September Checklist-10 Things to do Around Your Home & Garden

Hello Friends!

It’s a new month and a great time to plan some projects around your home. I am a list maker…yes, one of those people who lives by the list. I believe in planning ahead and I always make a list at the beginning of each month of what I’d like to accomplish. Today, I am sharing some of my September’s plans with you.

Here are 10 things I plan to do around my home:

Sort through summer clothes that I did not wear this season and donate them. Let’s be honest, most of our clutter comes from clothing. I typically wear the same clothes over and over, but still have a closet stuffed full of clothes I don’t wear. Why? I’m sure it’s a girl thing, but I am slowly attempting to stop the madness and gradually pull unneeded clothing out for donation. The change of seasons always seems like the best time to do this task. I usually try to pull donations out over a weekend and load them in my car so that I can quickly and easily drop them off at a local non-profit on Monday.
Schedule family holiday photos. My family has a photo taken each fall for our Christmas cards, so the photo needs to be taken no later than early November to allow time to order cards, address them and get them in the mail by the first week in December. Since 2020 (Covid), I am finding that a lot of photographers are booking out dates months in advance. Go ahead and get your photos scheduled early so you’re not scrambling later.
Organize garage and outbuildings. As the weather begins to cool, I like to clear out the clutter before the holidays. My town actually allocates a week in October where they’ll allow you to place large items on the curb for free haul away. I mark the week on my calendar like it’s a holiday! I am a hoarder by nature and stash so many items throughout the year in hopes of crafting with them. Making a day and time to sort through these items with the promise of removing some of them is always needed at my house.
Take an inventory of baking supplies and spices. With the holidays approaching, September is a great time to go through grocery items I know I use during the holidays. By writing down these supplies and groceries now, I can start picking them up as they go on sale. Have you looked at the prices of spices lately? If you wait until you’re completely out, you’re more likely to pay full price. Knowing what you need now will help you find better deals later.

Make any needed exterior repairs to your home before cold weather sets in. Check exterior doors for gaps and missing weatherstripping. Walk around the exterior of your home and look for any damaged siding, gaps or chipping paint. Make repairs necessary. I have some rotted wood on my mailbox stand that I plan to work on this month. I also need to repaint my front door.
Get inspiration for the holidays. Take some time to go through magazines and Pinterest to get inspiration on decor, gifts and recipes for the upcoming holidays. (If you’re like me, I like everything and Pin waaayyyy too much.) Taking the time to get inspired and know what direction you want to go in will save you time and money in the long run. Once you get inspired, you’ll then need a plan. (See #7)
Plan upcoming Christmas crafts for decorating and gifts. This year, I am making homemade vanilla flavoring for Christmas gifts. Since it takes 3-6 weeks to make, I am getting a head start by making the flavoring in September so it will be ready in time. If you’d like to plant paperwhites to bloom by the holidays, they will need to be planted by October. Go ahead and buy your paperwhite bulbs as soon as you see them in the store and have them ready to plant. Do you want to make Christmas ornaments and decorations? Start NOW…I make a lot of my decorations and they never come together as quickly and easily as I have it organized in my head. Crank up some Christmas music, get jolly and work on Christmas projects in September. You’ll be glad you did.
Divide and transplant perennials. I live in North Georgia and am in Zone 8a. This September, I will be transplanting and dividing iris and daylilies in my yard. If you have overgrown perennials, research to see if you can divide them and the recommended time to transplant and divide those plants for your zone. This is one of the best money saving tips for the garden. My mom taught me this trick because she always had such a beautiful yard with plantings and flowers but she rarely bought them…she continuously divided what she had.

Daylilies that I divided and transplanted into a raised bed

Take cuttings from begonias and coleus to root indoors over the winter. Begonias in my area are usually considered annuals. I have some beautiful angel wing begonias that I am going to bring indoors before the first frost in hopes of keeping them alive through the winter. For now, I plan to snip cuttings from both my coleus and begonias and try to propagate them. Similar to #8, you can save money and have beautiful plants by taking a little time to multiply what you already have. I am going to attempt to root my begonias and coleus two ways. First, I will easily snip cuttings and put them in water until roots form. Once roots are formed, they can be planted in soil. The second way to root begonias and coleus is to take cuttings, dip them in rooting powder and place them directly in soil.

Make any cosmetic updates inside your home before the holidays. I know the phrase of the day is “before the holidays” but “the holidays” will be here before we know it. Planning and doing the work now will relieve so much stress once “the holidays” come. For me, I want to update my kitchen and replace the curtains in the upstairs loft. There are several more projects that I’d like to take on, but these will be my starting point.

Here’s a BONUS item! #11–Change all of the scented candles to fall-themed scents. If you currently have spring and summer candles out, now is the time to change over to the pumpkin scents! I have found a wonderful candle at Bath & Body Works that smells unbelievable even when it isn’t lit! Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun. It smells like baked cookies, cinnamon and a pumpkins pie all wrapped in one. By far, this is my favorite candle scent this year. Both of my girls have this one, too. I promise, it’s addictive.

Now you all know what I’ll be doing the next few weeks! Although there’s many fun things that I’ll enjoy during the month, knowing that these items on my list will get checked off is pure joy for me!

Thank you so much for stopping by Mulch and Paint today!

Until next time,