Do you need an after-summer reset? Summer is fun but also very chaotic! We tend to let our normal routines slip. There are more social gatherings, vacations, sports activities, and if you have kids—lots of summer camps to navigate. All of this, combined with work commitments, can quickly turn our homes and lives upside down.
For me, the end of summer is when the kids go back to school. It’s a sign that it’s time to get our lives together again and start picking up the good habits that help us sail smoothly through the other three seasons.
However, getting back into this headspace and routine can be difficult at first, often feeling like you’re running around with your pants on fire. Why is this?
It’s because your space is cluttered, and you can’t get a fresh start unless you carve out some time to reset your spaces. I’ll walk you through five simple tips on how to accomplish an after-summer reset.
Tip 1: Declutter Your Space
With summer comes a lot of new clothes, sports gear, swim attire, beach bags, and more. Most people don’t take the time at the beginning of summer to declutter old items to make room for the new, so the clutter continues to build. Taking the time to declutter before moving into fall allows for a fresh start, both in your physical space and your mental space.
Step 1 – Choose a room to work in and gather your supplies:
If you want a quick win, choose a smaller space that will be easier to tackle.
First, zoom out and look at the room as a whole. Start identifying what’s in the room that doesn’t belong there.
This is your observation phase to see what you’ll need in terms of donation boxes, a relocation box, a recycle bin, and trash bags. You may also need some cleaning supplies.
It’s time to grab everything you’ll need to tackle the space.
Step 2 – Get to work:
Turn on some upbeat music and let’s get to work! Just as you zoomed out to see the full picture, now you’ll zoom in on one spot of the room.
It could be the corner by the door, working around the perimeter of the room, or a shelf up high, working your way down. It doesn’t matter where you start; the main goal is to focus on one small area at a time. This helps the decluttering process feel less overwhelming.
Another trick to help you focus is to set a timer for 30-40 minutes and set your phone on “focus time” or airplane mode. Work until the timer goes off, then take a quick break before starting another round.
Before you know it, your space will start to clear, and so will your stress levels!
As you work around the room, start filling up your donation box, relocation box, and trash bag with anything you are letting go of.
Step 3 – Finishing touches:
For the items that stay in the room, start creating categories and adding like-items together.
Put the categories away where they belong in the space you’re working in.
Anything in the relocation box should be taken to its appropriate room. It’s important to do this last to prevent getting distracted and going off-task. Or you can delegate the relocation box to a family member while you continue working in your focus space.
Remove the trash and take the donations to a local drop-off.
Take a moment to enjoy the space that’s now free of clutter and let those good feelings soak in.
Warning! Once you’ve been bitten by the decluttering bug, it’s hard to stop the motivation! When you’re ready to tackle another space, just repeat the steps above.
Tip 2: Re-establish Routines
Getting back to a structured routine is beneficial for our mental health. While it’s fun to let loose in the summer, by the end of the season, we often crave more structure in our lives. But snapping back into a routine can be challenging when our brains have been reprogrammed over the past few months.
The brain will naturally push back against structure until the routine has been practiced multiple times. So, how do we ease back in without major pushback from ourselves or our children?
Gradually shift sleep schedules back to normal:
Ease back into sleep schedules by pinpointing the desired bedtime and when the bedtime routine should start. If you’re not in bed by your desired time, evaluate what’s keeping you from reaching your goals.
Readjust as needed, but don’t give up. Remember, your brain is pushing back, especially if it’s used to the dopamine hits from scrolling social media before bed. Quality sleep is essential, so keep practicing and don’t give up.
Reintroduce morning and evening routines:
Evaluate morning and evening routines that work well for you and your family. Remove anything that doesn’t set you up for success in the morning or help you wind down in the evening.
Evening routines that include a 10-15 minute reset of the home will set your morning routine up for success. Involve the whole family in a quick tidy-up before bedtime. This includes your home office if you work from home.
If something in your routines isn’t working, take a moment to evaluate what needs to be readjusted.
Tip 3: Prioritize Health and Wellness
Summer fun usually leads to more indulgence in sugary treats, yummy food, and extra cocktails, leaving us feeling tired and dragging most days. It’s time to refocus on our health and prioritize wellness.
