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Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

by | Sep 4, 2018 | Fall Nesting 2018, putter + nest

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Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

Hello, dear friends! And happy nearly-FALLLLLLLLL!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS! I’m so happy you’re here. Welcome to my annual FALL NESTING SERIES. In case you couldn’t guess, fall is MY FAVORITE time of year!

Fall Nesting Series:

Here are the posts so far! 

A Round up of Fall Doormats
Day One: An Autumn Mindset
Day Two: 20 Little Things
Day Three: Warming Up the House with Shutters
Day Four: How to Decorate Your Coffee Table in Any Season
Day Five: Early Fall House Tour
Day Six: Embrace Your Style (and adapt as needed)
Day Seven: Your Fall Morning Routine
Day Eight: Fall Puttering
Day Nine: Simple Ways to Create a Welcoming Fall Porch
Day Ten: Make Your Bedroom a Cozy Retreat
Day Eleven: Fall Home Refresh – 5 Ways to Bring Your Home to Life
Day Twelve: 14 Simple Fall Decorating Ideas
Day Thirteen: 3 Fall Activities for the Homebody
Day Fourteen: Cozy Things with Tassels, Textures, and Trims
Day Fifteen: Sweater Weather: Tips for a Warm & Cozy Home

Doesn’t the first day after Labor day just feel like fall to you? Well, even if it doesn’t feel like fall where you are, that’s OK. Fall Nesting around here doesn’t really depend on the weather or the date or even our current feelings.

Fall Nesting is first and foremost about nurturing an autumn mindset for our home, and we can start that today.

Fall Nesting is a series I have put together every year since the internet was invented (well, maybe not quite that long, but it’s been about 11 years now!). This series has been a long time favorite for me and gratefully for many of you, too.

These days people seem to start decorating for fall reallllly early! Like, I saw pumpkins in August. Maybe there was a competition this year to be first to show off pumpkin photos? I don’t know!

But y’all, I feel like that’s what has made my Fall Nesting series so unique all these years.

It’s not been all about a race to display pumpkins (even though I love them, too!). It’s not about being in a rush to have your porch or mantel decorated (although it’s fun to get inspired and motivated!). It’s definitely not about the pressure of keeping up with someone else’s timeline or expectations  for how to decorate.

It’s actually about NOT letting ourselves get sucked in to the pressure to hurry or have all the things other people seem to have, or to do all the things other people are doing. That’s just too much!

Deep breath. We can slowwww down.

Ah, doesn’t that feel better?

Let’s refocus fall on what matters and go from there.

Cultivating an autumn mindset begins with quieting the noise of what everyone else is doing so we can actually focus on the simple joy of creating our own cozy sanctuary.

Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

Fall nesting is the slow process of evolving our home through the season. 

Like the change of seasons outside, the seasonal evolution in our home can be subtle and gradual. It’s not something we need to start in a rush or complete in a day. Our home should also evolve with our season of life. Fall nesting is about slowing down the frenzied pace so we can be more aware of what we already have and can enjoy about our home, not stressing about all the things we don’t.

Fall nesting an opportunity to nurture ourselves.

This is a season to incorporate into our surroundings what comforts and inspires us, as well as what will be essential to our well-being in the months ahead.

By welcoming fall with a nesting perspective, we won’t need to spend this season anxious about the current state of our home or worried about the future. On the contrary, we can be more mindful of how we feel in our home and what we can do to today to take better care of ourselves in it.

Our home can be a more comforting sanctuary when we are more purposeful and intentional in accomplishing what will serve us well now and in the weeks to come.

Fall nesting is about creating a warm and inviting ambience. 

Sometimes the fall nesting process involves buying something new, but it may also mean letting go of things that no longer inspire you. You may want o incorporate what you already have or are inspired to gather over the season, or you may start by paring down the excess or simply rearranging you have. This season is about bringing together whatever layers of cozy textures and colors speak to you and creating the mood you want for your home.

Fall Nesting is about honoring and practicing comforting nesting rituals.

It’s focusing on the ways we want to nourish, nurture and gather the people we love in our home.

It’s the art of simply puttering around our home, finding joy in making it as cozy and inviting as it can be.

It’s about awakening our senses in our surroundings so we can fully savor the details and thrive in the place we call home.

It’s expressing gratitude for the season we are in and expressing that inner contentment in our surroundings.

Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

So now that you have a little peek into what this series will be all about, let’s get this season started. 

Welcome to the 2018 Fall Nesting Series, friends.

I do hope you’ll meet me here every morning for a little encouragement as well as fall inspiration and ideas, too. Knowing you will be here, ready and waiting, will inspire me. Please invite your friends to join us, the more the merrier.

