Fall Task Ideas & A Yummy Recipe

Fall Is Finally Coming to Sonoma County

It’s been a hot summer in Sonoma County with many stressors for everyone; from wildfires to COVID, I think all of us are hoping this isn’t our new normal. The days are getting shorter and we are starting to see colder weather in Sonoma County and it has many of us thinking about fall activities. Many of the activities we look forward to won’t be possible with COVID-19, such as the great parties for Halloween on MacDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa or Florence Avenue in Sebastopol, but many of the pumpkin patches are open and taking good COVID-19 precautions and Howarth Park is going to have a drive-through Halloween celebration.  Also for adults, many of the wineries are doing socially distanced outdoor music while the weather is still great and many are not only having wine tasting but also serving food. So people and businesses are getting innovative about ways to still celebrate the fall season!

Fall Is A Great Time to Organize & Clean

Most of us will be spending more time indoors this fall and winter than usual because of COVID-19, with remote work and remote school situations. The last thing most of us want is to be staring down messes, clutter, or dirt. Organizing and cleaning are great activities for decreasing stress, accomplishing something useful, and feeling better afterward. Below we give you some usual ideas for cleaning and organizing but also some great ways to make the project more fun:

Bedrooms:

• Clean out your closets, move summer clothing out and fall and winter clothing into your closets.
• Donate your purged items to Goodwill and Hospice, both are open again and taking donations.
• Rotate your mattress.
• For those with allergies consider a mattress-lifter; a foam ad that elevates the head of your bed at least 6 inches and it helps decrease snoring and a stuffy nose at night.
• Launder all your pillows, mattress pad, duvet cover, and bedspreads.
• Spray down your linens with linen spray; such as lavender or rosemary.
• Wipe down windowsills, blinds and clean or dry-clean window draperies.

Bathrooms:

• Clean your shower doors and treat with RainX, it will keep your shower door or shower or bath enclosure streak-free.
• Deep clean your showerhead with a toothbrush and vinegar.
• Scrub your shower or bath and think about treating your tiles with a tile preservative that keeps buildup from happening.
• Clean hairbrushes or combs. A trick is using a toothpick for getting hair out between bristles or you can use a rat-tail comb end to do the job also.
• Replace toothbrushes or brush heads on your cordless toothbrushes.
• Clean the lint out of your dyer. There are great dryer lint brushes and the few minutes it takes you to do the task will shave minutes off your drying time for your wash loads.
• Check the grout and caulk around your sink and bathtub and touch up where needed.

Kitchen:

• Remove expired food from the pantry and consider using plastic baskets to organize the smaller items so they don’t fall behind larger ones. We have used plastic baskets to successfully store pasta and keep it organized.
• Clean your oven and stovetop. Consider lining your oven with aluminum foil to catch the drippings from roasting so there is less clean up.
• Move your refrigerator and clean the coils.
• Consider storing your yeast in the refrigerator or freezer, it keeps longer and doesn’t affect rise time or abilities. 
• Clean our your refrigerator and consider using green bags for vegetables and fruit, it extends their freshness.
• Consider buying a food compost can or container and making your own compost for your garden.

Living Room:

• Clean or dry clean all draperies and clean blinds.
• Schedule having your fireplace or stove cleaned by a professional before cold weather sets in.
• I really recommend fatwood for starting a fire, so much easier than heaps of newspaper or keeping lots of kindling on hand.
• Clean your ceiling fans; there’s a nifty brush on a pole stick that actually wraps around the blade and cleans both surfaces at once-great invention!
• Wipe down windowsills, switches, and doorknobs and the surfaces around them throughout the house.
• Organize your books or CD’s, those you no longer want, donate to a good cause.

A Fun Recipe for Fall-Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Comfort food is always a good go-to on a rainy or dreary day. The trick with great Chocolate Covered Pretzels is the sea salt, it really makes them a winner. Cozy up by a fire with a mug of tea or a glass of red wine and enjoy this yummy treat:

Ingredients:

• 2 bags of chocolate chips-your choice either dark or milk chocolate
• 1 bag of pretzels-minis or regular size work
• Sea salt flakes

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over medium heat until melted. Using tongs or tweezers dip the individual pretzels into the chocolate mixture to coat well. Have a parchment-lined or wax paper-lined cookie sheet ready and place the finished pretzel on the cookie sheet. Before the chocolate hardens sprinkle the chocolate covered pretzels with sea salt flakes. It’s the combination of chocolate and slat that really accentuates the chocolate and pretzels flavors.
• Allow the pretzels to harden and you can hurry the process by putting the cookie sheet in the refrigerator to quicken the hardening time.
• Once the pretzels have set up and cooled be sure to store in layers with paper between them in either plastic bags or air-tight jars for keeping.

Fall is a great time to have Crystal Clear Home clean your home for the fall and winter months. Many of the tasks listed above we do for our clients on a regular basis helping to keep their homes clean and more germ-free. Be sure to give us a call at 707-827-3616 for a free estimate or fill our free estimate form and one of our cleaning professionals will get in touch with your very soon to go over your cleaning needs and give you a free estimate,