Date Archives: October 2021

Is there a fall equivalent of spring cleaning? There should be! After a rollicking summer with kid's sports and family vacays – not to mention gardening and DIY projects – your home might be a bit of a chaotic mess. 

In getting back to school, a thorough cleaning and organizing for fall can put everything back in its place. And that's a good start. But after you've put all the summer toys away, how can you freshen up your space for fall and make it feel new – and more efficient – without spending a lot of money? We've got a few easy ideas for you!

• Tackle a problem area with an organizational system to keep the clutter to a minimum. Create a place for everything the kids bring home from school for instance and help them stick to it. Once you've got that drop point for jackets, backpacks and scarves, your kids will keep the living room free of these items because you've given them a system that makes it easy for them to succeed in keeping the room de-cluttered (and finding their backpack at the last minute).
• Once you've cleaned your windows inside and out to let the sunshine in this winter, put up new curtains, blinds or other window treatments. Pick up on an accent color from your window treatments and add that color elsewhere in the room – a vase of flowers or a picture frame.
• Add a new sofa throw, some pillows, a tablecloth, tea towels or other new textiles in your favorite color to brighten a room. Since these types of items are easily moved and stored, you could have seasonal textiles for fall, winter, spring and summer and rotate them quarterly to keep your home feeling fresh.
• Bookshelves a mess? The trick to solving this problem without getting rid of any books is to reorganize your shelves by color. Group like-colors together, and visually they'll look like one big item per shelf cutting down on the feeling of clutter.
• Add a dash of fall color by hanging a new picture. Moving your wall art around, or even repaint all the frames to give your room a lift.
• Turn that dash into a splash! Paint one whole wall, a ceiling or a door in that bold color.
• Get the kids involved! Rearrange the furniture in your living room into a totally different arrangement – you'll be surprised at the different ways a room can be arranged using the same furniture and accessories. Make it a spatial planning problem for your kids and using graph paper, have them measure the room and the contents and draw different scenarios that would work.
• Sad that your garden is done, but want to continue green thumbing? Bring some green indoors with a potted plant or flower. Or try an indoor herb garden in a window for the winter. And don't forget a fresh plant for the front porch or entryway.

Making simple changes this fall can freshen your home now and get you in the mood for the holidays – and make you fall in love with your home all over again.