Your Quick Fall Cleaning Checklist for a Warm & Cozy Home

Over the weekend, the calendar switched from August to September.

It’s official, fall is almost here!

While the temperatures are still anything but the crisp, cool temps I’m looking forward to, and while the calendar reminds me that we are technically still in summer for about two more weeks, I’m in full-blown fall mode.

I’ve been filling our calendar with September’s Family Connections activities, bought a bag of pumpkin spice coffee, and have even pulled out my favorite fall mugs to drink my morning coffee in. I’m still restraining myself to pull out all of the fall decor but I have September 23rd marked on my calendar as the first official day of fall and you better believe my box of fall decor is being brought up from the basement on that day!

Who else loves fall and is so looking forward to a new season?

Fall is almost here and while I know I will thoroughly enjoy the beautiful weather and everything that goes with fall, I know that all too soon we will be entering into the busy holiday season. Before I even begin to set my eyes on that prize, I know that there are several things that need to happen around the home first.

We are all familiar with spring cleaning but fall cleaning is just as important!

I don’t know about you but after a busy summer, our house is in need of a little TLC. We have pockets of clutter tucked in about every nook and cranny, dust bunnies lurking in the corners, seasonal clothes and accessories to rotate in and out, and a whole host of things to do out in the yard.

As the temperature grows colder in the coming weeks and the warmth from our home draws everyone inside, now is the time to schedule a few hours to give your house a quick fall cleaning as you head into the busy winter months.

To help get you started, I’ve create a little checklist for you. Plus scroll down to get a free download as well as a special deal from one of my favorite companies! 🙂

Fall Cleaning Checklist

Prepare Your Heart

After a busy summer, it’s time to get back into a Bible study routine that will refresh and refuel you. Whether you are planning on attending a church study or do one at home, either solo or with a few friends, a new season is the perfect time to get back into the habit.

Begin by cleaning out your Bible book basket and removing devotionals or Bible studies you aren’t using anymore. Put a few new books inside.

Check your journals or notebooks. Purchasing a new journal with some fresh, favorite pens is a little thing that can add so much joy.

Start a new habit or discipline. Writing the Word is something I have shared about a lot but perhaps you never thought the time was right to begin. Now is the perfect time to start with this quick start guide and free 5-week writing plan.

Commit to praying every single day for your children’s or local school. Print off this prayer calendar and place inside your Bible.

Start a new prayer habit by praying over, or with, your husband. Prayer has the amazing power to not only draw us closer to God but to also build up our marriages and relationships.

And if you need any more ways to prepare yours, and your family’s, hearts this fall, be sure to check out this resource of 10 easy ways to point your hearts towards the Gospel in your home every single day.

Fall is the perfect time to begin practicing these habits!

Banish that summer dust build up!

Oh, the dust bunnies!

I love our hardwood floors but you know what I don’t love? The bright, beautiful and unforgiving morning sun streaming in illuminating every speck of dust, dirt, and grime.

While I normally love to hand my kids their microfiber dusters* to help me “clean” (it’s like a game to them!), now is the time for a little elbow grease to really get rid of all the dust.

My favorite is the new Fall Mrs. Meyer’s multi-surface spray*. A quick spray will help remove dust from your ceilings, walls, baseboards, and woodwork.

Not to mention it smells AMAZING!

While I love my clean-burning candles, I don’t need to rely on them for a fresh scent anymore. And the gentle scent lasts!

Along the lines of banishing the summer dust buildup, it’s also a good idea to spend some time caring for and packing up the summer toys and swim gear (unless you frequent an indoor pool during the winter)

Inspect each item to make sure it’s worth keeping before packing it up in a labeled box. If you have a bin in the garage for yard toys, bubbles, or even gardening gear, take some time to sort through those as well.

Clean any tools, toss out or merge half-empty bottles of bubbles, clean the inside of any ceramic planters, and fold up the slip-n-slide carefully so it doesn’t ripe or tears before next summer.

