How to Make Your Home Feel Like Fall (Without adding more STUFF!)
(Without adding more STUFF!)
It may not quite be Fall yet, but with the kiddos back to school and the arrival of Starbucks’ pumpkin-spice everything, it might as well be. I LOVE the change of seasons, because it is like a fresh start every three months - woo! What I don’t love though, is how each season (especially Fall & Winter) brings more STUFF with it. That’s why I’ve found four ways to make your home feel like Fall, no clutter required.
4 Ways to Make Your Home Feel Like Fall (without more clutter!)
Before you run out to Hobby Lobby, Target, or Cost Plus World Market to buy all of the things, take a minute to think about how you can welcome the season into your home without creating more clutter to fill up your house, trip over, and clean around.
1. Embrace the power of scent! Scent is the sense that is most strongly tied to memory. It is also a quick and easy way to change the entire feel of your home. Common scents of Fall tend to be “warm” scents, like cinnamon, clove, vanilla, allspice, bay leaf, pumpkin (of course!), and apple.
It is easy to pick up a candle that reminds you of the season, but not everyone likes them. If this is the case, or you are a bit of a DIYer (like me!) try a homemade potpourri “soup”:
Homemade Fall “Potpourri”
In medium pot of water, add aromatics of your choice:
Spices: cinnamon, clove, ginger, allspice, nutmeg
Fruit: Orange, apple, pumpkin
Herbs: Fresh rosemary, thyme, bay leaf
Vanilla: Because it deserves a place of its own!
There is no right or wrong way to do this - just follow the scents that make you happy!
Place the pot on simmer, and let the water and ingredients do their thing. Your home will smell amazing in no time, help clear out yucky odors, and is easy peasy.
Note: Keep an eye on the water level to prevent scorching.
By filling your home with a comforting, warm scent, you are creating the backdrop for family memories. One day, your children will get a whiff of oranges and clove, and be transported back to a happy family memory.
2. Make your home feel like Fall with FOOD! As the shorter, cooler days arrive, we start to crave food to warm our bodies. The bonus is that these foods also make our homes feel cozier (and smell amazing), without added clutter!
Homemade or store-bought, there is something about stews, roasts, soups, and fresh baked bread that create a cozy feeling. Again, the power of scent is powerful with these foods, and the simple act of cooking a Sunday roast is enough to bring us all back to happy Fall memories.
3. Declutter before you decorate. If you must bring out the bins of seasonal decor, or love the rush of finding the perfect pumpkin-themed wreath or centrepiece - that is 100% totally okay! It can be FUN to create a temporary theme in your home. As long as it doesn’t create more stress and work for you, that is!
So before you start adding gourds and leaves everywhere, take a moment to declutter FIRST. Scan your living space, and see what doesn’t need to be there. After all, if you are going to make the effort to decorate, you want to be able to see your hard work!
Another great option is to replace. For every item you bring in, something has to go! Fun Fall throw pillows? Store your everyday ones. New cozy blanket? Put the summer throw blanket in storage. 28 adorable pumpkin-themed candles, sculptures and wall-hangings? It is time to move the everyday picture frames, plants, and holiday mementos elsewhere.
4. Make memories. It may be obvious to some, but making memories is more important than your holiday centrepiece. The best part of making seasonal memories, is that there are no rules.
Create a family tradition by visiting the same pumpkin patch every year, or try something new each year. Just like the year experiences seasons, so do families. The what isn’t important. Fall offers a variety of ways to make memories without things, and that is what you and your kids will remember.
Whether it is visiting a haunted house, apple picking, baking together, or carving pumpkins the night before Halloween, you are in charge of what Fall means to your family.
A new season doesn’t have to add clutter to your home, nor does it need to add more to your plate. Rather, think of each season as a new beginning, and how to welcome that into your home.
After all, stuff is not a memory. Even the most perfectly curated, Pinterest-worthy home is simply the stage upon which you live. It is the love and the feeling that you create within your home that makes a difference. Your own tone has the power to make the season special - not the things you bring into your home.