The Fall Edit: Decluttering and Tidying this Autumn

Spring may be the season when most people clean house from top to bottom, but it’s time to consider a new tidying tradition: the fall edit. Throughout the year, things tend to accumulate around the house until drawers are overflowing, closets are crammed and finding what you’re looking for takes twice as long as it should.

That’s where the fall edit comes in. Editing is the process of eliminating things that no longer serve you. Autumn is the perfect time to refresh your home by assessing what’s in your closets, shelves and cupboards, and getting rid of the things that don’t work for you anymore.

The fall edit creates physical and mental space for entertaining, decorating and cooking in the upcoming holiday season. It also allows you to identify things you might want to add to your holiday list. Take some time this season to give away, recycle or otherwise dispose of things that you no longer use, whether they are at the end of their life span or simply don’t make you happy. The result will be a less cluttered, more functional and more enjoyable space.

Here are 9 targets for your fall edit:

Your Closet

As the seasons change, swap out summer clothes to make room for the long sleeves and sweaters. As you do, examine your warm-weather pieces and consider a purge. Will your swimsuits and sandals hold up for another season, or is it time for them to retire? Make a list of items you’ll need to update for next summer. Repeat the process as you bring out your fall clothes: what still works? What doesn’t? What items do you need to acquire or update for the cooler weather?

The Kitchen

The average kitchen has multiple cabinets and drawers, chock full of food storage containers with missing lids, broken chip clips, hundreds of rubber bands and an assortment of drive-thru plastic forks and straws. By spending 20 minutes sorting, organizing and tossing, you will save yourself time and aggravation over the next year. Do the same with travel cups and lids. Also, get rid of utensils, gadgets and appliances you no longer use. Check your pantry and fridge door for expired items. Tossing outdated foods will free up space and make using your kitchen a lot more pleasant.

Kids Rooms

Fall is a great time to declutter kids’ spaces for many reasons. For one thing, they’re at school, so you can get rid of toys they haven’t touched in months without any objection. Go through drawers and closets to identify clothes that no longer fit and jot down what they still might need for the school year. See if their coats, boots and other warm-weather clothes still fit, and note what items they will need for the changing seasons. If their summer clothes won’t fit them next year, add them to the donation box.

The Linen Closet

It’s time to swap out the lighter bedspread and sheets of summer for warmer comforters, blankets and linens. Plan to get the summer bed coverings cleaned before putting them away, and at the same time, freshen up the winter comforters before using them, whether it’s at the cleaners or the oversized load washers at the laundromat. As you store summer items, notice the condition they’re in. Make a note of what needs replacing. Get rid of any incomplete sheet sets—take them all out of the closet, sort and put back in sets so you don’t have to “hunt” for the missing piece.

The Office

Another fall edit to-do: going through folders and files that have accumulated throughout the year. Start by sorting papers into piles: one to keep and file, and the other to discard (or shred if necessary). Take photos of letters, children’s artwork or other items you want to store digitally. Check your desktop and drawers: are there files there that you might need to keep, but that don’t need to be within arm’s reach? Transfer them to a banker’s box or another file cabinet to keep your closest workspaces free for things you’re actively working on. Take an inventory of the things you use most, such as staples, sticky notes, file folders, printer ink, and pens and make a supply list of any items you need to reorder.

The Computer

Your computer will function better and be easier to use if you remove unnecessary files. Go through your email inbox and trash old messages and junk email. Unsubscribe to emails you never open. Review your document library: what can you get rid of? If you have a lot of items you don’t want to delete but don’t need to access regularly, consider an external hard drive for extra storage. Organize your desktop and refresh the background photo with something that will brighten your mood whenever you see it.

The Living Room

If your couch has so many pillows that it’s hard to sit down, keep a few favorites and donate the rest. Store throw blankets in a pretty basket or a blanket rack so they’re convenient, but not cluttering the sofa. If magazines have accumulated on your coffee table, get rid of everything that dates back beyond the last month or two; if you haven’t read them yet, you’re probably not going to. Scan your bookshelf to purge any titles you haven’t gotten around to reading or are no longer interested in. If you still have a DVD or CD collection that you haven’t touched in years, consider clearing them out now.

The Bathroom

Go through your medicine cabinet and throw away old prescriptions, beauty products, skincare and other expired items (check the FDA website to see how to properly dispose of medications). Get rid of products that are sitting around because you tried them but didn’t actually like them. Extra counter space, fresh hand towels and organized drawers will elevate the space instantly.

The Bedroom

Out of sight, out of mind – that’s the underlying principle that creates dresser and nightstand drawers stuffed with things nobody uses or wants. Even if you tackle one drawer each day, at the end of the week, you’ll have seven tidy spaces that you can use for more important things.

For more information, check out The Protocol School of Texas. You may also like 5 Spaces to Organize This Fall. For more of Diane’s etiquette tips, read her posts on Inc., subscribe to her articles on The Huffington Post, “like” The Protocol School of Texas on Facebook, and follow her on Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter.