Your Fall Decluttering Checklist

The change of seasons is the perfect time to work on simplifying your home. This is especially true during the fall season when we start spending more time at home. So I wanted to put together a little fall decluttering checklist for you.

Decluttering your home will help create that warm and cozy feeling we all long for as the weather cools and the days get shorter!

Another advantage of decluttering as the fall season begins is, as we all know, the holidays are right around the corner. Having a decluttered home will help simplify your holiday preparations and get-togethers!

This fall decluttering checklist will also free up much needed time during the busy holiday season. After all, the more you are able to declutter now, the less time you will have to spend cleaning and caring for all that stuff that you neither us nor love.

So let’s open the windows air out your home and start clearing out those overstuffed drawers and cabinets.

Your Fall Decluttering Checklist!

I’ve organized the fall decluttering checklist by room because that’s really the easiest way to declutter your home. You can start with whichever room works best for you.

I like to recommend starting in the bedroom because it is the room you start and end your day. Having a clean and decluttered bedroom can set the tone for the rest of your day.

If you prefer to start with a super easy spot, the bathroom may be the best choice. It’s pretty easy to make decisions about what needs to go in that room. With whatever room you choose to start in, once you have completed that one room, move on to the next room.

For more details on the how-tos of decluttering make sure to check out the archives or start here with how to get started on a clutter-free home.

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The Bedroom

Clothing items

I live in southern California so we don’t have major changes in our seasons. This means there’s no need to pack away seasonal clothing. Other than changing out sweaters and shorts everything pretty much stays the same.

However, if you live in a climate where you change out your clothing each season, go through summer clothing before packing it away. There is no reason to store w0rn out swimsuits or stained and worn out t-shirts. Toss those items now! I promise you’ll be glad you did next summer!

While you’re at it make sure to toss out any worn-out flip flops and sandals.

As far as your fall and winter clothing goes, the truth is it’s been months since you’ve worn your sweaters, jackets, or cool weather clothing items. As you swap out your summer clothing with fall and winter, make sure your fall and winter items are in good shape.

Let go of anything that you never wore last year, you know you’re not going to wear them this year! Look for things that are worn out and need to be replaced and toss those items. You can then make a list of which items you will need to replace.

While you’re going through the clothing, don’t forget about scarves, hats, and other winter accessories. Also, make sure your boots and warmer shoes are in good condition. If any are in need of repair now is the time to take them in. Otherwise, let them go and make a note of what you need to replace.

Bedding

If you usually swap out lighter bed linens for heavier cozier bedding in the fall and winter this is the perfect time to examine what shape your bed linens are in. Get rid of any that are no longer in good shape and note anything that needs to be replaced. As a rule of thumb, you don’t need more than two sets of linens per bed.

Now take about 30 extra minutes to go through the things on top of the dressers and on the nightstand. Return anything that doesn’t belong there to its proper home. Toss out all trash and pare down on decor items to just the pieces you truly love!

The Bathroom

Start by going through towels and bathmats. Get rid of all items that are ragged, have holes, or need replacing. This is a good time to give your bathroom a little refresh with some new towels, bathmats, or shower curtains.

Now go through that medicine cabinet. Things have a way of collecting in there. You need to get rid of all expired medication and other items.

Much like clothing, some makeup and skincare products change with the seasons. Toss any items that will expire before you’ll use it again. You also want to toss any make-up brushes that you don’t regularly use or are broken and in bad shape.

The same is true with all other bathroom toiletries, declutter any lotions and perfumes that you don’t use, or don’t care for the smell of.

Home Decor

During the fall and winter months, it’s nice to warm up your home and make it feel nice and cozy by adding some candles, cozy throw blankets, and beautifully textured pillows.

To be honest, as much as I love decorating I generally don’t change out a lot of decor items for each new season. But as the weather cools down in the fall, I do pull out all the throw blankets and add a few extra cozy pillows. If you do have seasonable decor in your home now is the time to go through your fall and winter items.

Toss any items that are not in good condition or that you no longer love. Also when packing up your summer decor items, make sure to get rid of anything you don’t love or that is worn out. After all, why pack it away and take up precious storage space.

If you like to decorate your home for Halloween take a few moments to go through and make sure you only keep what you actually use. If you are regularly leaving certain decorations at the bottom of the bin every year, then this is the perfect time to finally donate these items.

The Kitchen

Even though cooking is not my favorite thing, I naturally find myself spending more time in the kitchen during the fall and winter months. Plus, with the holidays approaching there is guaranteed to be a lot more activity in your kitchen! Using this fall decluttering checklist will make kitchen life so much easier.

Think about it, f you can’t find measuring cups, cookie cutters, or the vanilla extract, you’re paving the way for a stressful season.

