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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 de clutter, organize, and deep clean their entire house 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 work load 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 your feeling like an over achiever, tackle the 2 bonus points.

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Fall kitchen decluttering

Spices and seasonings- Take all the spices, seasonings, and condiments out of the cabinet and give the shelves a quick cleaning. Before putting everything back, check all the expiration dates. I’m not hard core about throwing spices out on the marked date, but they lose potency after time, so its 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 de cluttering

Sandals and 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.

Swim wear- Fall is also a great time to purge the swim wear. I seem to add swimsuits and other cover ups, but never get rid of any. Why should I keep the extras around for another winter?

Bonus: Peek at the family’s winter coats and donate any that have been out grown or are no longer needed now before winter hits. Some one will be so great full you did this one.

Fall garage de cluttering

Toys- Any big toys the kids have out grown should be cleared out in the fall, before the holidays. Its the perfect time to donate them, and you don’t need to store them all winter if the kids will never use them again.

Garden tools and products- Clean – up, repair, and purge your garden supplies so they will 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 de clutter

Magazines and books- Do a quick sweep and lighten the clutter by purging out dated 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 purchases and gifts, and passed the saturation point. I didn’t realize how many there really were because we throw them in every corner. I was able to donate some, the rest we put in a basket so I can keep them under control.

Fall bedroom de clutter

Timer challenge- I feel like everyone gathers different kinds of clutter in the bed room, but that doesn’t mean we can’t address it. Set the timer 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 drawers. Our bedroom looks great on the surface, but I’ll be tackling my night stand drawers, you wouldn’t believe the mess hiding inside.

Fall bathroom declutter

Product purge- Chances are you you’ve got some beauty products that are never touched lurking in the bathroom. I’m definately guilty of trying out products, not liking them, but not wanting to get rid of them because the bottle is 3/4 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.

Next to Christmas, fall is my favorite season to decorate for. I love the colors, and the coziness it brings. It just makes you want to snuggle up under a blanket and grab a warm drink.

Adding some fall decor to your home doesn’t have to be difficult, expensive or time consuming. Today I am going to share some simple fall decor inspiration.

Any of these tips can be put into any space and can be done with in 10-15 minutes!

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–So lets get started!–

Use natural elements

Since fall is the season of harvest. Its the perfect time to gather up pumpkins, apples, gourds, or other seasonal crops to display in your home. Or take a walk outside and gather some fall leaves, pine cones, or acorns. We happen to have an apple orchard close by, so when buying goodies, we get a few extra for decor!

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Pumpkins are also personal favorites of mine. And its so fun to use some of the different varieties. I usually pick a few up each time I shop until I have a nice selection. Place them in bowels or baskets, or add them to a hutch or mantel. Add a few berry sprigs of fresh leaves and you’ll have a beautiful display.

Use fall printables or other artwork.

If you use a print in a frame, keep it in the frame for storage in the off season and just rotate your prints around as the seasons change. You’ll only need a minute to switch things up each holiday. You can find printables in many places, I like to use google.

Add chalk boards

Chalk boards are a lot of fun to work with, and you can be as simple or as elaborate as you would like with your designs. You also dont need to worry about storing them in the off seasons, just keep them up around year around and change up your art work.

Put together a fall beverage station.

If you’ve followed me long enough, you know i love to make up a beverage bar for each season. Fall is about apple cider for me. But you could also do hot chocolate , coffee with some seasonal flavors like cinnamon or pumpkin spice. Top it off with some fall themed mugs.

Add some color to tie the space together

While I’m usually drawn to more neutral colors, its hard to stay away from those beautiful fall colors. It doesn’t take much to really make an impact. Layer them through out the room. In a center piece it creates the look of all the pops of color.

Light it up

Who says lights have to be just for Christmas? Add some battery powered lights to fill your fall displays for added warmth and coziness. I like to get the ones with timers, so you can set it and forget it.

