Adding a fall clean up routine to your year is a great way to get the house ready for the holidays with less stress!
Spring cleaning gets all the attention, but I don’t know anyone that has time to declutter, organize, and deep clean their entire home each spring. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are easy things we could all work on in the fall to split the workload into something manageable!
In another post, we’ll talk about some things to organize in the fall, but today we’ll start out with some quick wins.
You don’t have to worry about making any of these areas perfect, just grab a trash bag and donation box and try to get rid of as much as you can from each of the 10 spots. If you’re feeling like an over-achiever, tackle the 2 bonus points!
Fall Kitchen Decluttering
Spices & Seasonings – Take all the spices, seasonings, and condiments out of the cabinet and give the shelves a quick cleaning. Before putting everything back, check the expiration dates. I’m not hard-core about throwing spices out on the marked date, but they lose potency after time, so it’s probably time to replace the pumpkin pie spice from 7 years ago.
Have a piece of paper handy to keep track of what needs to be replaced. You’ll be all set for holiday baking!
Freezer – Sometimes our freezer becomes a black hole where things go in and never come out. The fall is the perfect time to get it cleared out and ready for winter.
BONUS: If you have a little extra time, purge the pantry/food cabinet as well!
Fall Closet Decluttering
Sandals & Summer Shoes – Be honest about what shoes were REALLY worn this summer. Now is the time to donate or sell the others. The most effective way to tackle this is to remove ALL the shoes from the closet and then put back the ones that you wear. That also gives you a chance to wipe down the shelves or shoe organizer.
Swimwear – Fall is also a great time to purge the swimwear. I seem to add swimsuits and cover-ups, but never get rid of any. Why should I keep the extras around another winter?
BONUS: Peek at the family’s winter coats and donate any that have been outgrown or are no longer needed now before winter hits. Someone will be so grateful that you did this one!
Fall Garage Decluttering
Toys – Any big toys the kids have outgrown should be cleared out in the fall, before the holidays. It’s the perfect time to donate them, and you don’t need to store them all winter if the kiddos will never use them again.
Garden Tools & Products – Clean up, repair, and purge your garden supplies so they’ll be ready for you in the spring. Nothing kills my spring planting motivation faster than being ready to plant and finding everything a mess from the prior year.
Fall Living Room Decluttering
Magazines & Books – Do a quick sweep and lighten the clutter by purging outdated magazines. Look for books you know you’ll never read again and pass them along to a new home. We both have books on our Christmas list every year, so fall is a great time to free up some space for them.
Throw Blankets – At one point, I thought you could never have too many blankets around the living room. Then I kept adding new ones through both purchases and gifts and passed the saturation point. I didn’t realize how many there really were because we throw them in the corner behind the sectional. I recently moved the couch to clean the windows and wowsa, so many blankets! I was able to donate three of them and put the rest in a basket so I can keep them under control.
Fall Bedroom Decluttering
Timer Challenge – I feel like everyone gathers different kinds of clutter in the bedroom, but that doesn’t mean we can’t address it. Set the time on your cell phone or microwave for 15 minutes, and try to find as many things as you can that can be removed.
Depending on the state of your bedroom, start with the floor, the flat surfaces (dresser top), or inside the drawers. Our bedroom looks great on the surface, but I’ll be tackling my nightstand drawers. You wouldn’t believe the mess hiding inside!
Fall Bathroom Decluttering
Product Purge – Chances are you’ve got some beauty products that are never touched lurking in the bathroom. I’m definitely guilty of trying out products, not loving them, but not wanting to get rid of them because the bottle is ¾ full and I spent money on it. That is just crazy though! Keeping them around to clutter up the bathroom isn’t doing any good. Get rid of that old make-up too!
Not too bad, right? It shouldn’t take too long to tackle all the spaces on the list, and I bet you and your home will both feel a bit lighter when you are done. For our house, I’m especially excited about the items that feel like I’m getting a head start on the holidays, like the spices.
