This 7 Day Fall Home Reset walks you through exactly what to tackle in every area of your home so you can get back on track after summer and get ready for the busy holiday season ahead. Grab the free printable checklist and let’s get your house (and your sanity) back in order!
Does anyone else feel like their house completely falls apart over the summer? Between pool towels drying on every doorknob, sunscreen bottles taking over the bathroom counter, and kids tracking in sand from who-knows-where, my house is usually in a state of controlled chaos by the time September rolls around.
That’s exactly why I created this 7 Day Fall Home Reset. It’s a simple, room-by-room plan to help you shake off the summer mess, get your home functioning again now that the kids are back in school, and set yourself up for a much calmer holiday season. No 30-day marathon, no overwhelming to-do list… just one focused area per day for a week.
Ready to get your home reset for fall? Let’s dive in!
What Is a Home Reset?
A home reset is exactly what it sounds like – it’s hitting the refresh button on your house. It’s not quite a full deep clean, and it’s not quite a declutter session… it’s a little bit of both, done with purpose in each area of your home.
Think of it this way: your daily and weekly cleaning routine keeps things maintained, but a home reset is what happens when life has gotten a little too busy to keep up with that routine, and things have started to pile up (literally). A reset gives you a chance to pause, walk through each space with fresh eyes, and get everything back to a baseline you can actually maintain going forward.
During a home reset, you’re doing a mix of:
- Decluttering – getting rid of things that don’t belong, don’t fit, or just aren’t used anymore
- Cleaning – wiping down, dusting, and freshening up spaces that have been neglected
- Organizing – putting systems back in place so things have a home and stay easier to maintain
- Planning ahead – setting up your space to actually function for the season that’s coming
If you want a broader decluttering plan after this challenge, I’ve also got a 30 Day Decluttering Challenge and a Declutter Your House in One Week guide that pair well with this reset.
Why Fall Is the Perfect Time to Reset
I know what you might be thinking… “Amy, why not just wait until New Year’s and do a resolution-style reset?” Trust me, I get it! But hear me out on why fall is actually the ideal time to do this.
The kids are back in school. For the first time since May, you’ve got a little bit of breathing room during the day. Toys aren’t getting dumped back out five minutes after you put them away, and you can actually walk through a room and finish a task without getting interrupted every two minutes. Use that window!
Summer chaos needs to be undone. Pool bags, sunscreen, water shoes, sand toys, and half-melted popsicle wrappers have a way of taking over every corner of the house by August. A fall reset gives you a natural stopping point to put summer away and get your home back to normal.
The holidays are coming in HOT. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all land within about two months of each other, and with them comes an increase in guests, parties, and general household activity. Nobody wants to be scrambling to find a place for Thanksgiving guests to hang their coats when your closets are a disaster, or trying to bake cookies in a kitchen that hasn’t seen a deep clean since spring.
A clean, organized home reduces holiday stress. When your spaces are already decluttered and functioning well, adding holiday decor, guests, and gatherings on top of that just feels manageable. When they’re not? Every extra thing that comes into the house in October, November, and December just adds to a mess that was already out of control.
Day 1: Kitchen
Why it matters for fall: Your kitchen is about to become command central for the season – from Halloween candy sorting to Thanksgiving cooking marathons to holiday cookie baking. Starting fall with a clean, decluttered kitchen means you’re not fighting expired pantry items and a cluttered counter while you’re also trying to prep a big meal for guests.
Jobs to tackle:
- Deep clean the fridge and freezer – toss expired condiments and freezer-burned mystery meat, then wipe down the shelves
- Go through the pantry and toss expired food, then wipe down shelves and reorganize
- Declutter kitchen counters and put stray items back where they belong
- Wipe down cabinet fronts, handles, and appliance exteriors
- Clean out the junk drawer (every kitchen has one!)
- Empty out and organize your Tupperware/food storage cabinet
For a full room-by-room plan, check out my Kitchen Cleaning Checklist, and if your counters tend to be a clutter magnet like mine, these tips on how to declutter kitchen counters are a must. I’d also recommend printing my free pantry inventory sheet while you’re in there so you know exactly what you have (and don’t end up with three jars of cinnamon come baking season).
Day 2: Bedrooms
Why it matters for fall: With the busy holiday season coming, your bedroom needs to actually feel like a restful retreat again. Plus, with holiday guests likely staying over at some point this season, getting bedrooms (including guest rooms) decluttered and reset now means you won’t be scrambling the night before Thanksgiving trying to find clean sheets and clear surface space.
Jobs to tackle:
- Sort through and put away any lingering piles of clean laundry
- Declutter nightstands and dressers
- Rotate out summer clothes that are too small or out of season (more on that during Day 5!)
- Wash bedding, pillows, and mattress protectors
- Dust furniture, baseboards, and light fixtures
- Vacuum under the bed – you know what’s under there
Grab my full Bedroom Cleaning Checklist for a complete daily, weekly, and deep-clean breakdown for this space.
