It’s Fall. And like me, you’re kind of a slacker. I recently wrote about why fall cleaning is important as the colder weather approaches and we all end up huddling indoors more often.
But I recognize that a seasonal hardcore deep-cleaning ritual isn’t for everyone (or perhaps, anyone). So for those of you who recognize that you should take some steps to organize your home, but don’t really want to put in a lot of effort, you’ve come to the right blog post.

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Here are 4 tasks that I call my “Easy-to-Do-Cleaning-Jobs-so-you-can-feel-pretty-good-about-yourself-with-little-effort”:

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1. Flip your Mattress. This is a quick job that can prolong the life of your mattress and hopefully lead to more restful sleep. This task requires at least 2 people. I repeat, at least 2 people. Mattresses are heavy. Don’t make the mistake I did and try to do it yourself or else you’ll have to abandon the task halfway and your young children will wonder why Mom’s voice is muffled and she’s waving her arms from under the mattress. With 2 able-bodied people, you can successfully rotate that mattress in a matter of minutes and be sipping margaritas before you can say, “STOP jumping on the bed!”

2. Clean out your purse. If you’re like me, you’re guilty of lugging around 3 months’ worth of receipts, gum wrappers and junk in your purse. Those things are there for no apparent reason other than if you’re randomly snowed in your car this winter, you’ll be glad you have those sunflower seeds at the bottom of your purse to snack on. To lighten your load, assess your wallet and clean out items you don’t need. This fall, I finally said sayonara to that pool pass, expired ice cream coupons and other remnants from summer. Be sure to file away any important receipts, recycle or toss the rest (and then curse yourself for not redeeming those ice cream bars coupons while you had the chance!)

3. Clean out the Linen Closet. OK if you need to feel a quick sense of accomplishment, start here, people. What better place to begin than with a small, self-contained space that generally has no “yuck-factor” involved since you’re (hopefully) dealing with clean linens? A quick sorting of the linens, and taking a moment to donate or toss any frayed, discolored items and… voila! You’re done.

4. Hose down the deck. Depending on what kind of furniture and deck you have, you can usually pull out the hose, crank up the water pressure on that baby, and go to town spraying down your deck to get rid of all the surface dirt. (Now, you’ll need to give it a little more TLC with some outdoor bleach  before the winter comes but giving it a quick rinse-down before that “real cleaning session” will make that day a whole lot easier.)

That’s it. You’ve just gotten some serious cleaning and organizing. Now go on and celebrate with your bad self!

What are your low-effort cleaning tasks that make you feel pretty good about yourself when you’re done? Share your ideas in the comments section below!