10 fall cleaning tips to get your place looking fabulous

Spring cleaning seems to get all the love. More than a tradition, it’s become a metaphor for any kind of heavy-duty cleaning or organizing. But for myriad reasons, sprucing up your home for fall is equally important—especially with the onset of cooler weather, when many of us will begin spending more time indoors.

With tomorrow, September 22, the first official day of autumn, now is the ideal time to start getting your house in tip-top shape. The good news is a thorough cleaning doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Here are 10 time-, money- and effort-saving tips to help streamline the process and get you and your family ready for the season ahead.

1. Make microfiber the star of your cleaning arsenal.
   At Norwex®, we believe you shouldn’t have to sacrifice a clean home for a healthy home. That’s why our versatile, hard-working microfiber is your best tool for just about every household job. For starters, it’s denser, more durable and more absorbent than other brands. Plus, our exclusive BacLock® micro silver antibacterial agent in many of our products inhibits odors caused by bacteria, mold and mildew within the cloth.

   Use it wet or dry, depending on the task. Wet, Norwex Microfiber requires only water to remove stuck-on messes, even eliminating up to 99% of bacteria from surfaces when following proper care and use instructions. Dry, static electricity within the cloth captures and holds the smallest dust particles and allergens, preventing them from resettling on surfaces. Best of all, it’s much more sustainable than single-use paper towels and harmful chemicals that can pollute the environment.

2. De-clutter before deep cleaning.
   Start by going room to room to pick up stray items: toys, mail, magazines, glasses, sneakers . . . you get the idea. Decide whether to put it away, toss or donate. A clutter-free home is not only quicker and easier to clean, seeing those tidy surfaces can help boost your motivation to keep going.
3. Clean task by task versus room by room.
   Pick one task—dusting, vacuuming, mopping—and repeat it in every room rather than start the same job over and over again. Instead of feeling like you’re in an endless cleaning cycle, you’ll save time and effort.
4. Choose the right products and tools for the job.
   Whatever the mess, choose the right cleaner. It sounds simple but can make a huge difference.

   • Ovens. With holiday season approaching, you’re going to be doing a lot more cooking and baking. Choose and enzyme-based oven and grill cleaner to safely break down baked- and burned-on food and stubborn greasy spills on ovens, cookware and bakeware.

   • Bathrooms. Deep clean shower doors, bathtubs, drains and more with an environmentally friendly descaler that safely removes soap scum, heavy calcium, lime and rust deposits.

   • Carpets, rugs and upholstery. Skip the harsh chemicals and choose an enzyme-based carpet stain remover to spot clean, shampoo, deodorize and neutralize stains.

   • Windows. A microfiber window cloth and water effectively do the job sans streaks and chemicals. High windows? No problem. A window cloth mop pad attached to an adjustable telescopic handle effortlessly brings hard-to-reach glass to a sparkling shine.

   • Furniture, lampshades, bookshelves, windowsills, blinds and ceiling fans. Yes, a single tool does it all. A bendable chenille microfiber wand cleans hard-to-reach nooks and crannies by attracting and holding dirt and dust better than conventional, chemical-laden sprays.

5. Get yourself some elbow grease in a jar.
   While typical cleansing pastes and creams can do a passable job of removing gunk and grime, they often contain harmful ingredients like chlorine bleach and/or synthetic fragrances. Our Cleaning Paste is not only tough on stains, dirt, grease and grime, it’s free of toxic chemicals that can harm skin and the environment. Plus, a single swipe is all you need to effectively deal with all kinds of stains, from permanent marker to burn marks on pots and pans.

   We especially love it this time of year to clean and de-grime outdoor furniture before storing it for the winter. Allowing stains and grime to remain on outdoor upholstery or umbrella fabric will make the job tougher later on.

   And if a liquid cleanser is more your style, learn more about our All Purpose Cream Cleaner.

6. Bust dust (and more) quicker and more efficiently.
   Sure, you clean regularly, but when was the last time you dusted behind and under large pieces of furniture like that living room sectional? Dust is a complex mixture of dead skin, soil tracked in from outdoors, fungal spores and chemicals from household products—some of which may be harmful. Spending more time indoors means more exposure to household dust as well as more foot traffic—including the dust, dirt and debris that comes along with it.

   For best results, start from the top and work your way down. Gravity affects everything, even household dust. Save the floors for last. Otherwise, you’ll knock dust back onto them and have to clean twice.

   For smaller jobs, an eco-friendly, electrostatically charged microfiber dusting mitt attracts and holds dust and allergens like a magnet—a must-have for seasonal allergy-sufferers.

7. Make comfortable, easy-care bedding a priority.
   Cooler temps make snuggling up in bed all the more appealing. Ultra-luxe, superbly comfortable microfiber sheets and pillowcases with some of the most advanced antimicrobial technology in the world are also warm and cozy, which makes them a great choice for cold weather months.

   Consider buying an additional set for your guest room, sure to get extra use over the holidays. Choose Norwex Microfiber Sheets and Pillowcases with BacLock* technology to keep bedding fresher longer by inhibiting bacterial growth within them, including acne-causing bacteria.**

8. Save money—and the planet—by eliminating single-use paper towels.
   Consider these eye-opening statistics: A whopping 13 billion pounds of paper towel waste is created in the U.S. every year. In North America alone, more than 51,000 trees are cut down daily. And around the world, used paper towels create 254 million tons of trash a year.

   Disposables are pricey, too. Americans spend $5.7 billion dollars a year on paper towels for home use—nearly half the global total, and nearly $5 billion more than each of the next four biggest paper towel spenders, according to the website Earth911. Replace with Norwex Microfiber EnviroCloths, Counter Cloths or Kitchen Towels—good for you and Mother Earth, too.

9. Tackle some seasonal maintenance.
   Add these to your autumn must-do list:

   • Change HVAC air filter.
   • Replace fire alarm batteries.
   • Condition leather furniture.
   • Dust your ceiling fans and set them to turn so air circulates upward.
   • Check fireplaces and chimneys.
   • Clean out rain gutters.

10. Make cleaning a family effort.
    Divide and conquer to make weekly, monthly, and larger deep cleaning tasks far more manageable. Make sure everyone, including kids, is taking on their fair share of the work.

Do you have special tips for enlisting the help of your family when cleaning your home? Other readers would love to hear them! Please drop us a line in the comments below.

*BacLock is our antibacterial agent for self-cleansing purposes only. The agent is solely designed to inhibit bacterial odor, mold and mildew growth within the product.
**Not an acne-treatment product.

Resources:

• https://www.norwexmovement.com/9-reasons-pass-paper/
• https://earth911.com/home-garden/breaking-americas-paper-towel-addiction/
• https://www.ewg.org/healthyhomeguide/reducing-household-dust/#.Wl921caZPJw
• https://shopus.norwex.biz/en_US/customer/blog/household-chores