Simmering fall potpourri

So I just love all the smells of fall. And I think its super fun to not always have to use a candle, or some kind of air freshener to get that smell. Simmering pots are a great way to do that. AND its a healthier way as well. I am giving you a couple of my favorite recipes.

pumpkin spice

• 2 cups apple cider or juice
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3-4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp clove
• 1 tbsp pumpkin spice
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 apple or dried apple slices.

Apple pie

• 1 small thinly sliced apple
• 2 cups liquid (juice or water)
• 1 tbsp cloves (whole)
• 3-4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp nutmeg

You don’t really have to be too concerned about the measurement.

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Do you have random piles of paper covering your work area, dining table, and kitchen counter? Doesn’t it seem like papers always find a way into your home creating clutter?

If it takes you forever to find important papers because you have no clue where you put them. Its time to get organized.

Keeping important papers organized also requires you to get rid of any paper clutter that is NOT important. This way you know everything you keep is important and not useless.

1 Create an inbox.

Leave a box or tray on your desk or entry way table and label it as inbox. This will be where all your papers go. It doesn’t matter what kind of papers they are, in the box they go.

Have a designated area where all papers go as soon as they come into the house. This will help you keep all the paper together until you are ready to go thru them.

2 Create multiple boxes

Ok, maybe one inbox is not enough. You can always have more.

Having more than one inbox means you can sort papers right away the moment you get them. Label the “read: “sort” and “file” Or anything you want.

3 Make your own personalized mail organizer.

You can refer back to one of my previous posts for this. How to create a family command center that really works.

Take it to the next level by reading. It will keep you organized AND look nice in your entry way.

4 Go paperless with statements and bills.

One way to reduce paper clutter in your home is to get ride of as much as possible.

Make sure you sign up for paperless statements with your banks and service provider that send your paper statements. All your bills and records should be available online to view, and sometimes you might even get a discount for paperless statements.

5 Keeping a receipts jar.

If your keeping receipts, keep them in a jar near the entrance of your home. Make it a habit to empty your pockets and wallet as you come in the door and keep the receipts in the jar.

This will eliminate receipts for in random spots in your home.

6 Displaying children’s art work

You want to proudly display your children’s art work, but your running out of space on the wall and fridge?

You should scan or photograph the art works and make a collage out of the pictures. This will save you so much space on that wall!

For more Ideas on this refer back to another of my previous posts, How to save kids art work.

7 You can also make kids artwork into a photo book

Or you can make your kids artwork into a photo book! This helps to keep all their art pieces together in one book and also reduces paper clutter. It makes it easy to flip thru the pages and everything stays nice and neat.

8 Designate a space for all paper clutter

Organize your office space so you have a designated area for everything including papers. This is where you can place your inbox so all incoming papers have a place to sit before you sort thru them.

You should have a section for papers that need actions and another section for filing. Make sure you have an empty box or trash bin to collect paper to recycle.

9 mobile command center

If you don’t have a room or an office, try creating a mobile command center. This shows you don’t need the perfect dream office and desk to keep everything organized.

All you need is a cheap file box and some dividers.

10 How long to keep papers

One month

• receipts – non deductable items
• deposit/atm slips
• reconciled bank statements

1-3 years

• check book ledgers
• paycheck stubs
• mortgage statements
• insurance records
• all business and income relate documents
• proof of deductable purchases

At least 7 years

• State and Federal income tax returns
• w2 and 1099
• medical bills and statements
• contracts
• any receipts that were used for tax deductions
• cancelled checks
• millage records
• real estate tax forms and records

Forever

• Birth certificates
• marriage/divorce papers
• auto titles
• mortgages
• investment statements
• passports
• home improvement receipts
• receipts for major purchases
• medical records
• education records
• pension/retirement plans
• property agreements.

11 recipes from magazines

If you save magazine recipe cut outs, you probably know how important it is to keep them organized.

You can keep them in folders by catagories. Such as breakfast, lunch, and supper. This makes it so much easier to look for a recipe you want. Make sure to label the tabs and you can keep all the folders in a file box.