Whether you’re here for the first time, or the eleventh time, or you’ve lost track, I would love it if you would INTRODUCE YOURSELF in the COMMENTS today! Tell us if or how long you’ve followed the blog and the Fall Nesting series!

Fall Nesting Series:

Happy Fall Nesting!

A Round up of Fall Doormats
Day One: An Autumn Mindset
Day Two: 20 Little Things
Day Three: Cozying Up the House with Shutters
Day Four: How to Decorate Your Coffee Table in Any Season
Day Five: Fall House Tour
Day Six: Embrace Your Style (and adapt as needed)
Day Seven : Cozy Fall Morning Rituals

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

*I hope you’ll also follow me on Instagram, I will be sharing snippets of this series and my fall home in my feed and on stories, too!

* If you do not yet subscribe to The Inspired Room, you’ll want to sign up now so you won’t miss out on the series or any future posts or news. 

* Be sure to share your own Fall Nesting photos on Instagram and use the hashtag #fallnesting so we can find you!

Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

Fall Nesting Series: An Autumn Mindset

Visit the following links for my fall & home sources:

Cozy Fall Shop

Fall Doormats

Shop My House

Find my Homemaking & Decorating Books

46 Comments

  1. Hannah Forman

    Good morning! I come to your website most days to ready any new post you have. My husband, twin toddler boys, and I live in a cozy Craftsman bungalow in TN. :-) On our fall bucket list is apple picking, camping, painting the living room and dining room, and a little landscaping!

  2. Jen

    Yea!!! So wonderful! Love this series

  3. Vanessa

    Hello! I’ve been reading here about five years, I think, and love your posts and your inspiration! We’ve just returned from our last camping trip of the season, we live in Western NY, and I’m looking forward to festivals and apple picking! My girls are 2 and 4 and we’ve got another little one on the way. This is such a fun age and we love doing things with them! We are also, slowly, in the process of moving, so this fall I want to attempt to continue making this space homey and sweet while I also look forward to making a new space our own.

  4. Tracie

    Hi, Melissa! I’ve been following along for about five or six years, I think. ? I’ve been part of your book launches and love those books! Im ready to slowly move into fall since September is full of travel to visit family, have fun, and even work. I want to give my neglected home some love this month when I’m able. I love fall! ?

  5. Franki

    You know…I can’t even recall how long I’ve followed your blog…it really could be 11 years!! I know I followed blogs before many even knew what a blog was…is it a word….I’ll have to google…is that a word…? “See you around the nest!” franki

  6. Amy

    I have been a subscriber for a long time. I remember when I first read the Fall nesting series one year and was so excited about it, now its probably the series I look forward to most every year. Remember when we made a list of 10 things we love most about fall (and shared the lists)? That was a good task because it helped me focus on enjoying the season before it slips away, as quickly as they start pushing Christmas decorations in the stores nowadays. This time around, we are considering selling our house in spring, so I will be looking at the fall decorations with a very critical eye and hope to pare things down to only that which I truly love, and supplement with natural materials such as pumpkins, gourds, etc. When those are done, they go onto the compost pile and the deer love to eat them, so it’s all good! Maybe you can revive Home Love Stories this fall so people are inspired to share their stories and nesting over there too :)
    Can’t wait for each morning!!

  7. Debbie

    Thanks for your inspiration and words. I enjoy reading your posts!

  8. Rasa

    Melissa, thank you from Geneva, IL

  9. Jo Jo

    I am so,excited for the fall Nesting Series! It’s my favorite! I’ve been following it and younsince 2012! I just LOVE Falk! Kids are back in school,and it IS still very much summer- like here in DE withntemps in the high to mid- nineties, but Instill feel the urge to slowly begin my fall nesting…for me, it’s going thru mynpantry and looking to see what I need to use up and or purchase for the fall/ winter yummy meals I’ll be preparing… When the days get cooler ( hopefully a lot cooler! lol) I’ll begin to bring in some Falk into my home and cozy up. Thank you for this annual series! It really fits our lifestyle down here in “ slower, lower DE”. ❤️

  10. Robin Y

    Hi there, Melissa! I’m Robin, and I’ve been reading your blog for about 3 years. The older I get, the more I cherish fall. We just relocated to North Carolina where fall is at its best! I cannot wait for the weather to usher us in!!! Looking forward to following along with your series.

    • Mary in Clemmons

      I just moved to North Carolina. I can hardly wait for the leaves to change. I love to decorate for fall, but my entire home is under renovation and also sprained my ankle. Hope I can find a corner to decorate.

  11. Bonnie Stoltzfoos

    Hi Melissa! :) I’ve been looking forward to this!
    My name is Bonnie and I think I’ve been reading your blog for 3-4 years? I love your books, too!

