I don't know about you, but Fall is one of my favorite seasons (ranking only behind Spring). Something about the crisp cool mornings, the excuse to spend $6 on an overly sweet pumpkin latte, and knowing that my favorite holidays are right around the corner. Fall to me, feels like the calm before the storm. The short period of time between the craziness of summer activities and the flurry of holiday to-dos. So I like to take this time to reset my home. Here are some tips if you would like to do the same.
If you haven’t already, take some time to add school events and key dates into your family’s calendar. This can be digital, print or both. If digital, make sure your other family member’s calendars are synced, so that they have access to the schedule, as well.
As the weather cools, it’s time to swap out your seasonal clothing. Give last year’s coats a wash (don’t forget to check pockets), make sure all the gloves have matches, declutter any warm weather clothing items that you didn’t wear this summer, and try on any items you are moving back into your closet. Having only the items that fit and that you enjoy wearing will save you so much time each day.
Clean out the fridge and pantry, especially the condiments and items used for baking. A lot of these types of food have longer shelf lives, so we tend to not pay as much attention to them. You do not want to go into the holidays thinking you have everything you need for your recipes, only to realize that the walnuts for your pumpkin bread expired 6 months ago. (Yes, that happened to me recently.)
Straighten up your gardening supplies. These can get used all summer and thrown around your garage or shed. While the weather is still warm, take some time to clean the tools, organize your supplies and sweep the floor of dust, leaves, and grass clippings. If you don’t have an organizational system in place to hold your items, consider reading my blog post on garage organization here.
Give your car a deep clean. No one wants to be out cleaning their car in the cold, so take some time to do it now. Once you’ve cleaned everything out of your car, here are a few organizational tips to consider. Add a mini trash bin to the pocket of your door and keep it cleaned out regularly. Contain any items you want to keep in your console to a small zipper bag to make them easily accessible and not lost in the bottom. Consider getting a trunk organizer, so you don’t have items rolling around as you drive. And don’t forget to check your tires to make sure you don’t need new ones before winter.
And last but not least, my favorite thing to do… make a Fall Bucket List. It’s something we do as a family and post on our fridge. My kids look forward to picking out the items on the list they want to do each week. Some ideas: bob for apples, go to a pumpkin patch, watch a scary movie, surprise someone with a planter of mums, pick out Halloween costumes, make smores over a campfire, and jump in a pile of leaves.
Happy Fall!