7 Ways To Prepare Your Home For Autumn
There’s no denying now that autumn is well and truly here - the temperature is dropping, the nights are drawing in and the telly is getting really good again! I spent the weekend just gone getting our home ready for the new season - there are a few things I like to do each year to make sure everywhere is lovely and cosy ready for plenty of hygge nights in, and I thought I’d share them here today… Here are 7 ways to prepare your home for autumn…
1) Give everywhere a good clean
I know that it’s traditionally spring that gets all of the cleaning hype, but I like to do a similar deep clean before autumn really sets in too. After all of the kitchen renovations our house really needed it (plaster dust really does get everywhere!) and so this weekend we hoovered, mopped, dusted, scrubbed and bleached our house from top to bottom.
If you need a bit of inspiration then make sure you check out Mrs Hinch on Instagram - she has made me become obsessed with cleaning and anybody who knows me knows that I usually hate it!
2) Switch your scents
I love candles so I always have them burning in my house regardless of the time of year, but in the summertime I tend to prefer lighter, more floral scents, whereas in the autumn I’m all about those rich cinnamon and pumpkin vibes. I stocked up on some new candles a few weeks ago at B&M and Homesense, and this weekend I dug them out and put the summery scents away until next year.
3) Make sure your heating settings are right
It’s so hard to get the temperature right at this time of year, isn’t it? One minute the sun is streaming through the window and it’s roasting, and then next thing you know you’re sat on the sofa in your PJs shivering. To avoid any extremes we usually set our heating at this time of year to come on whenever the temperature in the house drops below 15 degrees - that means it always stays nice and toasty, but we aren’t paying to heat the house if it warms up outside.
4) Get your cosy essentials ready
For me, the best part of autumn is plenty of cosy nights at home, so when I do my seasonal switch around I like to make sure that all my hygge essentials are close to hand. I have a basket of blankets and throws in the living room, and dig out my dressing gown and slippers from the back of the cupboard. If your house is particularly chilly, it may also be worth switching your duvet for a heavier one before the temperature plummets.
5) Stock up on the store cupboard basics
I always find that in the summer we tend to eat more salads and grilled meats rather than anything heavy, but as soon as the leaves start to change I get a hankering for comfort food - things like sausage and mash, stews, pies and roast dinners. I always try to stock up on the things that will get used a lot during the autumn season - spices, pulses, OXO cubes and flour are all ingredients that I use much more regularly at this time of year, so it’s good to have a little reserve.
6) Clear some space in your wardrobe
One of my favourite things about autumn is being reunited with all of my chunky knits and thick coats, but there’s no denying that they take up more space in the wardrobe than summer dresses and cami tops. Before I dig my winter clothes out and hang them back up again I like to have a little clearout - my rule is that anything I haven’t worn over the summer period goes in a bag for the charity shop.
7) Tidy up the garden
The last thing I like to do to get our home ready for autumn is give the garden a little tidy up. We only have a small backyard but it’s amazing how quickly it can become overrun with weeds and slugs! Plus we have a BBQ and some garden furniture out there that need covering up before the relentless rain hits. I’m planning to spend a bit of time next week clearing it all up and giving everywhere a good brush - hopefully that will make it easier come spring time when we’re dying to get back out there!
How do you prepare your home for autumn?