It's that time of year again — time to get the house ready for the months you'll spend mostly indoors. A little attention cleaning a few key areas now, and you get a cosy, well-run home instead of a dusty one by January.

Most people think of spring for the big clean, but fall deserves its own reset — you're about to close the windows and spend six months mostly indoors, so this is the one that actually has to hold. If you never got to a deep clean this year, our Spring Cleaning guide's room-by-room method works just as well now.

• Vacuum cobwebs from ceilings and corners
• Vacuum in and around windows
• Remove dust, leaves, and bugs from sills and tracks
• Vacuum insect screens; wash them if needed
• Install storm windows, if you use them
• Clean walls and trim
• Use the wall cleaner below for stubborn spots
• Get into the corners — that's where fall dust actually collects

That gets rid of dust and cobwebs. Take a second pass and clean the glass. Low fall light shows every streak and smudge that summer humidity was hiding. Wash the glass inside, and outside, wipe the sills and tracks while you're there, and finish mirrors the same way. 

Tools: a sponge or soft scrub brush, a bowl

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon baking soda, a small squeeze of Common Good dish soap, half a cup of warm water

Method: mix in the bowl, soak the sponge, and scrub walls, doors, and painted trim. Baking soda gives you gentle abrasion for scuffs; the dish soap lifts grease and grime without leaving residue.

• Pick up rugs
• Air them outdoors, if the weather allows
• Vacuum floors, paying attention to corners
• Mop floors
• Scrub corners and skirting boards
• Use the carpet freshener below on rugs and carpet
• Vacuum again to finish

Tools: a jar

Ingredients: 1 cup baking soda, a few drops of essential oil

Method: mix in the jar and let it sit overnight if you have time — that gives the baking soda a chance to fully take on the scent. Sprinkle over carpets and rugs, let it sit an hour or more (overnight is best), then vacuum it up. Baking soda absorbs odors and helps loosen embedded dust; use your vacuum's strongest setting, and a HEPA filter if you have one — they're best at trapping what this recipe loosens.

• Pull the wool blankets and duvets out of storage
• Wash mattress and pillow protectors before the heavier bedding goes back on — they've done their job all year and deserve a refresh
• Give stored blankets a sniff test; air anything musty outside for an hour before it goes on the bed. Wash if necessary

The reward for getting this far. This is the smell that makes a house feel finished for fall — cloves and star anise doing more for the mood than any candle.

Tools: a large pot, a fine strainer or slotted spoon

Ingredients: 8 cups apple cider (or good unfiltered apple juice), 1 orange, sliced into rounds, 5 whole cloves, 2 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 allspice berries (optional), 2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional, to taste)

Method: Combine everything in the pot over medium-high heat. Bring it to a gentle simmer — don't let it boil hard — then drop the heat to low and let it simmer 25 to 30 minutes, so the spices have time to actually perfume the house. Pull the orange slices out once it's done; left in too long, they turn bitter. Ladle into mugs, spices and all if you like the look of them, or strain first.

Notes: use whole spices, not ground — ground spices cloud the cider and you can't fish them back out.