    I think this morning reading your post was one of the first times I realized I can nurture myself through this process, not just my family. :) I love serving them and creating a safe space for them… but it just felt like a loving reminder from God that He wants me to care for myself too through our home.

    Can’t wait to follow along! <3

  12. Lynn Marie

    I have been following along on your blog for about 5 years now from Shipshewana, IN. My favorite part of Fall is the nesting. I am always so ready for the busyness to SLOW down and to just be home to putter, nest, de-clutter and regroup. Looking forward to see what you have in store this year.

  13. Anne

    Thank you! You have nailed how I feel about decor hoopla out there right now! I LOVE fall, but I prefer to transition slowly with the season!!! I’m fairly new to your blog (couple of years), but love the home you have created for your family.

  14. Lynn

    I’ve been following your blog for about 4 or 5 years from Texas and always look forward to your blog posts. We had rain yesterday and it’s not as hot this week, so I’ve been looking forward to Fall coming. I’m ready for soups, stews, and pumpkin/apple desserts, along with Fall decorating. Looking forward once again to your Fall nesting series?.

  15. Shari Schempp

    I’ve been reading your blog for the whole 11 years! I was around for the first fall nesting series, and look forward to it every year. I always feel inspired when I read your posts. I’m ready to ease on into fall this year. ?

  16. Dori Garbutt

    Good Morning! I started following the blog just before you decided to move off the Peninsula over to Seattle. Which was just before we decided to move north to Gig Harbor. As you did, we moved to be closer to children…and grandchildren. So, I’ve followed 3(?) Fall Nestings. I Totally Enjoy your design style. I have s few of your design books. And what you’ve done with your back yard is Brilliant!

  17. Lorraine Mullins

    Hi just started following, 1st year so a newbie. I love that we can ease into fall. Everyone in my area is rushing to get their falls things out. It is still 90 degrees in SC so its hard for me to go full blown fall. We moved here from WV where it did cool down in September but even then we started out decorating with apples and pine cones then at the end of the month went for pumpkins and leaves. Looking forward to the daily inspiration.

  18. Anne

    Hi, I am Anne from Copenhagen, Denmark.
    My favorite time of the year is spring :-) But I still enjoy the Fall Nesting series.
    I have followed you for maybe 6-7 years, I think. And I will be around for a very long time :-)

  19. valarie sanford

    Thank you for a beautiful blog visually and heartfully, you inspire me everyday and I thank you! I’ve been following you for about 4 years, blessings! Valarie

  20. Sandy @ Shady Meadow Cottage

    Your blog was the first blog I started following and I’m not even sure how long ago that was. In fact, your blog was one of the things that inspired me to start my own blog. I’ve looked forward to your fall nesting series each year and have been inspired by all the ideas.

  21. Deanna Rabe

    I think I met you via your blog the year I began blogging, 2007. It’s been a long time and being a fellow autumn/fall lover, this is a series I look forward to every year!

    I live in Lancaster County, PA, I’m a wife and mom of six, four of whom are adults now. I love my home and have always made it ours and not worried about what others were doing. We open our home weekly to a big group of young adults, other friends and family. Our home is a welcoming place year round, but I feel like it really shines in the fall! Diffusers going, cozy space to sit and read or watch a movie, or talk. We host a brig fall fest on our four acre property every year, including hay rides, a big campfire, food, games for kids, or an outdoor movie. I could go on but I won’t!

  22. Ms. Maggie

    Yes, Fall is here in the PNW and the smoke is gone!!! Bring it on. I can feel it right now at our place on Hartstine Island so much- all the transients are gone and it is just the Home Team. Even at the Highlands place, kids will be going to school today.

  23. Lindar

    Gosh I’m not sure how long I’ve been reading your blog – maybe 5+ years?! I follow you on IG, too…Love the doggies and the cleanness of your home – & it photographs really well! Now that Labor Day is behind me in these West Virginia hills I’m ready to put red/white/blue to bed and autumn this place up. I’m slowly but surely whittling down my household belongings and am anxious to work on a new season of “stuff”!

  24. Judy

    Hi Melissa,
    I bought on of your books about a year ago and have since purchased them all. I started following your blog about 6 months ago and am looking forward to your Fall series. I’m from Fox Island WA and love reading your blog. Thanks!

  25. Debbie J Dodson

    So much what I need to hear. Life is so hectic. I want to try and keep up on this blog.

  26. Jewels

    Hi Melissa, I’ve been following you for a couple of years, but due to work travel the last couple of years this is the first time I am following your fall nesting series. I can’t wait!!!