Day 3: Bathrooms
Why it matters for fall: Between Halloween face paint, cold and flu season kicking in, and holiday guests needing a clean bathroom to use, this space needs to be functioning at its best going into fall. Plus, restocking your medicine cabinet now means you’re prepared before the sniffles start hitting your house.
Jobs to tackle:
- Scrub the shower, tub, and toilet
- Wipe down counters and clear out expired or empty toiletries
- Clean out the medicine cabinet and toss expired medications
- Wash bath mats and hand towels
- Restock essentials – toilet paper, hand soap, and any first aid supplies
- Clean mirrors and light fixtures
If your bathrooms need some extra TLC, my Bathroom Cleaning Checklists break everything down into daily, weekly, and deep-cleaning tasks so nothing gets missed.
Day 4: Living Spaces
Why it matters for fall: This is the room where your family (and your guests) will spend the most time this season – watching football, decorating for Halloween, gathering for Thanksgiving, and opening presents at Christmas. A clean, decluttered living space means it’s actually ready to host all of that, instead of being the room you frantically shove clutter out of before someone rings the doorbell.
Jobs to tackle:
- Declutter surfaces – coffee tables, end tables, entertainment centers
- Dust furniture, blinds, and light fixtures
- Vacuum or shampoo carpets and rugs
- Fluff and rotate couch cushions, wash throw blankets
- Organize toys, games, and media so everything has a home
- Wipe down remotes, light switches, and door handles
Use my Living Room Cleaning Checklist for the full breakdown, and if you need a quick daily reset trick to keep this space tidy going forward, the Magic Basket Method is one of my favorite hacks.
Day 5: Closets
Why it matters for fall: With cooler weather coming and holiday outfits, coats, and guest coats all about to need a home, your closets need to actually have room and function well. Plus, an organized closet makes those early, chilly mornings so much easier when everyone’s trying to find their favorite hoodie before the school bus comes.
Jobs to tackle:
- Swap out summer clothes for fall/winter items
- Declutter clothes and shoes that don’t fit or aren’t worn anymore – donate, store for younger siblings, or toss
- Switch to matching hangers for a instantly neater look
- Tackle that top shelf of storage bins that always seems to be a mess
- Organize coat closets so they’re ready for jackets, scarves, and boots
- Add labels to bins so everyone in the family knows where things go
If you’ve got a lot of storage bins piled up top like most of us do, you have to check out my Top Shelf Closet Organization Hack – it’s my absolute favorite system, and it comes with free printable labels too!
Day 6: Garage & Outdoors
Why it matters for fall: Between raking leaves, decorating for Halloween, and eventually needing that giant tub of Christmas lights, your garage needs to be organized enough that you can actually find things when you need them. Plus, putting summer gear away properly now means it’ll be in good shape when it’s time to pull it back out next year.
Jobs to tackle:
- Put away summer gear – pool toys, sprinklers, water tables
- Sort through sports equipment and organize by season
- Sweep out the garage and clean up any oil spills or debris
- Check and store patio furniture and cushions if needed
- Organize storage bins and label them for easy access
- Do a quick check of outdoor lighting and extension cords before holiday decorating season
If your garage storage bins could use a refresh, grab my Garage Storage Bin Labels to make everything easy to find at a glance.
Day 7: Family Command Center
Last but not least – your family command center! This is the hub that’s going to keep your whole family on track through what’s about to be the busiest, most schedule-packed time of year, so it deserves its own dedicated reset day.
Why it matters for fall: This is genuinely the busiest stretch of the entire year for most families, with school activities, sports, Halloween events, Thanksgiving planning, and Christmas prep all landing in the same few months. A command center that’s clean, current, and actually functioning is what’s going to keep all of that from falling through the cracks.
Jobs to tackle:
- Clear out and refresh paper clutter – old permission slips, expired coupons, outdated mail
- Set up (or refresh) baskets or files for each family member’s papers
- Update your family calendar with fall and holiday dates – school events, sports, Halloween, Thanksgiving travel, Christmas plans
- Restock command center supplies – pens, sticky notes, dry erase markers
- Set up a spot for holiday cards, invitations, and event flyers as they start coming in
- Print and hang any chore charts or routines you want to use for the season
For help setting this space up right, check out my post on how to organize paperwork with an easy family filing system, and if you want a big-picture view of the whole season at once, my DIY Giant Wall Calendar is a game changer for keeping everyone on the same page.
Free Printable Fall Home Cleaning Checklist
Don’t forget to grab the free printable 7 Day Fall Home Reset checklist so you can follow along, check off each task, and keep this challenge on hand to repeat again next year! Just click the link down below:
Download The Printable!
Click below to download your FREE Fall Home Reset Checklist!
Now that summer chaos is cleared out and every space in your home has a fresh start, you’re actually ready to enjoy everything fall and the holidays have to offer, instead of feeling buried by it. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are going to bring a lot of extra activity into your home over the next few months, but you’ve got a clean, organized foundation to handle it all.
