Well friends, my house is a wreck! True story! Behind the pretty pictures and perfectly styled vignettes are totes of unorganized fall decorations, mail that needs to be sorted, closets that need to be purged, and the list goes on and on! Nevertheless I am on a mission to get things organized and deep cleaned before the holiday decorating starts right after Thanksgiving. I have been looking on Pinterest for helpful tips and today I am sharing some links to posts full of great fall cleaning and organizing ideas from bloggers. *This post may contain affiliate links.

I actually love cleaning! Having a messy home is not the norm for me at all, but as my blog has grown I have had to spend more time focused on it and have not yet learned how to balance blogging and home keeping. Fall is really my favorite time to clean as I feel a sense of accomplishment knowing the house will be clean and organized, ready to beautify for the holidays.  I want our home to feel clean, warm, cozy and welcoming to family and friends. There is nothing worse than clutter and mess creeping up on you!

via Creative Home Keeper

Most people who know me personally and have visited my home before I began blogging full time would not believe me if I said that our house is messy and disorganized, since that has never been an issue in the past. I was actually the one people came to for help with cleaning and organizing! Some serious chronic health issues got out of control this past spring and summer, and that has also played a part in the mess.

Here is an example of what you see on the blog…

Everything looks clean and put together this shot, but behind the sofa is a different story! I used to think that bloggers just played around decorating all day, took pretty pictures and got paid for it. WRONG! Blogging full time is hard work, and messy! Preparing for home tours is a huge job, and photo shoot days are chaos! Home tours can take several days (or weeks) to prepare between styling, photographing, editing and writing posts with deadlines. Often times I am rushing trying to get photos in between rain or the short period of the day when the lighting is right. That means quickly dragging things out and not really having time to put them back until the post is finished. Then, I am too exhausted to even think about cleaning!

For example, outdoor pillows and a poof from the front porch were haphazardly tossed inside while new fall pillows were styled for the Fall Porch and Patios Tours. A new rug for an upcoming sponsored blog post was just delivered and is in the way, with no other place to put it until the old rug is taken out and the new rug is put in it’s place. Totes of fall decor that is being unpacked while late summer decor is being packed away sit in the middle of the living room floor, while bags overflowing with faux florals that will be used in an upcoming blog post await their turn. While this may not seem like a huge mess, when these little piles of clutter are in every. single. room. it gets to be too much!

Source

Before I became a full time blogger our house really did stay clean! Other than my vintage junk and craft supply stash, things weren’t cluttered. Even when I taught music full time and sometimes had late after school rehearsals for musicals, I was able to stay on top of things. With blogging everything is centered around crafts, decorating, vignettes, tablescapes, home tours etc. which means constantly changing things around, and generally making messes! As my blog continues to grow, I have realized that I need to come up with a new routine and find some sort of balance between blogging and housekeeping.

via Put The Kettle On

I have some physical limitations which have made it harder to keep on top of things as well. Staying organized is a necessity and can really help reduce emotional and physical stress. Reducing clutter and getting rid of excess is even more important.

via First Home Love Life

This list may look really daunting at first, but checking off a few items at a time is accomplishing something at least! I am planning to seriously declutter and purge any unnecessary items—and I do mean business! I am not used to having a messy home like this, but the nature of the home decor blogging means that things are going to be shuffled around constantly. I am going to have to come up with a system for organizing my extra decorative accessories, vintage collectibles and craft supplies (a.k.a. “my stash”) since I drag them out quickly when inspiration strikes and then afterward I just stick them somewhere in the craft room where I can’t find them again! Getting rid of excess clutter is a great start.

via Polished Habitat

via The Typical Mom

Every October I have a ritual of cleaning out the pantry, spice cabinet and kitchen cabinets. I organize and stock up on all the essential spices, herbs and cooking tools that will be needed for holiday feasts. I get rid of any half working or old appliances. This is actually an enjoyable task as the smells of the spices are wonderful and give me all the fall feels. My husband gives the oven a deep cleaning for me. I start getting excited about all the cooking and family gatherings!

via First Home Love LIfe

Last week I was feeling overwhelmed with the messes and the busy posting schedule with the holidays ahead. In between decorating for fall with two home tours and busy sports schedules with my son, I just couldn’t seem to get the house back in order. I have evaluated the situation to try to figure out what the real issue is, and I think the root of the problem is in the basement. My craft room/vintage rotating junk storage is so packed that it is unusable! I keep reminding myself that taking things one room at a time  is the best way to make a dent in the mess. Over a few weeks everything should be back in orders.

Everything piled up here on the kitchen counter is junk from recent home tours or items I didn’t end up using and have to return. I have nowhere to put all this at present so there it remains. If I put it in the craft room abyss, I might not find it quickly if I need it this season! However there is plenty of great storage space in our basement so something needs to be done! While I have certainly seen much messier basements, ours is not being utilized to it’s full potential. The craft room really does have lots of room, and it is clean, dry and mold free, so if I had some nice shelves or cabinets down there I could store extra items that aren’t really used everyday and have them out of the way. For instance, the huge roaster and extra crock pots that are only used during holiday family gatherings, and any other non-essential kitchen items that are spilling out of cabinets could be stored until needed.

via One Crazy House

Even though the messes are overwhelming, I really am super excited about all the fun upcoming holiday decorating and blog posts! It will make life so much easier to have everything in it’s place again, or a lot less of it at least!

via The Happie Housie

Oh these craft spaces are dreamy! #goals!

One way to make cleaning more enjoyable is by using good smelling, all-natural cleaning products. I love Mrs. Meyers Clean Day! Right now when you sign up for Grove Collaborative you will receive a  set of Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products in the new fall scents for free! You can find all the details here.

via Clean and Scentsible

After everything has been deep cleaned, I love to take it a step further and make our home smell wonderful with an all-natural simmering fall potpourri. I also diffuse essential oils or burn all-natural essential oil candles with cozy fall scents. I love Cottage Candle Company! By the way, you can take advantage of 15% off of any order when you use the code AMBER at checkout. If you like prefer diffusers, you can also  visit this website.

Working on this post has me motivated to get started! I have been having some serious health issues so I can’t over do it, but my game plan is to thoroughly tackle one space at time, beginning with my craft room. My husband is a big help, so we should be able to get things back in order.  I will be sharing the progress here on the blog as I go along.

So is your house as clean as you would like it to be this time of year? I think everyone would agree that there is always room for improvement. Sometimes life just throws us curves causing things to get messy fast and it can be beyond our control. I have considered a cleaning service during autoimmune flares and when my husband is really busy with work. I know there are many of my blogging friends in Texas, and if you are in the Houston area you might check out maid service Houston if you ever need a cleaning service.

Is anyone else preparing for a deep fall cleaning? I love hearing from you dear readers!

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Amber

Get organized!