12 School paper storage.

Keep your kids school papers in a paper organizer. You can divide the papers by grade levels.

13 color code important papers.

Keep important papers in color coded folders. This will make it so much easier to find something you need.

If you start the season with good intentions, (chores! Books! Fresh air!) only to find kids camped out in front of you tube, read this wise advise.

Every June I have the best intentions: I’m going to keep kids on a schedule. They are going to do more chores, and read more books. We are going to take a family bike ride or walk. We’ll be closer then ever.

And… By the time the 4th of July rolls around, things have usually slid out of control. The are sleeping in way past breakfast, lounging in front of the TV and texting the day away. It usually starts with a soft hearted moment on my part. – (they need a break – after the busy school year – I’ll let them sleep in today) But it quickly turns into a pattern. And since I’m still busy – work – laundry – etc.- I side step my guilt and let them veg.

It’s a common problem. By the middle school years, kids are too old to play board games, or go to summer school all day, but not old enough to drive or have a real summer job. Though children may beg for “free time” Its not in the best interest to let them achieve total “slackerdom” Tweens and teens often believe they’d just love to have weeks of “doing nothing” says Annie Fox, M ED, author of the Middle School Confidential series. But the reality rarely matches the day dream. Kids get bored and, like puppies, bored kids often get into stuff they shouldn’t! They also fall behind academically (more on the latter) And to be honest, we parents often have unrealistic “Norman Rockwell” – like notions about bonding with our children: we put an awful lot of pressure on ourselves and out kids to get closer then we were during the school year. Michale J Bradly, ED D says “parents who approach summer with too many plans for bonding usually wind up feeling like they’re in a Chevy Chase movie, where everything goes wrong. But there are realistic ways to sneak some structure, learning, and yes – family time into the summer with out feeling like a drill sergeant. Hear are the smart strategies.

Get on the same page:

Good intentions often fizzle out because kids have one set of summer goals, (making it to the next level of a video game) and parents have another goal for them (tackling a summer reading list) Many struggles can be avoided if parents and kids sit down before school get s out to discuss or brain storm acceptable ideas. Ask questions like what was the best day/week from ast summer, and the worst.

STEP UP THE CHORES

Having jobs around the house sets expectations and gives a sense of accomplishment. “Summer is ideal for learning responsibility”, because tweens and teens simply have more time. Of course not many kids volunteer to do chores, and sometimes we parents fall into the “it’s easier if I do it myself” trap.

To make sure that doesn’t happen, give kids a choice so they can feel a sense of ownership. Also give kids a choice about when they accomplish the chore. Imagine if someone told you to “take out the trash! NOW!” You may need to give a time frame though.

TIP Avoid chain gang chores – like moving a rock pile from one place to another – they never feel done. Anything that can be finished in an hour is perfect.

LAYER IN SOME LEARNING

Kids can fall behind if they slack in the summer. You don’t have to hire a tutor, but you can promote learning with these ideas.

• Let kids pick their own books
• Create a summer book club.
• Use technology to your advantage.

ALSO, CONSIDER THESE IDEAS FOR TOGETHER TIME.

• Take it outside – games, picnics, walks, ect.
• Force the issue, because teens will resisit.
• Go sight seeing.

LET BED TIME SLIDE A LITTLE

During the summer consider a slightly latter bed time. Just as long as they are awake before 9:30am. Or you will throw of their natural body clock.

And lastly…

• 

• 

MAKE PEACE WITH ELECTRONICS

Set screen time limits. Break up the day so its impossible to be glued to the TV or phones all day. And to help with that, her is a list of 10 things you can do.

10 things to do with your teen outside

• get active. Teens tend to have alot of energy to get out, so out there and get active with them!
• Movie marathon
• hike, camp, and/or rock climb
• go to an amusement park
• community service
• take a road trip
• photo hunts
• play games
• bowling
• let them decide

Now you know all the ins and outs of having a great summer with your teens and tweens. Best of luck to you all!

