Why Fall Is the Perfect Time for a Home Reset

by Lisa Baker

There's something about fall that makes us look at our homes differently.

During the summer, we're outside more. Doors are open, schedules change, vacations happen, and we tend to move in and out of the house without paying quite as much attention to what's happening inside it.

Then fall arrives. The days get shorter, the windows start closing, coats come back out, and suddenly we're spending a lot more time at home.

And that's often when we start noticing things.

The coat closet we can barely get into. The entryway that becomes a dumping ground. The pantry shelves we haven't really looked at in months. The pile of summer things we meant to put away. The holiday decorations we're going to have to wrestle with sooner than we'd like.

That's why I think fall is one of the best times to reset your home.

Not with a massive decluttering project. Not by turning your entire house upside down.

Just by taking care of some of the little things that will make your home easier to live in during the months ahead.

Start Where You Come Through the Door

Fall has a way of making the entryway work much harder.

Suddenly there are jackets, shoes, umbrellas and eventually gloves, hats and scarves. If the area is already crowded with summer shoes, tote bags, dog leashes, packages waiting to be returned and everything else that accumulated over the last few months, adding another season's worth of belongings isn't going to help.

Before the winter gear takes over, clear out what doesn't need to be there.

Put away the summer shoes you're finished wearing. Move lightweight jackets somewhere else. Return the things you've been meaning to return. Give the items you reach for regularly an easy place to land.

This is exactly the kind of small change I talked about in Organizing for Easier Mornings. When the things you need have logical homes near where you actually use them, you spend less time searching, moving things around and getting frustrated.

You're not creating a picture-perfect entryway. You're making it easier to get out the door.

Take a Look at the Coat Closet Before You Need It

The first really cold morning is not the ideal time to discover that your winter coat is buried behind six jackets nobody wears.

Take ten minutes and look through the coat closet now.

Are there coats that no longer fit anyone? Broken umbrellas? Shoes nobody wears? Empty hangers tangled together? Reusable shopping bags multiplying in a corner?

You don't necessarily need a closet makeover. You may just need to remove what doesn't belong there anymore.

And before you decide the solution is a new set of baskets or another closet organizer, remember Before You Buy Another Storage Bin, Do This. Edit first. See what's actually staying. Then decide whether you have a storage problem.

Very often, you don't need a better container. You need a little more room.

Reset the Pantry

Fall also changes the way many of us use the kitchen.

We're cooking more. Soup sounds good again. Baking starts to seem appealing. Holiday meals aren't very far away.

Before you start bringing more food into the house, take a look at what you already have.

This doesn't need to become an afternoon-long pantry overhaul. Pull out anything expired. Combine duplicates if it makes sense. Move the things you use most often where you can easily reach them, and take note of what you already have before buying more.

You may discover three cans of pumpkin, five boxes of pasta and enough cinnamon to get you through several winters.

The goal isn't to create a pantry worthy of social media. It's to know what you have and be able to reach it without something falling on your head.

Give the Linen Closet a Quick Reset

Fall is also when heavier blankets, extra bedding and warmer towels start coming back into rotation.

Before adding them to an already full linen closet, take a quick inventory.

How many sheet sets do you actually use? Are there towels you always skip over because they're worn out? Are there blankets taking up an entire shelf that nobody reaches for?

This is a perfect example of how The Hidden Cost of Keeping Too Much shows up in everyday life. Every extra item may seem harmless, but collectively they make it harder to find, use and put away the things you actually want.

You don't need to empty the whole closet onto the floor. Just make enough room for the season you're about to live in.

Finish With Summer

One reason seasonal transitions become messy is that we bring the next season in before putting the last one away.

The beach chairs are still in the garage. The garden tools are leaning against the wall. Outdoor cushions are waiting for someone to decide where they belong. Sunscreen and bug spray are still sitting by the door.

Before winter starts arriving, finish with summer.

Clean what needs cleaning. Donate what you know you won't use next year. Throw away what's broken. Give the things you're keeping a logical home.

This is also a good time to notice anything you didn't use all summer. You don't automatically have to get rid of it, but it's worth asking why you're storing it for another year.

Sometimes we keep things because we've always kept them, not because they still have a role in our lives. That's something I explored in Organizing for the Life You Live Now (Not the One You Used to Have).

Take a Look at the Holiday Supplies Before the Holidays

You don't have to decorate for the holidays in October.

But you might want to know what you're dealing with.

If your holiday decorations are buried behind boxes you haven't opened in years, now is a much nicer time to deal with that than when you're standing in the basement looking for the Thanksgiving platter.

Look at what you have before you start buying anything new this season. Are there decorations you haven't put out in years? Gift bags you can reuse? Wrapping paper you forgot you bought? Candles, serving pieces or holiday linens tucked into different closets?

This is where The Weight of "Someday" can sneak in. Holiday belongings are especially easy to keep because we imagine we might use them again someday. Sometimes we do. Sometimes we've been moving the same box around for twelve years.

You don't have to decide everything today. Just knowing what you have is a good start.

Pay Attention to What Annoyed You Last Winter

This may be the most useful part of a fall reset.

Think back to last winter.

What repeatedly annoyed you?

Were wet boots always in the way?

Could you never find your gloves?

Did the kitchen counters become overwhelmed during the holidays?

Was there nowhere comfortable to put an extra blanket?

Did you dread getting something out of a particular closet because everything fell forward when you opened the door?

Those little annoyances are telling you something.

Instead of waiting until you're irritated by them again, fix one or two now.

That's really the idea behind Why Your Organizing Systems Stop Working — And When to Change Them. A good system should make everyday life easier. If something consistently creates frustration, the answer isn't necessarily to try harder. Sometimes the setup itself needs to change.

Don't Turn This Into Another Project

It's very easy to read something like this and think, Great. Now I have to organize my entire house before winter.

You don't.

Pick the places that will have the biggest effect on your daily life.

Maybe that's the coat closet and entryway.

Maybe it's the pantry.

Maybe you know the linen closet has been driving you crazy for two years and you're finally ready to deal with it.

Start there.

You don't need to reset every room simply because the calendar changed. The goal isn't to finish fall with a perfectly organized home.

The goal is to make the coming months a little easier.

Make Room for the Season You're Actually Entering

One thing I like about seasonal organizing is that it gives us a natural reason to reconsider what we're keeping and where we're keeping it.

We don't live exactly the same way all year.

What needs to be accessible in July isn't necessarily what you need within reach in January. Our homes work better when they're allowed to shift with us.

That doesn't mean completely reorganizing everything four times a year. It can be as simple as moving the things you're going to use forward and letting the things you won't need for several months step back.

It's another version of something I've written about before in Home Should Be the Place That Gives You Energy. Your home should support the way you're living rather than constantly creating more work for you.