As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

I have never been particularly good at the whole January 1st, new-year-new-me thing.

By the time January 1 rolls around, I am OVER IT.

I don’t want to set goals. I don’t want to organize a closet. I don’t want to buy a planner and become a brand-new person.

I want a vacation from the holidays.

After weeks of decorating, shopping, wrapping, cooking, hosting, traveling, eating, cleaning, and generally making Christmas magic happen, January is not when I’m feeling my most ambitious.

September, though?

September is my New Year.

My September reset is basically the big sister to my weekly Sunday Reset: I clean out and organize our house, get our family calendar and meals under control, check what we actually need for back to school, and start preparing for fall and even the holidays. It’s my way of getting everything back in order before the school year gets crazy.

My husband and I have both worked in education for years, and that has permanently programmed our entire family into a “new school year, new me” mindset.

And now that I’m a mom, I lean into it even more.

There’s something about the end of summer that naturally makes me take stock of our house, our schedules, and what our family actually needs before we hit the ground running again.

It also helps that summer is when I actually WANT to do this stuff.

Fall in Oregon is my absolute favorite. Once the weather changes, I want to be home making something hearty for dinner, lighting a fall candle, getting cozy, and planning our next trip to the pumpkin patch.

I absolutely do NOT want to be organizing the garage.

So I do my big reset before fall gets here.

This year, that reset has been even bigger because I started a huge organization and redecorating project aimed at simplifying our house. That’s becoming a whole series here, so definitely check back because there will be frequent updates on that front.

But the project also made me think differently about our usual back-to-school shopping.

Instead of automatically thinking, What do we need to buy?, I’ve been trying to ask:

What do we already have? What do we actually need? And what can we get rid of?

I’m trying to simplify and be a little more thoughtful about sustainability instead of using every new season as an excuse for more consumerism.

So, in the spirit of my Sunday Reset, here’s my bigger version: the 18 things I reset at the end of summer to get our house and family ready for fall.

1. Ruthlessly Clean Out Everyone’s Clothes

First stop: closets.

My son had a huge growth spurt this summer, which apparently happened overnight because suddenly every pair of pants he owned was approximately three inches too short.

So those went.

I also pulled anything with holes, stains, or enough wear that I knew it wasn’t realistically going back into rotation.

Then I did the same thing to my own closet.

Anything I wasn’t wearing or reaching for? Gone.

Anything too big? Gone.

Anything worn out that I kept telling myself I might wear again despite all evidence to the contrary?

Also gone.

The goal wasn’t to immediately replace everything. It was to actually see what we had and what we legitimately needed before buying anything for fall.

2. Clean Out the Pantry

Next I went through the pantry and checked expiration dates.

Old cans? Gone.

Spices that may or may not have been purchased during a previous presidential administration?

Goodbye.

I wanted to start the school year knowing what was actually in there instead of discovering three months from now that I own four jars of cumin and somehow no chicken broth.

3. Match Every Food Container With Its Lid

This deserves its own category because Tupperware has apparently developed the ability to reproduce AND lose body parts.

I mostly buy glass food-storage containers because they last forever—some of mine I’ve had for years—but occasionally the lids wear out, and random plastic containers inevitably sneak into the cabinet.

So everything came out.

No lid?

Gone.

Mysterious lid with no container?

Gone.

Container that looks like it survived a small kitchen fire?

Thank you for your service.

4. Check the Lunch Boxes and Backpacks BEFORE Buying New Ones

Late August automatically makes me start thinking about new backpacks and lunch boxes.

This year I checked what we already had first.

My son’s backpack was ripped and definitely needed to be retired. But while cleaning his closet, I found another backpack I’d completely forgotten he owned.

So instead of automatically buying a new one for school, we used that.

One less thing to buy.

This is exactly what I’m trying to do more of: shop my own house before I shop a store.

5. Clear Out the Bookshelves

My son and I both love reading, which means books multiply around here quickly—especially after vacations.

I went through our bookshelves and pulled out books we’d already read and knew we weren’t going to read again.

