Simplify and decorate with these 7 tips to reset your home for fall and create a cozy, seasonal vibe.
As the days grow shorter and cooler, we are ready to hunker down indoors and cozy up. But it’s hard to settle in when your home is cluttered and chaotic from summer.
That’s where a fall reset can really make a difference.
With a few intentional changes, you can reset your home to a state that’s welcoming, relaxing, easy to maintain, and a joy to be in.
This fall reset isn’t about ticking boxes off a list or buying new fall decor.
It’s about simplifying and refreshing your physical space so that you can enter the next season with grace and peace.
Why Reset Your Home for Fall?
Fall is a natural transition season. The trees change color, animals get ready to hibernate, and shadows grow longer.
We’re moving from a summer of energetic outdoor living to the warmth of restful, indoor living.
I don’t know about you, but my home definitely looks more messy and cluttered at the end of summer. And it’s much harder to pretend the clutter doesn’t exist when the cooler weather forces you to stay in and face it!
Autumn is a great time to get our homes back to baseline so we can stress less and snuggle more.
7 Ways to Prep and Reset for Fall
These 7 practical home reset tips will help you transition from summer to autumn while adding warm, seasonal touches without all the clutter. I hope these ideas inspire you to turn your home into a restful, relaxing place full of cozy fall vibes.
Declutter and Swap Seasonal Items
Nothing kills the hygge energy faster than piles of clutter.
It’s time to tackle all the things that have accumulated over the summer—the beaded necklaces from the Fourth of July parade, souvenir cups from vacation, expired coupons—whatever it is that’s cluttering your home.
Once you get the easy wins out of the way, move on to decluttering and downsizing summer items you didn’t use.
Swap out summer-specific items like beach towels, cotton blankets, sandals, and such for winter items like flannel sheets, hats and scarves, and boots.
Give the outdoor spaces a fresh look, too.
Swap the fan for a patio heater. Top off oil lamps and torches and get a fresh stack of firewood for your fire pit.
Decluttering and changing out seasonal items will give your home an instant face lift and make you feel ready for autumn.
Deep Clean and Air Out
Deep cleaning is not just for spring. Fall is also a good time to deep clean the kitchen, bathrooms, windows (inside and out), and other forgotten corners.
You may want to try my recipe for a natural, fall-scented vinegar cleaning spray!
Get your home sparkling clean now because you’re about to spend more time indoors with winter around the corner.
Additionally, air out your home as often as you can during the fall months.
Fresh air uplifts our mood and refreshes the circulated air indoors. There’s nothing like a shot of fresh, crisp autumn air to reset the whole home.
Plan for Cold-Weather Clutter
Once school starts and cool weather accessories come out, the entryways can get cluttered fast.
To help yourself stay on top of paper and other clutter, create drop zones with decorative baskets or storage furniture and set up a weekly reset habit.
I have a metal tray by the back door for mail and papers, and wicker baskets by the front door for all the kids’ boots, shoes, and winter gear.
A basket or storage furniture like an ottoman or bench is a must-have in the living room to contain throw blankets, kids’ toys, or books.
It’s easy to put these things away when not in use, but handy enough to grab when we want to snuggle up on the couch.
Go through these drop zones and storage baskets/furniture once a week to stay on top of clutter.
Bring In Natural Decor
Now that your home is a clean, blank slate, you can bring in natural, real fall decor.
Here are some ideas for bringing nature in.
- Decorate with real squash and pumpkins that you can eat or compost at the end of the season.
- Press leaves and frame them or create garlands for the windows and mantle.
- Clip interesting branches and display them in a heavy jug or vase.
- Dry grasses and flowers to make everlasting bouquets.
I’ve been loving using real flowers and leaves in decor. I think it looks better, it costs me nothing when I forage these items from my own backyard, and I don’t have to store any of this decor at the end of the season!
One other free or low-cost fall decorating idea is to use seasonal family photos.
I swap out our everyday photos for some of myself and my husband in the fall as kids, and prints of our kids and whole family in the fall.
It instantly feels like fall in the frames, doesn’t cost much to do, and doesn’t clutter up our home.
Stock Up on Fall Staples
As you’re cleaning and decluttering, take inventory of the pantry and medicine cabinet. Stock up on seasonal must-haves for fall recipes and for cold and flu season.
Having a well-stocked pantry and medicine cabinet will help you be prepared and ready for the coming season.
Some fall staples to consider stocking are:
- Pantry: pumpkin purée, walnuts, pecans, popcorn, apple butter, maple syrup
- Baking: flour, cornmeal, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, molasses
- Wellness: teas, fire cider, homemade remedies, cold-season supplies
- Cleaning: favorite cleaners, infused vinegar, peroxide
Set the Mood with Lighting and Scents
A home becomes a haven not through the way it looks, but through the way it feels. So while decor can make a big impact, having warm lighting and comforting scents both play a big role in creating a home full of hygge.
To achieve intimate lighting, replace cool white lights with warm yellowish ones. Rely on lamps and candles in the evening rather than harsh overhead lights to get a soothing glow throughout your home.
For scent, use scented candles, essential oil diffusers, incense, or simmer pots.
Both soft lighting and warm smells will instantly cue relaxation.
Collect Cozy Recipes
A fall home reset can also include a transition to slow-cooked, nourishing comfort food.
What are your favorites? Chili, pot roast, mulled cider?
One of our family’s favorite fall recipes is chicken pumpkin pot pie.
Make a list of yours and your family’s favorite cozy fall recipes and sprinkle them into your weekly meal rotations.
Fall is also prime baking season.
Get ready for snickerdoodles, pumpkin scones, apple pie, and whatever your sweet tooth desires!
Lastly, work on preserving as much food as you can from the garden—dehydrating herbs, curing sweet potatoes, harvesting squash, and canning and roasting the last of the tomatoes.
Thinking of the holidays ahead, I always make sure to have enough homemade cranberry jam for us to enjoy and give away.
All these yummy fall dishes will fill your belly with good food and your home with delicious, cozy scents.
When to Reset for Autumn
I start to reset my home for fall just before summer ends. I find that the autumn reset coincides beautifully with the kids going back to school.
We’re already starting a new routine, buying school supplies and new clothes, and decluttering and swapping out summer for fall clothes naturally already happens at this time.
I also don’t transition the whole home from summer to fall in one fell swoop. I do it over the course of a few weeks.
Typically I’ll start decluttering and cleaning the first week school is back in session, then stocking up and setting new routines the second week, and finally decorating and collecting new fall recipes the week after.
Just do whatever makes sense for your family and create a reasonable time frame for yourself to do it in.
Resetting the home isn’t a sprint, nor is it a competition!
Conclusion
Fall is a natural time to reset our homes and create a place that’s warm, welcoming, and ready for the cooler weather.
To transition your home from summer to autumn, you can:
- declutter and swap seasonal items,
- deep clean and air out the house,
- plan for cold-weather clutter,
- bring in natural decor,
- stock up on fall staples,
- set the mood with light and scent, and
- savor the season with cozy recipes.
Even if you only do one thing from this list, you’ll be that much closer to having a cozy fall home to relax in.
This post covered transition the house from summer to fall, but don’t forget about your garden, too!
Read this post next to find out how to get your garden ready for fall, too.