Packing for a week long? Whether you are headed out on a road trip or on a plane, you’ll want to make sure you’ve packed efficiently and haven’t forgot anything important. This checklist of thing to bring with will help you make sure you don;t leave anything behind.

Clothes

For clothes, I’m a huge for having a capsule ward rope. By that I mean that you want things that are in the same color family or pair well together that have the ability to be layered and mixed and matched, or can be versatile for all different activities you might be a part of while on vacation. Think through your trip and activities you have planned. Do you need to dress up? Go hiking? Do you plan to get in work outs?

Then check the weather. Will it snow? Rain? Be sunny? You can check the weather about 10 days out, but you’ll want to check it again a few days before you go. So you can have a better idea of what it will be like.

• 2 tank tops (optional)
• 3-4 tops
• 1 dress
• 2 pairs of pants
• 1 light jacket
• 2 bras
• 7 pairs of underware
• 7 pairs of socks

• 

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SHOES

Again this depends on what your activities are. If your hiking then pack a pair of hiking boots. If its wintery, pack some fleece lined boots.

• 1 pair of sneakers or hiking shoes
• 1 pair of flats
• 1 dress shoe

TOILETRIES

I know this can be the most controversial of the “what to pack” bunch. I know lots of people prefer to depend on what ever the hotels will provide them, others prefer their own. So really, this depends on your own personal preferance. And (surprise) what you will be doing. It’s a place where you can save weight and space in your begs though.

Just remember, if you are flying you need to make sure your carry on fits the 3-1-1 rule.

• shampoo/conditioner
• soap
• lotion
• sunscreen
• deodorant
• razor
• tooth paste/tooth brush
• floss
• tampons/pads

This is another one that gets controversial. Some travel experts will say to skip the make up and let your hair go natural. To lighten up the load a bit. And that’s ok. Depending on what your plans are. Like if your going to spending most of your time hiking. How ever, you may be dressing up for the night or sprucing up for some pictures. So here is a basic set of items to include. REMINDER- liquids need to go in plastic bags if you are flying.

MAKE UP

• chapstick
• foundation
• powder
• blush
• eye shadow
• eye liner
• brow product
• mascara
• make up brush
• make up wipes

HAIR

• brush/comb
• hair dryer
• curler
• straightener
• styling products
• hair spray

MEDICINE AND FIRST AID

This is an important one. If you take prescription medication, you need to take actual bottles. I will bring my weekly pill box to remind me of what I need to take. Especially if your in another time zone, you don’t want to be fumbling around trying to remember if you’ve taken your pills or not.

I’d also recommend a small supply of tums and imodium just in case. I found it helpful to have some band aids, tweezers and neosporin for small bits, burns, or cuts. Also, benadryl , tylenol and wipes come in handy. You want to keep just enough with you to get through until you can find a pharmacy.

• prescriptions
• vitamins
• weekly pill box
• tums
• tweezers
• band aids
• cold medicine
• contact solution
• kleenex

ELECTRONICS

How connected do you want to be?

That’s the first thing you’ll want to consider before you thing about what to bring. If you don’t plan to work on the road, then you probably do not need to bring your lap top. Usually you can get by with bring a tablet device. Its enough to check emails, read books, or play a few games. You can also use it to check any guild information you might need.

For photography, I have a good camera, but I don’t carry it everywhere I go. In most cases a phone will work just as well.

• kindle/ipad
• chargers
• battery back up
• pocket chargers
• camera lenses
• SD cards
• tri pod
• phone
• ear buds-head phones

DOCUMENTS

• (road trip) Copy of your vehicle insurance.
• health insurance
• reservations
• (air) passports
• visa
• plane tickets

WALLET

• cash
• credit cards
• ID

EXTRAS

• travel towel
• neck pillows
• travel journal
• pen
• water bottle
• deck of cards

LUGGAGE AND PACKING

Last but not least, your going to need to be able to pack everything up. For a long trip you should be able to get it all in a large carry on bag. Just remember weight limits when your flying, and the amount of available space when packing your trunk for a road trip.

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