Fall isn’t the typical time to declutter. We tend to think of that in connection with Spring Cleaning. But I find it helpful to do a little decluterring around this time of year. Summer days find us heading outside to play in parks or go on walks. It’s easy to let things accumulate around the house.
With fall now here, we will be spending most of our time in the home. That leaves me with the itch to clean things up a bit. Before I can think about getting out fall decor, I need to eliminate a few things.
I’m not planning on going through the entire house. I will just be working on a few areas and hope that by doing so I’ll eliminate some clutter!
Identify Important Areas
I am going to be focusing on just a few spots in my home. I chose these areas either because they are bothering me, or because I know these are areas that will get a lot of use in the next few months.
- Kitchen: In the summer I tend to avoid the oven as much as possible. But in fall and winter I bake a lot. I like baking with the kids and we do lots of fun things, from decorating cookies, to making yummy soups, to gingerbread houses. Nothing keeps me from wanting to bake with the kids more than a cluttered kitchen. With that in mind, I am going to do some work in there to make sure it is clutter-free and ready for some fun baking. I know there is some more simplifying that I can do.
- Hutch: This is right next to my kitchen and stores a lot of my excess kitchen stuff. It is convenient since I have a small kitchen and no pantry, but it also means that it is an easy excuse to not declutter things that really should be gone. I am converting the bottom of the hutch to a place for school supplies. As we begin to accumulate more and more school things for Stefan I need a place for them. Everything that is currently in there needs to find a different place in our home, or find a new home altogether. I need to have our art and school supplies organized and easily accessible to make creative and learning time stress-free.
- Linen Closet: Okay, I clearly need to find a better system. It currently looks like something has exploded in there and it is driving me crazy!
- Closets: This is really no big deal. I have already done mine, and will do the kids shortly. I do find it helpful to do a quick purge every time the seasons change. What I wore this summer is very fresh on my mind, so it is a good time to send some things to goodwill that never got worn over the summer. Obviously I either don’t need them or like them anymore. I follow my tips for purging the closet, and since I do it a couple of times a year it is really a quick process.
Devote 30 Minutes a Day
I can’t afford for this decluttering process to stop my life right now. But I do know that if I get these areas cleared out, it will make life much easier. I am planning on devoting 30 minutes a day. I should be done by the end of the week as long as I focus and work hard during those 30 minutes.
I am looking forward to some great baking moments with the kids. My cleared out kitchen will make it much more enjoyable. I am also looking forward to more learning moments with the kids, and a good area to store and organize our supplies is crucial. The closets? They’re just to keep my sanity! I don’t want clutter to rob me of teaching or memory making moments with my family.
Do you find you need to do some decluttering in the fall, or is once a year enough for you?
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I definitely get the itch to declutter in the fall. I think it’s because I feel the itch to get more organized and into a routine when school starts (even though no one is currently on the school calendar around here).
Is it your sheets you’re having trouble with? Have you tried folding both sheets and putting them inside their matching pillow case? That trick has really helped me keep my linen closet from exploding.
Yes, it does have something to do with the school cycle. And the crispness of the air, I want everything to feel nice and crisp inside too!
Thanks for tip. It is mostly a problem of having too much in there–you know, small apartment, so there ends up being a lot of “other” stuff in there!
We just moved into a new house in July, but I’m already feeling the need to declutter. I’m having to shift furniture around and use baskets and organizing containers in different areas of the house. I guess I’m still working out the kinks. Thanks for the inspiration.
We’ve moved a lot and it definitely takes awhile to work out the kinks.
Have to admit, I had a moment of pride when I was there and discovered that MY linen closet looked a million times better than yours!!!
Okay, that’s where my “better than you” ends, so let’s go no further!!!! I’m taking the challenge. Office, closet, and kitchen
Oh, girl, your house looks a million times better than mine right now, I have no doubt.
30 minutes a day… I can do that!
One tip I heard about the linen closet is to put each set of sheets into the corresponding pillowcase. It doesn’t look very pretty, but it keeps things organized.
That’s what I’m telling myself! 30 minutes…I can do 30 minutes! Thanks for the tip!
Did you sneak into my house this morning? I spent 30 min doing this very thing
Hoping to do the same each day this week! Glad to know I’m not alone. Its the gorgeous weather that inspires me to do a fall declutter 
I want everything neat and organized so I can spend more time enjoying and soaking up this time of year!
Great minds think alike! It must have been the crispness in the air!
Decluttering is a constant at my house. Toddlers collect so many knick knacks that if we don’t stay on top of it, things will get out of control.
I know! I feel like I am constantly weeding through stuff!
I like doing a major cleaning and decluttering of the main floor of the house about a week or two before Thanksgiving so that the whole house is ready to be decorated for Christmas. Like you I would rather be outside while it is nice and where we live we have warm falls usually but my November it is getting chilly and then I am in the mood to clean my nest before I am stuck in it for the winter months.
Right before Christmas is a good time as that is a season with so much going on!
I’m having a hard time getting the house de-cluttered after a move and a busy summer with guests… My challenges are organizing the homeschool materials and clothes (changing the summer for fall etc). Your 30 minutes every day tip has helped a lot to make me feel I don’t have to dedicate half my day to it
and it’s already proven effective, only an hour after reading this! A corner of my kitchen already looks much better – and I was waiting for a whole afternoon or whatever to “do” the whole kitchen 
A good tip I read for the linen closet is put the sheet into their pillowcases – I used to hunt around for ages looking for a matching set until I put this into practice!
It’s amazing what just 30 minutes a day can do! I’ve already switched out my hutch to make room for school supplies, and my linen closet. My kitchen is next and I have secretly been dreading that part…but you just inspired me to just give it a go!
I’ve just read the other comments and about half of us mention the pillowcase tip – hahaha! Must be reeaaaally effective!
I LOVE your clutter bust posts…they’re so inspiring!
Good to know! I’m in decluttering mode right now.