn’t quite complete (or sneak in one more while you’re on a roll).
Finally, do something to your home that makes you happy. This could be something like getting a diffuser and some essential oils, adding new plants, fresh flowers, or throw pillows to your home scene.