  27. Leslie Blair

    Hi! I’ve been following your blog for a few years now – I’m not sure exactly how many. I just love your home and how you decorate. I enjoy hearing your advice and own quite a few of your books. I love the thought of our homes being a place of refuge and comfort. I see that in your home for sure – I just want to jump in the picture and get cozy! :)

  28. Laureen Watts

    Hello Melissa. I have been following your blog since the release of Love the Home You Have. I live in Ashtabula, Ohio and fall is my favorite time of year. I wonder if it’s because of my September birthday? I take a picture of the Japanese maple just outside my front window each autumn when it turns a flaming red hue. To me it means fall has arrived in our little midwest town. Looking forward to seeing what you have to share with us this year.

  29. Vicki B

    I recently discovered your blog. I own all your books and love them! I just completed your organization book tips and revamped my home from summer to fall on September 1. I am excited to learn from your journey and want to enjoy the process. I am obsessed with family and entertaining during my favorite season (fall) and look forward to your help on my path to joyous decorating. Can’t wait to see all your ideas! Your blog is my happy place.

  30. Debbie

    Hi Melissa! I live in Pittsburgh, PA and have been reading your blog for several years, at least 5. I also love all things fall. What makes this one so exciting is that we are moving into a brand new townhouse at the end of the month! I can’t wait for ideas to make it cozy! Thank you for all you do.

  31. Cheryl Logan

    Indeed a great read to share.

  32. Kerry Fountain

    I’ve been following the blog for a while now, but not sure exactly when … Love in encouragement to go at my own pace, learning to love what I have (and let go of what I don’t love), and going at my own pace (which varies day to day haha).

  33. Kisti

    I’m here! I’ve been following you (and buying your books) for around 5 years, maybe? It is consistently my favorite blog. Thank you for your thoughtful insights into making our homes places of peace and contentment.

  34. Cathy

    I’ve been reading your blog from the beginning. I love your Fall series the most, and I love the way you affirm it’s ok to ease in to season changes, that it’s not a race :).

  35. Sara

    Hello from Ontario, Canada!! :) My name is Sara and I’ve been following your blog for about 4-5 years now and your Fall Nesting series is what I look forward to every year. Fall is my favorite season ever as well! Last year I kind of missed it, being busy with my new baby girl but this year I’m looking forward to introducing my now toddler-girl to the endless wonders and charms of fall <3 I will be here not every morning but definitely every afternoon during her nap time ;)

  36. Shannon

    Hello! I saw your mention of the Fall Nesting Series and while i have not followed in years past, I just had to click through and come read your post because my mom always enjoyed your Fall Nesting Series. (My mom is a Teresa Andersen). This post made me think of her and the way she would embrace fall. I think i need some fall nesting in my life this year! I love the way you describe the process. So cozy!

    • Melissa @ The Inspired Room

      I’m so glad you’re here, Shannon! I sure miss your mom, and I know you do. She was such a sweet support to me and loved all things homey! ?

  37. Cheryl Tracy

    I found your book, Love the Home You Have a couple of years ago. Have been following you on Instagram since last year. I love fall and get to see some fall color since we moved to the Chattanooga area 3 years ago.

  38. Patricia

    I’m a fellow Seattleite (since 1977!) and love our fall. Some years I’m quick to decorate and welcome fall and other years, it takes me a little longer. I was ready for fall this year and last weekend got out my gourds and needle felted pumpkins and decorated the mantle and front door. I’ve re-arranged my pillows and pulled out one of my throws to cozy up the living room … even if the sun has been beaming down every day.

    I’ll wait a few weeks for hot spiced cider and pumpkin muffins.

  39. Donna Keidel

    Hi there!! I’m Donna from Columbus, Ohio… Fall is my FAVORITE time of year. We haven’t gotten into the perfect weather yet but it’s coming! It’s the time of year for relaxation, cuddling, flavor, and color. I’m really looking forward to it this year!

  40. Veronica Nightingale

    New to the blog since I bought your book Love the Home You Have. I am trying to make a very small house home. Just two of us, my husband and me. We are empty nesters and were widow and widower when we married 8 years ago. I moved from the roomy condo I had shared with my late husband and one cat to a small house with my second husband and several cats. We each have our own ideas of how “home” should look and I am finding it a challenge to get to a place where we both feel it is cozy. Hoping the book and the blog will help in this endeavor.

  41. Amelia

    Hello! I just sat down with my morning cup of coffee and stumbled upon this post. I will certainly now be following the blog and your instagram! I love your focus on creating a cozy fall mindset instead creating lengthy to do lists to accomplish all things fall. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

  42. Eve

    Hello Melissa
    I’m a newbie to your site from England. I read your ‘Love the Home you Have’ book first and keep coming back to it time and again for its inspirational warmth. I can open that book on any page and there is so much wisdom. Love your style. Best wishes.

  43. Christine

    Christine from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and this is my first fall nesting series. :-) I recently found your blog via kitchen remodeling pictures and daily routines posts and have stayed around.

 

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