Late Fall To-Do List

Last updated on: November 14, 2008 at 4:10 pm by Mary Alice

Late Fall To-Do List 2008-11-14T16:10:00-06:00 Mary Alice

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It is time to get ready!

First, crisis cleaning: this is a flylady concept, you set the timer for 15 minutes and you clean in one room, then move on to the next room for 15 minutes. Work for 45 minutes, then rest for 15 minutes, have a glass of water, take a walk outside, play with your kids. If your home has more than three rooms (for years, mine didn’t, which was a good thing in many ways), you are going to have to do a few 1 hour sessions. You can get your whole house really clean in a day, though, even with kids around (they can help!) and then you just have to do maintenance (clean up after yourself) and have your husband clean the guest bathrooms the morning of the event. I do a crisis clean every few months, it is great because you get your whole house cleaner instead of starting in the kitchen, getting obsessive and sidetracked de-crumbing your toaster, and ending up with four hours of work for a spotless kitchen when the rest of the house is still a mess!

Frankly, even if you are not hosting thanksgiving, now is a great time to get your home in order before the winter and holidays come. What two days can you set aside next week for working on this? This is not about being superficial and saying that you need to have the cleanest home on the block because you are super mom, it is about how you can have more fun with your family if things are in order. You can’t bake a pie together if your sink is overflowing with dirty dishes, and you can’t play a board game if you can’t see your table.

Also, cold season is coming (or already here…). If you are getting a flu shot, do so now. Go through your medicine cabinet and toss your expired tylenol, and add it to your shopping list if necessary. Also, buy tissues now, including a box for the car. Now is a good time to remind your kids about handwashing and “social distancing” to keep healthy through the winter. If you have a baby, add a new nose bulb thingy to your list, too, and just toss the old one, you can never really get them clean. Consider buying new toothbrushes to keep under the sink so that you can swap them out after a cold, too. This seems like a lot, but it is really just a few items tacked on to your grocery list and your holidays will be so much more fun — you can’t prevent your kids getting a cold, but you can be ready to make them (and you) more comfortable if it happens, and if you are like me, home alone more often than not, you won’t be able to run out for tylenol when the fever comes and you realize that yours expired in August!

Wash flannel sheets this week and get them on the beds if you have not already.

Next, check out Leanne’s Thanksgiving Menu Mailer. Even if you do not use her recipes, you need a plan, and you can modify hers to suit your needs. It starts two weeks out, so now is the time! I just printed mine!

One last tip to share, my life has gotten much, much better since I started using PeaPod, which is Stop and Shop’s online grocery service. I had hesitated because they don’t have a few of the things we use regularly, but a wiser mother of five pointed out that it is easier to stock up on these items or even to run in to pick up one thing than to waste 2 hours every Saturday fighting the crowds at the store. I will be using PeaPod for all of the non-perishables on my Thanksgiving list. There is a charge for delivery, but I am actually spending less on groceries because I am not tempted by any impulse items. Grocery shopping takes me about 15 minutes every Sunday night now!

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