Fall Clean-up

It's fall. That means clean-up time around the yard and house. One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to clean my windows. This helps to let in the light we have so little of during the winter months.

I start by removing all the screens. 

I gather up all the screens and get out my dustpan brush. I brush off both sides. You'll be amazed at how much dust and dirt fly off when this is done. Or maybe you won't. Maybe my house is just incredibly dirty.

If they're really bad I've been known to scrub them with soap, water, and a brush.

I then take all my screen to the basement for the winter. I do this because I have no use for them in the winter and it lets in a lot more light.

Next, I take the hose, a bucket of soapy water, and a car wash brush around to each window. I wet it down and scrub it. I not only scrub the window, but also the window frame around it. Then I just rinse it off. I also scrub off any bird poop or other yuckiness on the siding around the area. It's amazing how this little scrub-up makes the entire outside of the house look clean!

Then, I just put away my supplies, drain and unhook the hoses, and store all my hoses and outdoor planters away in the barn.

The kids were actually in charge of emptying all the planters and gathering them all up and storing them. They enjoyed riding the old mower and pulling the garden trailer around the property They emptied the old dirt into the compost pile, took the "scenic route" back to the house, and piled all my planters and garden decorations into the trailer. We just leave them in the trailer to make it easier in the spring to bring them all back out again.