Doing It All - The Fall Reset
Tools and Tricks That are Saving Us Right Now
Fall is usually a revival of sorts for families with children. The air gets cooler, the days shorten, and suddenly we’re back in a rhythm—school bells, soccer practice, weeknight dinners at the table. It’s the season of sharpened pencils, pumpkin patches, and that crisp little whisper that says: you get a fresh start.
On our last episode of Doing It All, we dove into how to best keep up productivity, organization, and your sanity during this busy stretch of the year. Fall is also a great time to start something new—whether that’s a healthier routine, a family tradition, or finally putting systems in place that keep mornings from feeling like a fire drill.
Because let’s be honest: if you don’t have systems, the season will run you instead of you running it. And since we refuse to let chaos win (most days), here are the exact things that are helping us reset our homes and routines right now.
🗓️ The Hearth Calendar
Sarah has tried countless planners, apps, and wall calendars, but this is the one that has finally stuck. It’s designed for families, with space for everyone’s schedules, meal planning, and even a spot for daily to-dos. It keeps all the moving parts of our week visible in one place, and honestly? It saves her from about five “Wait, what time is that?” conversations a day.
📅 Wooden Daily Routine Board
Maya uses this Montessori-style daily calendar and routine board with her daughter, Fallon, and it’s such a game-changer. It helps her visualize the days, learn about dates and weather, and feel included in the family rhythm. Plus, it cuts down on the endless “What day is it?” or “Do I have school tomorrow?” questions.
Personalized Items and Labels
In addition to saving you time, you might save your sanity if you get nearly everything monogrammed or labeled for your child. Fallon has this monogrammed backpack, lunchbox, water bottle and napsack from Pottery Barn Kids! Act fast, because it looks like this set was a limited edition and some parts of the collection are already out of stock. (Pro Tip: when customizing large items like backpacks—stick with initials instead of their full name for safety.) In addition to that, Maya puts these sticker labels on everything as well. They don’t come off in the dishwasher or in the laundry. She has iron on labels for clothing, labels in the bottoms of her shoes and basically on anything that could accidently get left behind or switched around at school.
👕 Over-the-Door Days of the Week Clothing Organizer
Prepping outfits for the entire week or even two is something Maya has done since Fallon was an infant. She hangs a similar organizer behind her bedroom door, and suddenly mornings are 80% smoother. No more scrambling for clean socks, arguing over shirts or telling her husband it’s 65 degrees this morning so she can’t wear a halter dress today. It’s all done in advance!
🍎 Swedish Dish Towels (a.k.a. Fruit-Savers)
Does Maya’s sustainability and environmental anxiety drive you crazy? Well, thanks to her idiosyncrasies—she learned this trick recently: swedish dish towels actually help keep fruits and veggies fresher for longer! It’s perfect for prepping days ahead. A small swap that saves both money and midweek meltdowns when the strawberries are still good by Thursday.
🥪 OmieBox for School Lunches
While Fallon has been in childcare since she was a baby, she’s never been at a place that provides meals. Maya and Forrest have been slaving away with her delicious and nutritious lunches for years now! But a wrench was thrown in their plans when they learned that her brand new school does not warm student lunches. This one has been a lifesaver these last two weeks! The OmieBox lets us prep school lunches ahead of time, keeps hot food warm and cold food cold, and has compartments that actually make sense for kids. Less stress in the morning, and way fewer “Ugh, everything is soggy” complaints.
⭐ Fallon’s Star Jar (Positive Behavior Incentive)
Maya started using Fallon’s Star Jar—a simple but effective positive behavior tool—and it’s been such a sweet motivator. Every time she does something afte rbeing asked the first time, is helpful, or responsible, she adds a star to the jar. When it fills up, she’ll earn a reward. It helps us get out the door a little quicker these days and turns the focus away from nagging and back onto celebrating the good! You could even modify this in a more immediate and budget friendly way by just drawing something similar each week!
⏰ Hatch Alarm Clock
Sarah mentioned the stop-light alarm clock, and that would certainly be effective with kiddos… but this one could really be for both kids and parents. The Hatch is a sound machine, night light, and clock in one. You can program it specifically to your child or your families needs. For the little ones, we use the “okay-to-wake” feature so they stay in their room until it’s time to get up. For us, it helps with winding down at night and waking up without that harsh phone alarm.
Personalized Bracelets
You also heard us mention Maya’s friend, Libby on this week’s episode! Not only for her female fantasy football league, but also for this absolutely genius idea of personalized bracelets for her kindergartener. She made one with both her bus and lunch number to help her girl through the day! We will absolutely be stealing this one in the future!
Why this matters
Fall can be overwhelming, but with the right systems in place, it doesn’t have to feel like we’re just surviving. These tools help us reclaim our mornings, make room for joy, and keep our homes running (somewhat) smoothly—even when life is full.
We’d love to hear what tools or rituals are saving you this season. What’s in your fall reset toolkit?
✨ Listen to the full episode of Doing It All right here!