It’s that time of year again; cooler days and nights mean warmer sweaters, thicker socks, comfort food, cozy fires and soft blankets. It also means that it’s time to get your home organized for Fall/Winter.
Here are five ways that can make life easier in the transition to cooler months.
1) Pack up the patio furniture
- Clean and dry your patio furniture thoroughly to reduce mold.
- Stack chairs and store cushions off the floor in large bins or in a bags.
Tip: if possible, store cushions higher up in the garage as you won’t be using them until next summer or hang them from the ceiling on hooks to save space. If you think you may have rodents like mice, it is best to keep them in containers if you can.
2) Closets
- Getting organized for fall/winter means packing away spring/summer clothing. This transition is the perfect time to go through your spring and summer clothes and donate what you didn’t wear and won’t wear going forward. It will save you time because you won’t be packing them away for storage now and unpacking them next year.
- Once you’ve decided on the clothes you’re going to keep, if you don’t have room to keep them in your closet or bedroom, neatly fold them and store them away. Don’t forget to pack away summer shoes as well.
Tips: Remember to keep clothes in a dry, dark and temperature-controlled environment so they don’t smell or risk the chance of being ruined by water leaking etc. (I say dark here because the fabric will fade in the sunlight.) Plastic bins are best as cardboard boxes can attract insects and pests.
When storing valuable shoes- stuff tissue paper or crumpled up paper bags in them, so they keep their shape. Use hangers and a clothing bag for dresses and jackets.
3) Kitchen set up
Getting ready for Fall/winter is a great time to declutter and organize your kitchen for Fall and Winter. We tend to use the BBQ often and eat more “cold” items like salads and raw fruit and vegetables in the summer. We tend to eat more comfort foods like stews, pasta, roasts, etc. in the Fall/Winter.
Make life easier, store utensils and appliances (barbeque utensils and grills), and make room for roasting pans, slow cookers, steamers, and instant pots.
TIP: Pack away summer utensils and appliances in the pantry or store them in kitchen cupboards that are high to reach. Bring down the appliances and cookware like crock pots that you’ll use more in colder months so that they are handy and easy to find.
You’ll find more tips on how to organize your kitchen HERE.
4) Family Schedule/Calendar
This time of year gets busy. The kids are back to school, and before you know it, it’s the Christmas holidays, so it’s important to keep a schedule of who needs to be where and what events are coming up. From the beginning of November to January 1st- weekends can book up quickly. Scheduling and using a calendar is a great way to keep track of what’s going on when. Use a paper based calendar or an electronic calendar, whichever works best for you.
5) Medicine cabinet
Getting the medicine cabinet ready for fall/winter is an important step that most people don’t think to do. When we get a cold, we usually feel it at night, just before bed. We certainly don’t’ feel like going out into the cold or snowy night to get cough medicine. But, if your medicine cabinet is stocked with the medicine you need, it could mean the difference between getting a good night’s sleep and feeling better faster or having a poor night’s sleep and being sick longer.
- Declutter the medicine cabinet
- Check for expired meds
- Update your medicine cabinet with cold and flu essentials and keep them at the front of the cabinet.
- Put seasonal meds at the back
Check out this Podcast for more decluttering your medicine cabinet and bathroom.
We hoped these tips helped you transition a little easier from spring/summer to fall/winter.
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