Late summer, house ready: 18 things you can clean now and will thank you when autumn arrives

August 30th has something (not very pleasant) of a Sunday evening. It's still hot and there might be a few beach days left, but September is already peeking around the corner. However, in these last days of summer before the rush and the more serious part of the routine return, there are a series of nooks and objects in the house that are worth cleaning precisely now, before this kind of reset that also has something of a new year. Some of the things worth cleaning and tidying up now are objects that have been used intensively during the summer and that we no longer want to see lying around the house, and others, because in a few weeks they will be back in service.

For example, suitcases are returning to closets, backpacks and diaries are reappearing, afternoons are filling up with post-summer activity and reunions, and life is slowly regaining the schedules it lost in June. However, this end of August doesn't need to become a military operation or be dedicated to scrubbing grout with a toothbrush: but these days can be used to do the cleaning that during the year is always left for when we have time. Some also have a seasonal logic. The fan that has worked almost every night will (fortunately) soon be put away in the closet and the refrigerator has endured weeks of watermelons, drinks, horchata, and containers going in and out. It's time to act.

This appliance has been one of the great workers of the summer and probably one of the most forgotten when it comes to cleaning. The end of the season is a good time to unplug it and remove dust from the grilles and blades before storing it. Attention: you don't need to store it yet, as if there are still tropical nights, it can continue to be used, but without dragging all of July on top.

Something similar happens with air conditioning. After weeks of intensive use, the end of summer is a logical time to check its filters. It's one of those invisible tasks: it doesn't visually transform a room, but it's part of the usual maintenance of a device that has worked for many hours.

Pollen, dust, insects, and outdoor dirt accumulate there while almost no one pays attention. Mosquito nets are precisely one of the elements that make the most sense to clean at the end of summer. It is also the time to check if there are small holes or detached areas.

Windows, blinds, and frames accumulate a not-so-glamorous mix of dust, pollution, insect remains, and outdoor dirt for months. In summer, they are also constantly manipulated to try to keep the house cool. A thorough cleaning of the slats allows you to reach autumn with this task resolved.

Few things change personality as much with the season as a refrigerator. In summer it is filled with fruit, bottles, jugs, ice, containers with half a melon, open sauces and leftovers from improvised meals. The end of August, when the refrigerator is empty, is a good occasion to check dates, remove forgotten, expired or repeated foods and clean shelves, drawers and interior walls.

The freezer deserves a separate chapter. At the end of summer, it can store ice creams that nobody wants, ice cubes with a shrimp flavor, bags of peas or half-eaten croquettes, and frozen preparations from before going on vacation that we no longer know the origin of. It's a good time to review its contents, organize it, and identify what should be consumed soon, also to defrost it if a more thorough cleaning is needed.

The pantry usually looks tidy until everything is taken out. That's when open packages, crumbs, duplicate products, and food that had visually disappeared behind a row of jars start to appear. Small invasions of fruit flies and unopened expired sauces also surface.

During the summer, the oven has likely been used much less, precisely because turning it on with almost 40 degrees outside sounds like a mistake. However, this break makes it precisely a good candidate for a cleaning before getting back to gratins, roasts, and longer recipes.

Long abandoned until it makes itself present with a condensed drop of grease about to fall, the hood is a metaphor for the accumulation of dirt in the kitchen. The end of August offers a good excuse to check the filters, clean the surface, and start the more intense cooking season with the extractor in good condition.

Filters, gaskets, spray arms, and interior corners can accumulate food debris. Periodic inspection is necessary to keep the appliance in good condition and to adjust parameters such as salt.

Beach towels, swimsuits, sweaty clothes, sheets, and luggage returning from vacation. The washing machine hasn't exactly had a sabbatical summer either, so at the end of August you can take the opportunity to clean out the detergent drawer and check the door seal before it starts to turn black with mold. It's also advisable to run a drum cleaning program, especially if you detect bad odors or persistent dampness.

Summer also leaves its mark in the bedroom in the form of large sweat stains and dust that has entered from outside. Now is a good time to wash protectors and covers and treat the mattress with an intense cleaning that will leave it ready for autumn.

It may seem absurd to think about the duvet when it's thirty degrees outside, but that's precisely the point. Washing winter clothes now allows you to have them ready before the first sudden drop in temperature. Besides, they dry in the blink of an eye. The same applies to pillows, blankets, and covers.

Under the sofa hide crumbs, coins, small pieces, lost remotes, and objects no one knew were missing. Now is a good time to remove cushions, covers, vacuum accessible areas, and clean the upholstery in the washing machine, dry clean, or with specific products.

For months they have been practically decorative. But before it's time to turn on the heating, it's advisable to remove the accumulated dust from the outside and the back to avoid having to discover the dust just as the heating season begins.

Sandals, espadrilles, bags, portable coolers, and other beach survivors can accumulate sand in places that defy the laws of physics. Cleaning them before storing them prevents your closet from becoming an unintentional extension of the coast.

Arriving on vacation, emptying your suitcase and pushing it to the back of the closet is tempting. Vacuuming its interior, cleaning wheels, handles, and surfaces, and leaving it completely dry before storing it takes little effort compared to having to do it five minutes before the next trip.

There is a last category that almost always gets left off lists: the things we clean with. Brushes accumulate hair and fibers; vacuum cleaner filters and tanks need maintenance; buckets, cloths, and mops also deteriorate. Checking them allows you to start September with tools in good condition and replace only what has truly been damaged. Cleaning the whole house with a dirty tool has something of a vicious cycle.

Some tasks require ten minutes; others, a long time and a washing machine in between, which is why it is more reasonable to spread the chores between the end of the holidays and the free slots that returning to routine leaves us. There are still dinners out, open windows, fans running, and probably one last getaway, but it is indeed time to start removing the trace of the heat we've experienced from the house and feel ready to face a new era.