Don’t forget to add the pin below to your cleaning or organizing board so you can find the list again next year! Next up, check out the 5 Things You Should be Organizing Every Fall.
Melissa George
She does this by sharing easy home organization tips, home decor tutorials, and creative ideas to help readers think outside the box, no matter their budget.
Her work has been featured in print in Better Homes & Gardens and Room to Create Magazine, and online by HGTV, House Beautiful, Buzzfeed, & more.
In 2018 & 2019, Melissa was named as a Style Maker by Better Homes & Gardens. In 2019, Polished Habitat was shortlisted for the Amara Blog Awards Best Interior Styling Blog - International.
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Enloe McGowan says
What I would like to do if I could, is take my house and lift it up and turn it upside down. Shake it until everything falls out. Give it a good cleaning and only put back what is necessary. The rest of it is for garbage day. I figure 75% gone and plenty of room. That is my dream.
Melissa George says
Oh, wow, I really LOVE that visual and can totally relate to it! I’d encourage you to go for it, space by space. Grab a calendar and commit to working through the house one room per month. That’s way less intimidating than thinking about the house as a whole. So if you put down the kitchen for August, you could commit to doing all the food the first week, the drawers the next week, and the cabinets the week after that. You’ll still have a full week to focus on deep cleaning the surfaces, oven, etc. And boy would you feel great when it was done!
Jennifer says
Me too! Every so often I do act like I’m moving and remove most things from a room, clean it and start over… Not often as I could or should but it does work. Exhausting but it works!
Bridget Lewis says
I saw a show once they had three blankets in the yard. One for keep one for sell and one for donate then they did one room at a time. The whole room was emptied outside then only keep stuff was put back in. Always wanted to try this.
Melissa George says
I forgot about that show and that idea! Great suggestion!
Denise says
Okay Melissa! You got me inspired! I feel the need to go throw some stuff out!! I do a lot more purging and organizing in the fall than in the spring. Summer seems to explode all the things all over our house, and when it’s time for back to school, I always get the itch to get things organized and stream-lined again!!
Melissa George says
I agree! When the fall comes, I’m always ready to get on a good schedule and have everything orderly around the house!
LaToya says
I know its costing me in peace of mind, but everytime I start purging there’s a voice that says what if you need this? How much did you spend on this? Ugh! LOL
Melissa George says
I hear that!! I absolutely struggle with the same thing. I love being prepared, so hate it if I ever need something I’ve gotten rid of. But I’ve realized that haven’t really happened. Although, I’m also not a minimalist at all. I keep alot. I just feel great when I get rid of the things I truly don’t need. The best thing is taking it all out and only putting back what you love or need. That way you are picking the best instead of trying to single out some thing to get rid of. I seriously ditched half my shoes using that method and haven’t missed them, but if you told me to go to the closet and pick half the shoes to get rid of before that, I’d have told you you were out of your mind!
Nancy says
Makeup can be returned, if you keep your receipts and do it in a timely manner. Otherwise, it’s so expensive to experiment.
Julie says
Love your closet, Melissa!!!! Sharing today on FB XO ~ Julie redheadcandecorate.com
Melissa George says
Thanks so much, Julie. That closet is my favorite space in the house!
Em says
is there a link to the page for your closet? i love the way the handbags are organzied
Melissa George says
Hi Em, Here’s the link: http://www.polishedhabitat.com/2015/master-closet-organization/ Thanks!
Kristi says
Where did you get the can holders in your pantry?
Melissa George says
I found my originally in store at WalMart, although my store doesn’t seem to have them any more. Here’s my link to the same one on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2c3TDLb or if I was going to buy more, I might go with this one: http://amzn.to/2cn3LKH that is higher rated and seems to be a bit more sturdy (but at a higher price).
Bonnie Gray says
A perfect new home for all those magazines is your local assisted living facility/nursing home. Residents love them. Animal shelters would appreciate your old throws, and especially bath towels.
