Nature gives us a great cue in the fall: let go of what no longer serves you. The trees know to drop their leaves. The days get shorter, nights get longer, and we stay home more. This is the perfect time to turn our attention to our house—and do some fall decluttering.
We clear out the old to make room for the new, just as leaves fall in autumn so new ones can bloom in spring.
Fall Decluttering Tips
Which areas switch with the seasons?
Which areas switch with the seasons?Use the change of seasons as your starting point and go through the areas of your home that require seasonal rotation.
- Bedroom closets and chests of drawers: Out with summer clothes, in with fall.
- Entry closet: If you haven’t already, swap out those swimsuits for raincoats and boots, scarves, hats, and gloves.
- Linen closet: If you use seasonal colors or designs for sheets, towels, tablecloths etc.
- Kitchen cabinets and pantry: Move in the serving utensils, gravy boat, and other dish and cookware required for holiday entertaining. Check expiration dates of food and rotate out what hasn’t been eaten.
Rotate Your Wardrobe
Set an appointment on your calendar for a weekend when your whole family will swap summer wardrobes for fall. If you’re in Texas, it’s good timing to make this a recurring yearly appointment for the first weekend in October. Set a reminder alert for a week before and for the day before so you remember to block out time in your schedule for the whole household to do their fall rotation. If the weather isn’t cool enough or you’ll be busy that weekend, you can always switch that year’s event to the weekend before or after. You can set a recurring spring reminder for early March (or whenever is appropriate for your geographic location and weather. If you’re somewhere other than Central Texas, you might get to rotate for the seasons more than twice a year. Schedule accordingly.
When you switch clothes for the seasons, get rid of clothes and shoes that:
- no longer fit,
- don’t look good,
- are stained or have holes,
- are old or faded, or
- you just don’t wear.
Fall and winter are a great time to donate coats and warm clothes to local shelters or charities or to offer hand-me-downs to friends and family.
Go Through One Space at a Time
This will help keep you from getting overwhelmed or making a huge mess. Make piles for Keep, Give away, Trash/Recycle, and Return (to a friend, the library, etc). When you’re done with the space, put away what you’re keeping—whether in your closet or storage bins to pull out at the next switch of seasons—and get the rest out of your house as quickly as possible.
Take Advantage of the Cooler Weather
Fall is a fabulous time to go through garages and attics because they’re not so hot. Also, they’re probably where you have your holiday decorations stored so you’ve got to make a path through anyway. It’s nice to be able to park in the garage during a hailstorm. The only way to do that is to get rid of the broken tools, the decorations you never hang up, all those items you didn’t sell in your garage sale last summer, and whatever else you’ve got stacked up in there. This is also a great time to make holiday bins, one (or maybe more) per holiday.
Fall clearing makes for a much easier spring cleaning. Clear it out. Now’s the time.
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If you would like decluttering, organizing, or design help from spaceWise, call 512-591-8129 to get started.
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