Instead of throwing them away, we donated them to our neighborhood Little Free Library.

Now someone else gets to enjoy them, and I get a bookshelf with actual breathing room.

Win-win.

6. Yes, Even the Dogs Get a Fall Reset

Nobody is safe from the September Reset.

Not even the dogs.

I went through their stuff and tossed ripped toys, retired thoroughly destroyed nylon bones, checked their sweaters, and washed or replaced blankets that had seen better days.

Because if you’ve ever owned dogs, you know a blanket can go from “perfectly nice” to “why does my entire living room smell like Fritos?” remarkably fast.

7. Inspect the Towels and Reset the Bathrooms

Next: bathrooms.

I checked our towels and pulled anything stained, ripped, or just generally looking sad.

Then I made sure we were stocked on the boring things that become VERY annoying to run out of on a school morning:

Shampoo. Body wash. Toothpaste. All the basics.

I don’t need a glamorous bathroom makeover.

I just don’t want to discover at 6:45 on a Tuesday morning that three people have collectively used the last molecule of toothpaste.

8. Check Smoke Detectors and Stock Up on Batteries

This isn’t the sexy part of a seasonal reset, but it’s probably one of the more important ones.

I check our smoke detectors and make sure the batteries are good.

I also stock up on extra batteries for winter.

We live in the Pacific Northwest, and sometimes winter decides to make an early appearance. Windstorms and power outages happen, and I’d rather have batteries sitting in a drawer than realize we need them when the lights are already out.

9. Switch the House to Fall Scents

Is this essential to the functioning of my household?

Absolutely not.

Is it essential to me emotionally?

Yes.

The summer candles and scents go away, and the fall ones come out.

It’s such a small thing, but changing the scent of the house immediately makes it feel like the season is changing.

If I’m going to clean out expired spices, I deserve a pumpkin candle at the end.

10. Do a Blanket Audit

Once again: dogs.

I check the blankets we use on the couches and around the house.

If they’re washable and salvageable, they get a good wash.

If they have holes, smell permanently like dog despite repeated washing, or just look generally shabby, they get retired or replaced.

Because we’re about to enter peak blanket season, and I want the cozy blankets ready BEFORE I need the cozy blankets.

11. Get the Yard Ready for Oregon Fall

While I’m doing my thing inside, my husband tackles a lot of the outdoor prep.

He trims back my spring and summer flowers and gets things ready for the wetter months.

He also de-mosses the roof and sidewalk in preparation for fall.

This is one of those jobs that is much more pleasant to do while the weather is still nice than when Oregon has fully committed to being Oregon again.

12. Deep Clean the House

Every Labor Day weekend, I do a serious deep clean.

Baseboards get scrubbed.

I clean behind the entertainment center.

I move things around bookshelves and get into the places that don’t necessarily make it into my regular weekly cleaning routine.

To be fair, I did a LOT of this already this summer because of my giant organization project.

But I still like doing one final deep clean before school starts because I know once everyone is back into school-year schedules, life gets busy FAST.

13. Figure Out What We’re Actually Eating This Fall

Back-to-school planning immediately makes me think about two things:

Lunches and weeknight dinners.

Fall also means I’m heading straight back into soup season, so I look through the pantry and make sure I have staples like chicken broth and the canned ingredients I use regularly.

This isn’t about creating some elaborate three-month meal plan.

I just want Future Me to have options.

14. Plan the First Week of School Dinners

I put our dinners for the first week of school directly on my calendar.

The first week back is NOT the week I want to stand in front of the refrigerator at 5:30 p.m. wondering what I thought we were going to eat.

Everyone is adjusting to new schedules, activities, homework, and the general shock of having responsibilities again.

So I decide ahead of time.

One less decision.

15. Get the Family Calendar Under Control

Back to school means the family schedule goes from “What are we doing this weekend?” to:

Who has practice?

What’s coming up at school?

Where are we supposed to be tonight?

Whose birthday is next week?

