Re: closing, we can't seem to find a day to do the 'whole works', but only having closed once, I don't want to be doing something I shouldn't be doing. Am I missing something with this plan...heavy dose of bleach a few days prior to close. Day before closing, add polyq (if I decide to). First day of closing, remove stairs, vacuum, backwash, drain off below skimmer, remove whatever hardware I need to inside pool. Cover pool (see below). Following up on another day (before freezing), take care of plumbing 'components', etc. Is there anything wrong with this picture?
Also, we have an above ground with deck surrounding on all sides. We've decided to lay the cover flat over the top and extended it out over the deck, then tying off the cover to the posts on the deck. Has anyone tried this approach? What type of rope/? did you find successful yet will still fit through the grommets? Thanks.

Where do you live ? You may not need to "close" your pool depending on your winter climate ....

Depends on the winter, but we get very cold and freeze more than I'd like to mess with making sure the pump/filter are running. I'm keeping it open longer than usual, but having no leaf cover, I think it's time as even though we don't have a lot of leaves, the maple seeds and neighbors leaves are finding their way into the pool. So figured it's time this weekend to get started. Temps have dropped, which is what I was waiting for...

Yes if you get hard freezes you for sure need to close your pool. If you read through our section in pool school called Closing (Winterizing) Your Above Ground Pool it may give you some ideas to help with your pool closing.