Summer will be officially over in a week! Which means it’s time to prepare your home for fall. If you’re like me, you’re ready to bring out the cozy throw blankets and settle in for your annual Gilmore Girls marathon. But! Before you do so, let’s talk about the markers of a healthy home.
First of all, it’s completely natural for us to want to switch up our home decor for fall. Humans are cyclical beings which means that seasonal transitions help our bodies understand the passage of time. If you’re feeling like you want to clean your whole house suddenly, then you know what I’m talking about. It’s in our DNA to want to prepare our environment for the colder months.
By preparing our homes for a new season we are setting ourselves up for success! And nothing feels better than a clean slate.
Here are five ways you can prepare your home for fall this year!
01 | Clean your windowsills
We keep our windows open for as long as possible to keep our house feeling fresh in the warm months. This means that come September, our windowsills are looking a little dingy. I’m not just talking about the inside of the windowsill where you keep your favourite plant, I’m also talking about the middle and outside sections of your window sill that might have trapped dirt, dust and, let’s be honest, maybe a stray mosquito or two. Before you shut your windows for good this fall, take some time to wipe these areas down so everything feels nice and clean. It’s not a glamourous job, but it makes a big difference.
02 | Air out your rugs
Did you know that UV rays are a natural disinfectant? Putting your rug outside in the sun for a few hours is one of the most effective and gentle ways to clean and remove odours from rugs. I also like to vacuum and shake out the dust and debris before hanging the rug up in a sunny spot. If you’re worried about exposing an expensive and delicate rug to the sun, try putting the rug outside in the morning before the sun is in full force. When the sun reaches its peak, flip your rug so the backside is showing and leave it out for a few more hours. For the best results, keep your rugs outside for 4-6 hours and remember to bring them in before dark!
03 | Wash your couch cushions and throws
My top tip when buying a couch would be to find something that you can wash at home! This is especially handy if you have pets or kids because you can just throw the cushions in the wash whenever you have a spill. I would also recommend washing your couch covers, throw cushion covers, and blankets with each season just to keep things nice and fresh. If you follow the washing directions, this will actually help extend the lifespan of your upholstery and will help your house feel and smell clean.
04 | Optimize your bedroom
It gets pretty cold in Nova Scotia, which means that we have specific bedding for the cold months. In our house, this means I pull out the flannel sheets, my cozy PJs and sometimes even switch our duvet cover over to something more substantial. If you don’t have seasonal bedding as we do, think about how you can optimize your bedroom to make it more comfortable. This could be with an extra rug by your bed, a pair of slippers or an extra blanket on the end of your bed.
05| Clean your vents and heat pumps
This is so important! Not only will this help with your air quality at home but it can also minimize your energy bill! When I was a student I lived in a house with a heat pump and our landlord didn’t tell us to clean the filter. We were always freezing and our electric bill was crazy so we looked into making our home more efficient. Turns out, there was over a year’s worth of dust and gunk on our filters! When we cleaned them out the difference was astounding and our bills went way down. This is your official reminder that this should be down every three months!
September always feels like my new year. Not only is it usually the beginning of a new school year (hello new stationery), but it’s also my birthday month! I always do my best to make the most out of this month and these five tasks keep me feel prepared for the months ahead. I can guarantee that taking the time to prepare your home for fall will help you feel great all season long.