Did somebody buy a gift?

WAIT, THAT’S TONIGHT?!

This is when I make sure we’re all on the same page about activities, appointments, birthdays, school events, and everything else coming at us.

It’s also one of the reasons my family organization systems have become such a big part of my home reset.

16. Wash Every Makeup Brush

I know.

This sounds like the most random item on the list.

But I LOVE starting fall with clean makeup brushes.

There’s something about it that feels like opening a brand-new notebook on the first day of school.

Fresh. Clean. Full of possibilities.

Except this notebook contains blush.

17. Do a Fall Beauty + Wardrobe Check

Once I’ve cleaned out my closet, I look at what I actually have for fall.

Same with makeup.

What needs to be restocked?

Is there something new I genuinely want to try?

What am I excited to wear again?

This isn’t an excuse to buy an entirely new wardrobe or makeup collection. In fact, I’m trying to do the opposite.

I want to know what I already own so that when I DO buy something, it’s filling an actual gap or it’s something I’m genuinely excited about.

18. Make a Fall Fun List—And Get a Head Start on the Holidays

The final thing on my September Reset list isn’t really a chore at all.

Once we’ve dealt with all the practical stuff, I start thinking about what we actually want to do this fall.

Because organizing your life is great, but the point is to make room to enjoy it.

Fall in Oregon is my absolute favorite, and I don’t want to get to Thanksgiving and realize we were so busy running from one activity to another that we missed it.

So we make a loose fall fun list.

Pumpkin patch.

Apple cider donut dates.

Farmers markets.

Cozy weekends at home.

Whatever we’re excited about that year goes on the list.

I’m not trying to schedule every second of our lives or create some elaborate Pinterest-worthy fall bucket list that becomes one more thing I’m responsible for completing.

I just want to be intentional about making time for the things we love.

But there’s another part of this step that has made a HUGE difference for me:

I start thinking about Christmas in September.

I know. We haven’t even made it to the pumpkin patch yet and I’m already talking about Christmas.

But hear me out.

Part of the reason I’m so completely over everything by January 1 is because December can become absolutely insane if I let it.

So in September, I start my Christmas lists.

I think about who we’re buying for, start jotting down gift ideas, and even begin Christmas shopping when I see something that makes sense.

Not because I’m trying to rush through fall—I absolutely am not. You will pry pumpkin season from my cold, fall-scented-candle-holding hands.

I do it because spreading Christmas shopping over several months helps me be more intentional about what I’m buying, keeps me from overspending all at once, and prevents that frantic December situation where I’m panic-ordering something at 11 p.m. because I suddenly remembered another person I need a gift for.

It also fits perfectly with what I’m trying to do in the rest of our house: less frantic buying, more intentional planning.

I can enjoy fall AND quietly make life easier for December Me.

She deserves that.

Why September Works Better for Me Than January

I think that’s ultimately why September feels so much more like a reset to me than January 1.

January feels like recovering.

September feels like preparing.

After years of working in education with my husband—and now raising a school-age kid—the rhythm of the school year is just ingrained in us.

Late summer naturally becomes the time when I look around and think:

What isn’t working anymore?

What don’t we need?

What needs to change?

What would make our days easier once school starts?

What do we want to make time to enjoy?

And maybe most importantly: What do we already have?

I’m trying to be more intentional about that last question.

My goal isn’t to create a perfectly organized house and then fill it back up with a bunch of new “fall essentials.”

It’s to simplify.

Use what we have.

Replace what actually needs replacing.

Plan enough that September doesn’t completely steamroll us.

Make time for pumpkin patches and apple cider donuts.

And maybe get a few Christmas presents tucked away so December doesn’t steamroll us either.

Then, when Oregon fall finally arrives, I can light my ridiculously fall-scented candle, make something hearty for dinner, and enjoy my favorite season instead of organizing a closet.

And when January 1 finally rolls around?

Hopefully I’ll be sitting on the couch recovering from the holidays instead of trying to reinvent my entire life.

That’s my kind of New Year.