Why Fall Is the Perfect Time to Reset Your Home

January gets all the credit for fresh starts. New year, new goals, new habits, new gym membership that we absolutely plan to use this time.

After years of helping people organize their homes, I've noticed something interesting...September feels just as much like a fresh start as January.

September and October are actually our second-busiest time of the year at The Organized You, and I don't think that's a coincidence.

Summer has a way of turning normal routines upside down. There are vacations, beach bags, pool towels, golf clubs, kids home from school, guests coming and going, and schedules that seem to change every week. We spend more time outside and less time worrying about what's happening inside our closets, cabinets, garages, and drawers then September arrives.

Kids go back to school (or move out). Vacations wind down. Schedules become more predictable. And suddenly you look around your house and think, "Where did all this stuff come from?"

Why September Feels Like a Fresh Start

There's something about back-to-school season that seems to affect us even when we don't have kids in school anymore.

For years, September meant new notebooks, new clothes, new schedules, and getting back into a routine. That feeling doesn't necessarily disappear when we're adults. We still associate fall with getting organized and getting back on track.

The difference is that now, instead of organizing a backpack or a school locker, we're looking at the mudroom, pantry, closets, garage, and the pile on the kitchen counter that somehow became a permanent resident over the summer.

And unlike January, September comes with a deadline. The holidays aren't very far away.

Start With the Summer Stuff

One of the easiest places to begin your fall reset is with everything you accumulated or used during the summer.

Beach towels, coolers, outdoor toys, pool supplies, gardening equipment, summer shoes, sports equipment, and vacation gear all need somewhere to go. The temptation is to shove everything into the garage or basement and promise yourself you'll deal with it next spring.

Don't do it!

Before putting summer items away, take a few minutes to decide what you really should keep. If the beach chair broke in July, you probably don't need to store it until May before throwing it away. If the kids have outgrown something, deal with it now. If you haven't used something for the past two summers, ask yourself why you're giving it another year of free storage.

Heather's Tip
Don't organize things you already know you don't want. Declutter first and organize what's left. You'll need fewer bins, less storage space, and a lot less time.

Give Your Closets a Seasonal Reset

Fall is a perfect time to go through your closets because you're already changing what you're wearing.

As you begin moving summer clothing out and fall clothing in, don't automatically put everything back. Look at what you actually wore this summer. If there are clothes that made it through another entire season without leaving the hanger, that's telling you something.

Do the same thing as you pull out your fall clothes. If you didn't wear that sweater last year and aren't excited to see it this year, you probably won't suddenly fall in love with it in November.

The goal isn't to have a perfectly arranged closet. It's to have a closet filled with things you actually wear.

Reset the Kitchen and Pantry

Summer can also be tough on kitchens.

There are barbecue supplies, snacks for the kids, half-used condiments, vacation purchases, and things we bought for one recipe and never touched again. Before fall cooking and holiday entertaining begin, take everything out of the pantry that is expired, stale, or unlikely to be eaten. Group similar foods together and take inventory before buying more.

This is also a great time to look at your food storage containers. Somehow every kitchen eventually develops 27 lids and 14 containers, with only six that actually match.

Reclaim the Drop Zones

Every house has at least one. It's the kitchen counter, dining room table, mudroom bench, front hall table, or chair where things get dropped because we'll "put them away later."

Fall is a good time to reclaim those spaces before school papers, mail, coats, bags, packages, and eventually holiday clutter starts arriving.

Instead of simply clearing the pile, figure out why it's forming there. If everyone drops their keys in the same place, give the keys a home there. If mail piles up on the counter, create a simple place to sort it. Good organization should work with the way your family actually lives, not the way you think everyone should live.

Don't Forget What's Coming Next

One reason I love organizing in September and October is that you're not just cleaning up from summer. You're preparing for what's ahead.

Halloween turns into Thanksgiving, which seems to turn into December approximately 15 minutes later.

Soon there will be decorations, gifts, wrapping paper, guests, winter coats, boots, holiday cooking, and all the other things that come into our homes during the last few months of the year.

Getting organized now gives you some breathing room.

You don't need to organize your entire house. Pick the areas that cause you the most frustration and start there. Maybe it's one closet. Maybe it's the pantry. Maybe it's finally dealing with the garage so you can actually put a car in it again before it snows.

Your Second New Year

January will always be the traditional time for resolutions and fresh starts, but I think September deserves a little more credit. There's something energizing about getting back into a routine after summer and making your home work better for the way you're living now. Maybe that's why September and October are such busy months for us. People are ready for a reset.

So if you've been looking around your house thinking, "I really need to get organized," don't wait for January.

Consider this your second New Year. And the best part? No gym membership is required.

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