Rotate Your Closets

Rotating seasonal clothes is always a chore,  especially when it comes to my kids as they are constantly growing and changing sizes. But now is the time to pack away those bathing suits, flip-flops, and tanks to replace with sweaters, corduroys, and boots.

Pack up your light summer clothes and linens and replace them with cool-season items. 

If you are feeling extra motivated, get rid of clothes that haven’t seen the light of day in years. Why would you keep clothes that you don’t currently love and wear?

Have your kids help to do the same in their closets. Make sure everything fits and doesn’t have stains or holes. This is also the perfect time to make a shopping list of items to buy or replace as budgets allow.

If you need a little help and encouragement, be sure to check out the style challenges from Get Your Pretty On*.

It’s my favorite resource for helping you build a capsule wardrobe from the clothing you already have. Plus, they have seasonal guides, challenges for kid’s clothing, even your husband! 

Prepare Your Oven for Baking

The cooler temperatures will mean that comfort baking is in full swing!

I love filling my home with the inviting and delicious scents of pumpkin bread and apple chips but you know what else I don’t love?

Smelling the burnt residue of overflows and crumbs on the bottom of my oven.

I personally don’t like to use those harsh oven cleaners due to the number of toxins in them but luckily for me, my oven has a built-in self-cleaning feature where it pretty much cleans itself with super high temperatures.

If your oven doesn’t have that feature, making your own cleaner is super easy… not to mention frugal and super safe!

Just mix equal parts of baking soda and water together to form a paste.

Coat the oven surface with the paste and let it sit overnight. The next morning while wearing rubber gloves, use a spatula to gently remove the paste and wipe clean with a wet sponge.

That’s it, easy peasy!

Stock Your Pantry

Now that your oven is nice and clean, it’s time to start baking. When an impromptu baking session with the kids comes up you don’t want to be without the necessary supplies… trust me on that one!

Go through your pantry and take stock of what you need.

Check your spices especially cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, apple or pumpkin pie spices, to make sure you have enough and aren’t expired.

If they are more than six months old or don’t have a fragrant smell (or more likely if you are like me and have ZERO clue when you bought it) it’s best to toss and add to your grocery list.

Don’t forget to check things like flour (whole wheat or gluten-free), sugar, chocolate chips, oatmeal, vanilla, baking soda, salt, butter, canned pumpkin and anything you use in your favorite baking treats.

It’s also a good idea to make sure your pantry and freezer are stocked with the basic ingredients to build your favorite comforting soups or chili now that fall is almost here!

I like to keep on hand frozen chicken broth as well as from the carton, frozen vegetables, cans of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, and even gluten-free noodles for quick soups.

Refresh the Meal Plan

A new season means changing schedules and new routines. It’s also a good time to clean up your meal plan (or create one if you didn’t have a solid plan over the summer!)

Creating a seasonal template makes it easy to plan a few weeks of family favorite meals but make it even an easier process by plugging in a list of your go-to family favorite meals that you know how to make, which is perfect for evenings with lots of fall activities!

Over Labor Day weekend, I spent about an hour cleaning out my Simplified Complete {Meal Planner} and made a list of fall favorites to start adding to the rotation in the coming weeks.

You can even make things easier by doing as much prep work ahead of time by chopping vegetables, making dressings, or marinating meat for quick dinners.

Add a Touch of Fall

I love decorating my home with simple fall decor. It adds a touch of warmth and makes our home feel cozy.

I love them, even more, when they include natural elements found outside.

Leaves are about to start changing to those brilliant shades of reds and oranges, so collect a few on your walk to press in a frame or string together to make a simple twine and leaf garland. I also love to set small mini or pie pumpkins on the tables.

Perhaps the easiest, and most practical, is to fill a large bowl with fresh apples, pears, cranberries, or other favorite seasonal fruit. Serves as a centerpiece AND a spot to grab a quick healthy snack on the go!

