Making a Home: May
A could-do monthly house care list
Welcome to Making A Home, a monthly collection of suggestions for home care.
The month of May is one of the most temperate of them all. It’s (generally speaking) not dropping buckets of rain. It’s not terribly gusty. The biting and stinging bugs aren’t out yet in force. There might be early fireflies for nighttime viewing. Stargazing is pleasant, made cozy with a blanket wrapped around the shoulders.
It’s a time of contentment, of stability. Of groundedness. Of enjoying life’s little luxuries. A new scented candle or bundle of incense to speak to the scent and feel of the season at hand. A wind chime stationed directly outside your kitchen door. A bird or hummingbird feeder placed right where you’ll be able to catch fleeting glances.
Small treasures often reap more enduring rewards and pleasures, I’ve found.
May is your steadfast and stalwart friend. The one with whom you always know where you stand. The one who invites ease.
Let’s see what TLC our homes could benefit from this month!
Per usual, a disclaimer: Take these suggestions or leave them. Your house is YOUR house. Do in it whatever you will, in whatever manner suits you and yours best.
May Indoors:
*Depending on where you live, it may be time to turn on fans. Overhead fans, attic fans, oscillating fans-all the fans. Wipe down fan blades, and ensure overhead fans are operating in the direction that pulls hot air upwards (this scenario reverses itself during cooler weather, when fans rotate to pull warm air that has risen down into the room).
*Take rugs outside on a sunny, dry day and beat them with a broom. Alternately, depending on size (and budget and access to professionals), take them in to a carpet/rug cleaning business, or have them visit your home. If your area rugs are washable, give them a gentle washing per instructions.
*Clean out the microwave.
*Scrub all metal sinks with a scouring cleaner and pad.
*Wipe down all mirrors and art/photos with glass frames.
*Test CO2 and smoke detectors.
*Wipe down kitchen cabinet doors and knobs.
*If you have a garbage disposal, clean it.
*If you have a septic system, drop a septic pod into one toilet in the house at bedtime (we’re fond of these Green Gobbler Septic Saver Pods).
*Clean the fan or covers on your range hood.
*Wipe down door knobs and toilet handles regularly.
*Wipe down light switch plates.
*Clean the washing machine, and, for those with front-loading washers, clean the drain pump and filter.
