Welcome to October!
Even though September is the official start to fall, I’ve never felt like it’s fall until October. And living in Florida, we don’t really have a “fall” per se, but it’s always been my favorite season. For me, fall represents a new beginning, even though it’s literally the changing of the leaves symbolizing the end of a phase. I’ve always viewed fall as the beginning: beginning of the school year, a chance to transition and prepare for the future, a time for grounding and getting cozy. And for getting organized!
Here are a few of my favorite fall organizing and aligning tips:
Pack away the “very” summery clothes - it’s always the season for summer clothes in Florida, and since I live in a remodeled 1960’s ranch style home (with no walk-in closets), I have to be a bit picky on what I have hanging up each season because I simply don’t have room for it all. I clear out the tanks, shorts and swimsuits that are more summery than not and pack them away for next year. If I haven’t worn them this year, then they go in the sell/give away pile!
Clean outdoor furniture - summer is harsh on our outdoor furniture, no matter where you live! Fall is the perfect time to give those cushions a good de-molding or deep cleaning. We rarely cover our furniture since we use it all year long, but depending on your climate, this might be a good time to clean, cover and put away your cushions.
Clean the blinds and ceiling fans - Pretty self explanatory! Those guys get dusty! I try to dust blinds and ceiling fans at the start of every season!
Change out home scents - I love fall scents the most! Or do I love summer scents the most? Christmas scents? Spring flowers? Ok, I love them all. Take a few minutes to swap out your own rendition of home scents. We use a lot of candles (hand made by yours truly), but we also use essential oils, room sprays, diffusers, and (sometimes) incense. I have a shelf in my linen closet dedicated to all things home scent related, so I just move the fall scents to the front and do a little reshuffling and restocking where needed.
Throw away expired food - another self explanatory one! And I’m always shocked by how much expired food my pantry holds, despite the fact that I clear it out on a regular basis! Am I not paying attention? Did I not get around to it last season? Regardless, I take 5-10 minutes and just breeze through the pantry and the spice drawer and make sure I’m not holding on to any expired food that’s taking up valuable real estate on my pantry shelves.
Other than cleaning the outdoor furniture, nothing on this list takes a terribly long time to accomplish. Even if you just set aside 10 minutes and get done what you can on one of these tasks, you’re moving in the right direction to get yourself (and your home) aligned!