10 Ways To Refresh Your Routine For Fall

Ways To Refresh Your Routine For Fall

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Update your footwear.

Flip flop season is officially over, so now we are into the time of cute sneakers and boots.

So pack away all your cute sandals and swap them out for your even cuter knee high boots that fit perfectly over your skinny jeans.

Sure, you can wear flip flops now if you want to, but fall clothes are so much fun and go better with proper footwear.

Plus, when I lived in New York, we used to get snow in the late fall. That makes sidewalks wet and unsafe in flip flops with their non-existent soles. So boots are definitely better for safety reasons in the fall as well.

Change your bedsheets.

There are few things I love more than freshly washed sheets. I wash dry them with two dryer sheets and it’s like sleeping in a cozy warm hug. And isn’t that exactly what you need for fall?

Fall is a good time to change your sheets and comforter too. Take off the lighter colors that you’ve been using during summer and change to darker sheets to match the season.

You might also want to change from a cotton sheet to a flannel sheet, if you live somewhere that gets cold in the fall. That will keep your warmer at night.

Changing the sheets is also a really simple way to redecorate for the new season without actually going all out. Just  change the sheets, change the throw pillows, change the comforter, and you bedroom looks like it got a full makeover.

Change your air filters.

The start of fall means fall weather is almost here. And while we don’t have to put on the heat until winter, different parts of the country need the heat starting now.

What we all need to do, though, is change the air filters. You should change them quarterly, at minimum (more often if you use your HVAC system a lot), so a change with every season is a good way to remember this.

Your home’s air filters get really dirty from use, and that ends up making it harder on your HVAC system. It will require more energy to work, which raises your electric bill. It also won’t work as well, which means that your home won’t be as toasty warm (or as cool) as you want it to be.

It’s actually pretty simple to change them, and it makes a big difference when you do it.

Say goodbye to your sundresses.

Part of why I love summer is because you can get away with wearing sundresses everywhere. It’s a good excuse to not have to put on pants. But, come fall, all those cute dresses get put in the back of the closet and it’s time to break out the heavier sweater dresses.

You actually should update your entire closet for fall. Move any non-layering tank tops out and bring the long sleeved shirts in. Put the shorts away and make more room for jeans.

This is also a good time to donate anything that you realized doesn’t fit anymore. Because yes, it’s hard to part with clothes (especially because it does mean you have to admit to changing sizes), but there’s nothing wrong with your body changing.

And donating means more room in the closet, which is an excuse to go clothes shopping.

Change Your Menu

Summer means fresh corn on the cob, peaches, and watermelon at every barbecue and many weeknight dinners. But once fall hits, that seasonal produce is gone and gets replaced with fall produce like sweet potatoes.

Sure, you can get some summer produce still, but it’s not in season, so it’s brought in, so it costs more. So if you buy food that’s in season, you’ll be saving money too.

Fall is also a good time to start to use your slow cooker more since it’s really great for making soup. And even though I’m the kind of person who will eat soup no matter the season, most people prefer it when it gets cooler outside.

Casseroles are really good this time of year too. Anything that warms you up and kind of stick to your guts is what you want in the fall.

Change Your Seasonal Decor

If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen my kitchen towels. I change them with every season and holiday.

I also have a gallery wall in our kitchen that’s filled with seasonal food-related photos. I change those every season as well.

So, if you have any type of seasonal decor — indoor decor like me or outdoor decor like a wreath on your door or pillows on your porch — change them to get your home into the fall spirit.

Change the batteries in your smoke detector.

We have a smoke detector in every hallway and every room with a door. And of course, the batteries in them will die from time to time, making a chirping noise that sends us around the house trying to figure out which smoke detector battery needs to be changed.

If you make it a point to change the batteries at the start of fall and the start of spring, you eliminate having to worry about this because the batteries will last six months. So, just get into that habit and you will never have to deal with that annoying chirp again.

Change up your skin care products.

In the fall, you start getting that crisp air, which tends to dry out your skin in a way that the humidity of summer doesn’t. So, you want to swap your face care routine, and add something like niacinamide, which is hydrating, if you don’t already have that as part of your daily routine.

You may also want to exfoliate more often and so that your skin can breathe.

I love using a Japanese washcloth in the shower because it’s really scratchy and it exfoliates my skin daily.

At night, I use a gentle bar of facial soap in a exfoliating soap bag to give my skin a little extra love.

If you wanted to go one step further, you could also start using a dry brushing body brush a couple times a week. I used that a few years ago when we got one for review for the blog and I did like how it made my skin feel, but the jury is still out on how good it actually is for your skin.

Clean out your make up bag.

If you’re someone like me who only wears make up on special occasions, this won’t apply to you. But if you’re someone who wears make up daily, go through your make up bag and make a couple changes.

First, remove any colored product, like eyeshadow or blush, that you have specifically to complement the brighter colors you wear in the summer and put the darker colors that you wear with your deeper fall tones in your bag instead.

Also, be mindful of how long you’ve been using specific products like mascara and lip glosses. Contrary to what you may think, make up does not last forever.

We actually have a long post about make up lifespans and when to throw away your make up, so I won’t get into that here, but just know that fall (or really the change of any season) is a good time to overhaul your products and toss any that have gotten too old.

Get back on track.

Summer is a time to really enjoy ourselves. We go on vacations, overeat, indulge in s’mores by the bonfire, spend late nights drinking outside with friends, and chase the ice cream truck every time we hear its song.

It’s the best.

But it does get us out of our routines. We go to bed late and eat too much and don’t get as much exercise as we probably should.

So, when fall hits, try to get back on track. Keep hydrating, make sure you go for evening walks, and get back to going to bed on time (or, you know, whatever your equivalent of getting back on track is).