Makely

Can you believe that Fall has already arrived? It seems like just yesterday we were splashing around in the pool and eating popsicles in the back yard. Now, my days are filled with homework, football and slow cooker recipes.

Even though you may be ready for Fall, your home may not be. In order to test your home’s readiness, I put together a little Fall quiz for you.

Makely’s Fall Quiz

Fall has arrived! What’s the first thing you do:
A. Break out the pumpkin scented candles, bake pumpkin baked goods, and drink pumpkin spice lattes. All pumpkin, all the time.
B. Check to make sure that your kids’ have enough pairs of jeans so that you only have to do laundry once a week.
C. Pull up a fall maintenance home checklist on your computer so that you can prepare for the cooler months.

You hear that fall is the time to stock up on “winter gear.” To you, that means:
A. Christmas decor is on sale!
B. Your kids will love the new jackets and snow boots you bought for them.
C. It’s time to grab sidewalk salt and good shovels – you never know when the season’s first snowfall will arrive.

When the clocks “fall back” in the fall, you:
A. Celebrate having an extra hour to snuggle under your cozy down comforter.
B. Remark that it will take months for your kids to adjust to the change of the clocks.
C. Know that you need to test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and change their batteries.

Ragweed is on it’s way. You:
A. Wonder if you can make an awesome wreath out of it for your front door.
B. Stock up on tissue and allergy medication for your family.
C. Replace your HVAC filter with a Filtrete Ultra Allergen Reduction Filter (MPR 1500) to help capture allergen particles in your home.

It’s getting a little too chilly to sit on your back porch. You:
A. Start knitting blankets to match your porch furniture. Cold weather just means another project!
B. Put gloves and scarves on your kids – they NEED to be outside to burn off some energy.
C. Store your outdoor furniture and cushions on the garage so that they don’t get damaged in the elements.

The temperatures have dropped enough that it’s time to turn on the heating system. What happens in your house?
A. You move your plants away from the heating vents so that the warm air doesn’t dry them out.
B. You wonder what that burning smell is and check to see that the kids haven’t set something on fire.
C. Call your local HVAC company and have the furnace inspected or serviced….

Alright, let me see a show of hands. Who is long overdue on cleaning their curtain panels?

Yep, I was, too. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and admit that I haven’t cleaned any of them since they had been hung…and for some of them, that has been years. Gross!

But, when the magazine came to photograph my house a few weeks ago, one of the things that they wanted to do was switch out my master bedroom curtains for some that would be lighter in the images. As I was taking them down, I couldn’t believe how dusty and gross the top of the curtain panels had gotten. And we sleep in there, y’all!

There are a few different ways to clean curtain panels, so I thought I’d share them with you in case you are like me. Ahem.

How to Clean Curtains

1. Shake It Off – Like Taylor Swift says, “Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake.” But seriously, if it hasn’t been too terribly long since you hung your curtains, take them off the rod and head outside. Give them a good shake so that the dust and dander flies off.

2. Sticky Roll – No, it’s not a new sushi roll (mmmm….sushi). You can use a sticky roller (or a thick dishwashing glove) to remove any lint or pet hair that’s stuck to your curtains. My big, sheddy, white dog loves to sleep up against our dark gray curtains, so we use this method a lot. It works pretty well for a quick fix.

Yep, he looks like trouble next to dark fabric, doesn’t he?

3. Suck It Up – If you have a vacuum with good detail attachments, you can use it to clean the curtains. Pay particular attention to the tops of the panels near your rod, as that is where dust seems to collect the most. I’m about as good with vacuum cleaner attachments as I am with hair styling tools (read: not at all), so I generally avoid this method myself.

…