A Seasonal Reset Before the Clocks Change

Autumn arrives quietly at first — a cooler morning, an earlier sunset, a scattering of leaves on the path — and then all at once, with wet school runs and a sudden hunt for the winter coats. A little time spent now, while the weather is still mild, saves a great deal of soggy chaos later. The good news is that preparing your home for the colder months isn't a marathon of scrubbing. It's a handful of sensible tasks, done in the right order, that make the house feel calmer and drier from October onwards.

Start Outside While the Weather Allows

Everything outdoors is easier to deal with before the rain sets in properly. Put on a pair of gloves and work from the top of the house downwards.

• Clear the gutters. Use a telescopic gutter rake or a long-handled scoop to lift out leaves and moss. Check the downpipes too — a quick flush with a hose will show you whether water is running away freely or backing up.
• Lift drain covers and clear any debris from the gully beneath, particularly near the kitchen and bathroom outlets, where soap and leaf litter combine into a stubborn sludge.
• Store garden furniture. Wooden and rattan pieces last far longer if they're kept in a shed or garage. If that's not possible, stack chairs and cover them with a breathable cover rather than a plastic tarpaulin, which traps condensation and encourages mould. Wipe metal frames and touch up any chips before storing, and bring cushions indoors.
• Wash outdoor blankets and throws. Picnic blankets, hammock covers and garden cushions that have spent the summer outside should be washed according to their care labels — usually a gentle 30°C cycle — then dried thoroughly in the open air before being folded away. Store them in a cotton bag or breathable storage box rather than sealed plastic, with a cedar block or dried lavender to keep moths at bay.

Build a Proper Landing Zone at the Front Door

If there's one place that determines whether your home feels organised through autumn and winter, it's the first two metres inside the front door. Mud, leaves and wet umbrellas follow everyone in, so give them somewhere to go.

• Place a coir mat outside and an absorbent cotton or microfibre mat inside — two mats genuinely make a difference.
• Add a shallow boot tray for wellingtons and school shoes, and a lidded basket or bucket for umbrellas so drips are contained.
• Fit wall hooks at adult and child height so nobody's coat ends up over the banister. A row of hooks costs very little and instantly reduces hallway clutter.
• Keep a small lidded box for hats and gloves near the door. Labelled with each child's name if you're feeling ambitious, unlabelled if you'd rather not know who lost what.

Sort the Coats and Boots Properly

Now is the moment to bring out the winter layers — and to be honest about what's worth keeping.

• Empty every pocket before washing. You will find receipts, conkers and at least one pen.
• Wash what can be washed and hang it to dry fully. Waterproof shells benefit from a wash-in or spray-on reproofer once a season; it restores the water-repellent finish that keeps everyone dry.
• Dry boots the slow way. Stuff them with newspaper and leave them in a cool, airy spot — never on a radiator, which cracks leather and warps rubber. Brush off dried mud with a stiff brush and condition leather uppers.
• Store wellingtons upright rather than folded, and check children's boots for fit now, before the first really wet morning.
• Coats that are out of season can go into cotton storage bags or under-bed boxes. Avoid vacuum-sealing down jackets and waterproofs, as compression damages the loft and the membrane.

Reset the Rooms You'll Live In Most

Heating season brings its own housekeeping jobs, and they're far pleasanter done in daylight.

• Dust radiators and bleed them before you rely on them. Cold spots at the top of a radiator usually mean trapped air.
• Wash windows and their tracks, so you're not looking through summer grime all winter.
• Clean extractor fans and change any filters in the kitchen and bathroom, and vacuum the tumble dryer's lint filter housing.
• Wash and store summer bedding and lightweight pyjamas, then bring out the heavier duvets and check they've stayed fresh in storage.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and replace batteries — a good habit to pair with changing the clocks.

Make It Easy to Maintain

Once the big jobs are done, a couple of small habits keep everything in order. Try a ten-minute reset each evening: shoes into the tray, coats onto hooks, umbrellas emptied and hung. Keep a basket by the stairs for anything that belongs upstairs, and a small box by the door for the school-run essentials — gloves, hat, keys, spare socks. None of it is glamorous, but it means that when the first truly wet, dark week arrives, your home is already working with you rather than against you.