Plan balanced meals and snacks:
Always prioritize protein and veggies first in each meal or snack, then sprinkle in some carbs and healthy fats. By eating balanced meals, your energy will be stable, and you’ll avoid the brain fog often caused by sugar crashes. Remember to fuel your body regularly and drink plenty of water.
Recommit to a regular exercise routine:
Need to boost your energy and mood for the day? A quick power walk or strength training session will boost clarity in your brain like nothing else can. Ease back into regular exercise to avoid being overly sore and talking yourself out of exercising.
Schedule time for relaxation and self-care:
You can’t give from an empty cup. Make sure you carve out “me” time. That will look different for everyone—some practice meditation, while for others, it might be a hot bath, a massage, a pedicure, an evening walk by themselves, or watching their favorite show.
Do whatever fills your cup so you’re not trying to give when you have nothing left, which can trigger shame and guilt. I wish more women understood the power of “me” time.
Tip 4: Organize Your Calendar
Time management plays a huge role in staying organized and on top of daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Command Centers in the home are excellent when you need to take some things offline. Often, when our homes start to get cluttered, it’s because we’re allowing everyone else to control our time instead of setting boundaries around when we do things. Let’s take back control.
Sync calendars with family members or colleagues:
Using a digital calendar like Google Calendar allows you to create multiple calendars and color-code for different meetings or events. You can then share these with your partner/spouse or colleagues so they can keep up to date on what’s going on for the month.
For example, you might have a separate calendar for the following activities or events:
- Children’s activities that includes training, games, or competitions, or even a calendar for each child
- Self-care – where you schedule massages, pedicures, or date nights
- Important meetings
- Dr appointments
Using different calendars within your main calendar creates visual separation of different types of meetings or events and allows you and anyone you sync with to be on the same page.
This is another muscle that needs some reps for it to stick and become second nature, but when it does, life becomes a lot more manageable.
Set reminders for important dates and deadlines:
When creating events in your calendar, don’t forget to use the reminder feature that notifies you on your phone and in your email. It’s the worst feeling when you’ve missed a birthday, were late to an important meeting, or didn’t show up to a doctor’s appointment. All of this is avoidable when you use the reminder feature in your calendar events.
Plan breaks and downtime to avoid burnout:
When planning out your month, don’t forget to schedule breaks throughout each day. A quick 10-minute break can refresh your brain and keep you focused. Also, plan some self-care that allows you to fill your cup and reset each week.
Tip 5: Reflect and Set New Goals
Life is all about testing, evaluating, and readjusting. Yet most people keep treading water, just trying to survive year after year. The end of summer is the perfect time to reflect on what’s working and what’s not. Don’t wait until January to set new traditions or goals. Start now. Take what’s not working and try something new.
Journal about summer experiences and lessons learned:
Journaling is a great tool to express yourself, reflect on your experiences, and identify what you want to incorporate into your life. It’s also very helpful to document lessons learned. If all of this lives in your head and never comes out, then you have a very cluttered mind. Journaling allows clutter to be released and brings you so much clarity on what changes to make and goals to work towards.
Set achievable goals for the next few months:
Once you’ve identified areas for personal and professional growth, set SMART goals to help you achieve them over the next few months.
Specific – Be specific about what you want to achieve and why. How will this goal make your life better?
Measurable – How will you measure your actions and results? Will you keep a journal, use a spreadsheet, or a habit tracker?
Actionable – What actions do you need to take on a daily basis to achieve your goal?
Realistic – Is this goal realistically achievable within the timeframe you’ve set?
Time-bound – What date will you achieve this goal by?
An after-summer reset can do wonders for your life. Set aside some time to declutter your space and mind, re-establish your routines, prioritize your health, organize your calendar, and reflect and set new goals.
Just as it takes a village to raise our children, it also takes a village to be a happy well-centered adult.
If you need to get your life back on track ASAP, consider hiring a Professional Organizer to help you declutter and create organizing solutions that are easy to maintain. They can even help you set up multiple calendars in your Google Calendar and share them with anyone on your team.
Find a nutritionist who can help you implement a well-balanced eating plan.
A life coach can help you reexamine your life, make adjustments where needed, and, most importantly, help you stay accountable.
And remember – “Nothing changes, if nothing changes.” Courtney C. Stevens.