If it’s been a while since you’ve gone through your kitchen, you want to declutter and organize as you go. There are lots of tips here on the best ways to declutter and organize your kitchen.

For now, take stock of what you have and clearly label and organize your items. Consider how you use your kitchen. For example, do you love to bake, if so you’ll need more bakeware than someone who rarely bakes?

What about hosting parties or get together during the holidays? If that’s your thing, go through your serving trays and platters and donate any that you never use or just simply needs to be retired.

You will also want to make sure your appliances are in good working order and you have the supplies you need. To do this start decluttering all those plastic storage items without their lids, appliances that don’t work, chipped plates and glasses, and table linens that are in poor shape.

The more room you can create in your kitchen space the easier cooking and baking will be. So box up for donation any excess items you don’t use. This includes:

Mugs, cups, and glasses
Extra dishes and plates
Duplicate kitchen tools and utensils
lunch boxes & thermoses
Excess food storage containers
Cookbooks you don’t use
Expired Food

The Office and Craft Area

Fall is such a great time to tackle decluttering your office and craft supplies. With the kids back in school, you have a good idea of what you actually use and need. This makes it much easier to identify what you do not need!

Plus, as the holidays approach we tend to get more crafty. So having this area of your home organized will let you know exactly what you have on hand and what you may need to restock.

As you declutter your office and craft supplies evaluate what you need and let go of everything you don’t! Make sure to donate/recycle/or toss as appropriate each of these items:

dried out glue and markers
pens and markers that don’t write or you just do not like.
Outdated computer software.
Old chargers and cables that go to devices you no longer own.
Old address labels you’ll never use
Expired coupons
Receipts and other papers you have no need for (Scan what you do need to your computer or better yet, the cloud)

The Kid’s Playroom/Toys

With the holidays approaching the kids will be getting a whole new collection of toys to play with. This makes fall the perfect time to start decluttering what they have now to make room for what’s to come!

If your kids are old enough have them work with you on this project. It’s a great opportunity to talk to them about giving to those less fortunate as they pick out toys to donate that they no longer play with.

Here is a good fall decluttering checklist of toy items to donate/recycle or toss:

Plastic happy meal or party gift bag toys
Toys that are broken and no longer work
Anything no longer loved or played with
Worn or smelly stuffed animals
Games with missing parts

Mudroom/Entryway

This time of year, our mudrooms or entryways seem to collect extra items. Backpacks are in full use, as are coats, scarves, and umbrellas. This makes fall an excellent time to declutter and organize this area.

Start by putting away all the summer things. If you have an actual mudroom hang up some hooks to keep backpacks, pursues, coats and sweaters off the floor. Invest in a couple of baskets for storing shoes and other items that cannot be hung.

If you don’t have an actual mudroom or entry area that’s okay. You can create any entry area with a small cabinet. Use the bottom of the cabinet to store larger items like backpacks and pursues. A small try on top will be perfect for keeping keys, glasses, and other small items.

The Garage

No one wants to spend time clearing out and decluttering the garage when it’s 90 degrees outside. This is why fall is the best time to work on decluttering the garage.

An added benefit to decluttering the garage in the fall is you can get easily get all the holiday decor items decluttered at the same time and be ready to go when it’s time to start putting up those decorations!

Once again, start with all the summer items like sports equipment, camping gear, and beach or pool items. For anything, you never used all summer long consider donating those items. Also, let go of any equipment that’s outgrown.

Now toss out anything broken, including tools and other items you may have stored in the garage.

Don’t forget to go through things like leftover paint and painting tools.

What To Do With The Items You’ve Decluttered

So, what do you do with all the items you declutter?

Garage sale season is pretty much over, but that’s okay! You are so much better off taking anything that is still in good condition straight to the donation center! The time it takes to sell your items is rarely worth the few extra dollars you might make from selling them.

A donation center is the easiest and quickest way to get all of that clutter out of your home!! Plus, you will be blessing others that may need those items.

Another option is family and friends. If you know one of your friends or family members can use the item by all means set it aside for them.

For high-end items that you are really uncomfortable donating, consider a consignment shop. They will do the work of selling the item(s) for you.

Begin by setting out three boxes. Label them: donate, friends & family, and sell/consign.

Once the boxes are full immediately place them in the trunk of your car. As you are out and running errands drop off the donations, stop by the consignment shop, and then visit that friend or family member. Everything else should be thrown out!

The main point is you did all of that work decluttering, the last thing you want to do is keep all that stuff decluttering up your home!

When it comes to getting rid of hazardous items, like old paint, chemicals, or electronics, this article from the Environmental Protection Agency has some really good information on how to properly dispose of all those items.

The best part of this fall decluttering checklist is that each of these areas can be tackled in one weekend or maybe even one day depending on how much clutter you have. Once everything is decluttered, your home will feel so much simpler, calmer, and peaceful.