Melissa George says
Great idea for the magazines, Bonnie! I actually have a box with throws in my car for the animal shelter. Plus, that gave me a great reason to go through the rest of our dog stuff to purge some things for donation to the shelter. I should add some towels to the box as well.
colleen @ 50 days of no grey says
I wrote about similar things last year. I couldn’t believe how many throw blankets I had accumulated. Great post with great ideas. I’m pinning this!
Donna says
Last year we remodeled our kitchen. When I emptied everything out, I cleaned out a lot of things, especially my tupperware that I don’t use as much as when my boys were little. I either sold or gave it away. When I put things back in the new kitchen, I even purged some more and only kept what I felt I’ll need. It was a great feeling.
Some days I’m super in the mood to purge and do well. I have a hard time with sentimental items, but this will help me as I too have been trying to go room by room and keep less. My parents were depression children and kept everything. That was a major chore when they passed to clean out their house!
MARY says
I donate a lot of partially used products. Try homeless shelters, nursing homes and rehab centers. Most of them will take clean blankets and throws. I work for a rehab facility that serves a lot of homeless clients. Some come in with only the cloths on their backs. I’ve donated clothing, shoes, art supplies, puzzles, toiletries, and other items. What was left went to charity. Now is the time to downsize and help others.
Francesca says
It is frustrating when when my “partner” doesn’t find the need to purge and likes to accumulate. I can never get rid of ANYTHING of his. I really am tired of walking around it.
Melissa George says
Sorry to hear that, Francesca. It would be awesome if you could find a way to make him excited about getting rid of things, but I know that can be a real struggle for many people.
Amy says
I am with you, Francesca, my husband USED to work on computers. He has I don’t know how many cords, fans, keyboards, hard drives, etc. He doesn’t work on computers anymore, but he refuses to take the time to go through his stuff and downsize. I told him there would be a lot more room for the stuff we actually NEED to store if he would just go through his stuff. His response was, “What stuff do we NEED to store?” Like it really matters. We just have too much stuff, and it would be nice to just not store what we don’t NEED. I get rid of stuff all the time that is mine and our 3 kids’, but I can’t touch his stuff, which takes up probably as much room if not more than mine and our kids’ combined. 🙁
Robyne says
Melissa — I love the spices/seasonings decluttering tip.
And these may not work for everyone but I tried ordering a set of the spice jars from Brandless (four in a set), and I’m a little in luv with them ! Check them out.
Melissa George says
Ohh! Great tip! Thank you! I’ll look at them. I’ve had buying empty spice jars for on my mental to do list for WAY too long.
Paula says
We are moving into a studio apt until our house is built. We moved from a 2200 sq ft house and now we’re in a studio. My husband is a keeper BUT now that we are moving so much “stuff” he is much more agreeable in tossing out the things he has been hanging onto. He still has some sweaters from High School…….he is 57 now. … out it goes….finally. We have 3 storage units and we be gone through has we move into our new house……the comes the garage sale … if I even want to mess with that. I feel lighter already. Happy thoughts !
Cindy Craw says
Melissa, please don’t suggest using the microwave as a timer. I recently read that using the microwave without anything in it can cause a fire. I have two battery operated digital kitchen timers that I use to time myself on my chores. They are 88 cents at Wal*Mart in the kitchen utensil section. Far, far better than the wind-up ones that always seem to stop working when you’re in the middle of baking batches of cookies. One of the best purchases I have ever made. The timers keep me on track and I can multitask by having two of them.
Cindy
Melissa George says
Hi Cindy, those digital timers sound handy! Sorry for being unclear in the post – I meant the built-in timer function on the microwave, not starting the actual microwave. The timer function doesn’t run the unit and is made for timing other tasks. Ours have always had that option, but if one didn’t, you’re right – it wouldn’t be good to run the microwave as a timer. Thanks!