Easy Ways to Fall-ify Your Home

It's the time of year when we find ourselves filling our schedules until the new year. Between school events and so many holidays, our time is being stretched even thinner than usual.

This doesn't leave a lot of time to change up decor for every occasion. If you're like me, though, you still want a festive household. I've found a few hacks to ensure my home feels like fall without spending an entire day decorating. As a bonus, these easy tips are also toddler friendly... because that adds an additional layer to consider for decorations (IYKYK).

Here are my 5 best tricks for fall-ifying your home the easy way:

Make an Entrance

The outside of a home is just as important as the inside - sometimes even more so. If you don't often host guests, then having an outside display will be more appreciated than if you just keep the magic inside.

Unique to fall, you also may have trick-or-treaters who visit no farther than your front door, which can provide some extra motivation to make a welcoming entrance. I also find it so inviting and fun to drive up to my own house when it has some outdoor seasonal personality.

My go-to's for creating an inviting autumn entrance are a seasonal doormat, some pumpkins, mums (I reuse my summer pots since they are neutral), and a porch board.

Scent is Everything

One of the first things everyone notices when walking into a house is how it smells.

You can control so much of your home's atmosphere and how others perceive it just by how you choose to scent it.

My favorite way to scent my own home is with my Pura Diffusers. They are low-maintenance, so you don't have to remember to consider smell prior to having a guest over. I set the schedules on mine to run at times of the day when we would be most likely to host. Pura also offers so many scents to choose from. My tried and true for fall are Anthropologie's Honeycrisp Oakwood and Pumpkin Spice & Black Walnut.

I also like switching out all my candles to fall scents. I prefer to purchase non-toxic candles so I know they burn clean for my house and my family's health. I don't burn candles often, but even just incorporating them into my decor is a simple way to feel festive.

Think Practically

Although decorations are usually seen as visual and extra, it can make it more worth your time to make seasonal swaps if they also have practical uses.

I do this in two ways. The first is with my kitchen linens. I love the Geometry brand for dish towels and washcloths. They are quick-dry and microfiber, so they are less likely to smell and to gather germs. They come in tons of cute patterns, so you can find something to match your aesthetic. I always rotate these seasonally, which makes cooking and dishes more fun!

The other practical items I change seasonally are pillows in my entryway and on our primary couch. While still decorative, they are also used for comfort, so it's a win-win!

Don't Recreate the Wheel

It can be tempting to want to try to change up your displays each year so they look totally new and fresh (without having to always spend the money on an entire new collection of items). While I do try to do this by rotating where I choose to use different decorations, I also recognize my time could probably be better spent elsewhere instead of exercising my creative muscle for temporary decor.

I've strategically chosen some versatile, neutral decor items for each display area that fit the vibe of my home and can be used as more permanent fixtures. I pair them with seasonal pieces I can just swap out so I always have a complete look without thinking too hard about it. The permanent decor acts as a great base to anchor the whole vision.

A great example of this is my fireplace area. I have a vase and candlesticks that I mostly keep up throughout the year, and I swap out the garland and other items on the mantle to give it different seasonal appearances. Right now, I'm using a straw garland and have pumpkins intermixed.

Involve your Family

A great way to make the decorating process easier is by considering what decorations your family will appreciate most. This will give you direction on where it pays to focus your time.

One thing I always do is switch out featured books on my daughter's toy shelf so they are aligned with the time of year. Right now, she has all pumpkin, Halloween and fall books featured on her toy shelf. She still has access to other books, but these are placed in a more prominent area that stands out and even "fall-ifies" her space.

Also, I enjoy having seasonal touches in most areas of my house, but a more private space (like a bedroom) probably won't be as important to your family or any guests. Instead, I would recommend sticking to adding touches to highly-trafficked, communal areas.

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For the autumn months, the one other thing I do to minimize the time required for decorating is to focus on fall rather than Halloween. I can leave fall decor up through November until I switch to Christmas and winter, whereas any Halloween decor would need to come down at the end of October.

I did add a few pops of Halloween into my decor this year, because I thought it might be fun for my daughter, but I made sure these will be easily to switch once Halloween is over. One example of this is with our candy bowl. We currently are using a ceramic ghost bowl. Come November 1, I'll easily be able to pour the candy into a plain ceramic pumpkin bowl without much effort.

All of these tips help me to reduce the time I spend decorating while still being able to enjoy the cozy feel of fall in my home. I've chosen to focus on small pops of the season rather than elaborate displays, which feels more natural to my decorating style and makes sense with a curious toddler living in my home.

Do you have any hacks that have helped you to streamline your seasonal decorating (especially for fall)?