My home is prone to smell like a diaper pail (thanks to my adorable little ones) so in an effort to make our home always smell good, I invest in some quality, clean-burning soy candles* (the Grove Collaborative Blood Orange candle is perfect year-round) and diffuse some essential oils.

With the windows open to allow the crisp breeze in, a scented candle or essential oil combo can really add to the ambiance.

My current essential oil recipe for the perfect fall scent it:

• 4 drops of orange EO
• 3 drops of ginger EO
• 3 drops of cinnamon EO

Mix together with water in a diffuser, turn on and let your senses be delighted!

And if scented candles and essentials oils aren’t your thing but you really want to make your house smell amazing, try the new Mrs. Meyer’s Fall Scent collection*. (Scroll down below for a super fun surprise!) 😉

Prepare the Hearth

Nothing is better than a warm, glowing fire blazing in the fireplace on a chilly night. Last year we finally made the investment and had some gas logs professionally installed and it was so worth it. Before that though, we simply had an assortment of candles to light inside for a warm glow.

If you do use your fireplace often, you will want to make sure you sweep the chimney and have a collection of wood to burn. A little planning now will make it so much easier to build the first fire of the season.

How are you preparing your home to be warm & cozy this fall? 

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Free Fall Mrs. Meyer’s Set from Grove Collaborative

How do you know when it’s officially fall? For some people, it’s the changing leaves or the first day of school. For me, it’s the return of Mrs. Meyer’s fall seasonal scents like mum and apple cider*.

One whiff and I’m instantly ready to pull on a cozy sweater, go apple picking, or take a walk on a crisp day.

This year, Mrs. Meyers has released a brand new seasonal scent for fall… Pumpkin!

It smells exactly how it looks: clean, simple, and cozy. If I close my eyes, I can imagine myself curled up under a blanket next to a crackling bonfire. 

The toasty scent is distinctly fall — but it smells so good I would be tempted to use it year round! The packaging is spot on, too, like the color of pumpkin pie filling.

Now, you can be among the first to try it — for free! When you place your first order of $20 from Grove, you’ll get this free fall set in your choice of scents:

• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Fall hand soap
• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Fall dish soap
• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Fall multi-surface spray
• Free Grove Collaborative replaceable head dish brush
• Free Shipping & 60 Day VIP Trial

Plus, if you spend $39, you’ll also receive a free Grove cleaning caddy to organize all your favorite supplies.

If you’re already a Grove customer, you’ll get a free set of Grove walnut scrubbers — perfect for cleaning up after pumpkin carving! 

Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal scents are so hard to find in stores. Once you smell them, you’ll understand why! The hand soap, dish soap, and multi-surface spray come in matching scents so you can carry the scent throughout your entire home.

The set also includes a Grove Collaborative replaceable head dish brush. This brush is what my kitchen dreams are made of! It has a beautiful, sustainable bamboo handle and angled bristles that are perfect for fall baking and clean-up. The best part is, you can replace the head when the bristles get worn out.

In addition to this free set, Grove has you covered for all your cleaning and organization needs as you head into fall. You’ll find an amazing selection of natural household products from brands like Mrs. Meyer’s, Method, and Seventh Generation. Plus, their house brand is filled with amazing products — I especially love their chef’s towels and soy candles!

After your first order, Grove will recommend a personalized monthly shipment so you never run out of the products you love. You can customize your basket or shipment schedule with a few clicks.

If you’ve been thinking about trying Grove Collaborative, this is your chance! When you sign up using my link*, you’ll get the free fall set PLUS free shipping and a free 60 day VIP trial. For 60 days, you’ll get free shipping, free gifts, price matching, exclusive sales, and personal service. 

Mrs. Meyer’s seasonal scents always go fast, so don’t wait — grab your free fall set now:

1. Sign up for Grove Collaborative here*. You will receive the Free Fall Mrs. Meyer’s Set from Grove Collaborative for free when you sign up!
2. To receive this offer, your order needs to be a minimum of $20. Choose the combination of products and scents you love and receive your first box within a few days.
3. You made it! Click Finish & Pay and place your order.