5 Ways To Freshen Your Fall Self-Care Routine
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The Fall season comes with many opportunities to freshen up your fall self-care routine. Here are 5 tips for doing so.
The Fall season comes with busy schedules, colder weather, shorter days, exciting holidays, and many opportunities to freshen up your fall self-care routine. Before you know it, the holiday season will be here, and we’ll be entering another exciting new year.
Many people, including myself, use the fall season as a time of reflection, practicing additional gratitude, and goal-setting for the new year. The fall also provides a special opportunity to freshen up your fall self-care routine with something more seasonal.
Why You Need Self-Care In The Fall
Autumn is a season of constant change. The green leaves slowly turn into a multitude of red and orange hues. The weather starts to get colder and the wind becomes slightly crisp, and the sun goes down sooner.
Along with these seasonal changes, you may experience some personal changes in your life such as a longer work schedule, more financial responsibilities, and differences in your physical and mental health.
With all of these constant developments, it’s easy to experience burnout, seasonal depression, or even extreme general anxiety. That’s where some fall self-care comes in. Self-care helps to mitigate the negative effects of stress, illness, and depression.
Practicing some self-care can help you to appreciate the beauty of the fall season. With that said, here are five ways to freshen up your fall self-care routine.
Fall Self-Care Routine Ideas
Start A Gratitude Journal
Autumn is a time to celebrate change, and our physical and mental selves register these changes, which causes us to be more reflective as Thanksgiving approaches. The fall season also provides the perfect opportunity for you to think about your intentions, goals, and resolutions you want to pursue in the new year.
Practicing gratitude is important for living a happier and healthier lifestyle. Learning how to appreciate the smaller things in life will help you to think more positively, cultivate an optimistic mindset, and be more present-minded.
Here are some small ways you can start using a gratitude journal this Fall
- Simply list out things you’re grateful for that day
- Follow a gratitude journal prompt
- Write a paragraph about one thing you’re grateful for and why
- Write about something that made you feel grateful
- List out ways you want to practice gratitude
For inspiration on creating your gratitude list, check out this post.
Develop A Through Skincare Routine
I’ve said this many times before. How you physically take care of yourself affects how you feel and act towards yourself. That’s why so many beauty gurus say, “skincare is self-care.” As the weather gets colder, it’s important to review your current skincare routine and adjust it.
For example, instead of using a lightweight moisturizer, you should start using a heavier one to help keep your skin from cracking or becoming dry. Before you buy anything new, you should consult your dermatologist for advice on how to take care of your skin type.
Here are some fall skincare products that you should stock up on
- Heavy Moisturizer
- Exfoliate
- Vitamin C products
- Hand and foot creams
- Face Oils
Declutter Summer Wardrobe
Decluttering, organizing, and cleaning is one of my favorite ways to physically reduce mental stress. When I start throwing away old t-shirts, flannels, or boots that are worn out, I feel so much better! Decluttering during a seasonal change can help you prepare for the weather, holidays, and events that are ahead.
Here are some fall decluttering tips
- Throw out sandals and flip-flops that are broken or trashed
- Donate old and gently used t-shirts, bathing suits, and tank tops that you’ve outgrown or no longer like
- Take stock of your summer clothes and organize accordingly in bins that have a cover.
Get Into The Habit Of Daily Meditation
If there was ever a perfect time to start meditating, it would be during the Fall. As schedules become jam-packed with due dates, assignments, and holidays, it becomes harder to find a moment of silent peace for yourself.
Starting a daily meditation routine helps you to stay grounded and relax. Meditation is a form of self-care that requires you to focus your mind on a single thought and eliminate unnecessary thoughts and distractions. This may seem challenging to do at first. However, with practice, meditation can become an adequate tool for finding peace before a busy day this Fall season.
Add Outdoor Aerobic Exercise To Your Daily Routine
As the seasons change, it’ll be harder to maintain a consistent exercise routine. However, doing just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise such as walking, running, or cycling can help you stay healthy, lose weight, and take care of your cardiovascular system.
Studies show that going on a brisk 30-minute walk every morning is the equivalent of going on a traditional 2-mile run. Isn’t that crazy? While exercising, you can also take some time to admire nature’s beauty, which comes with its own set of mental health benefits such as reducing anxiety, feeling calmer, and inducing positive emotions.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many ways you can freshen up your Fall skincare routine. By simply adding in some new habits, you can further improve your healthy lifestyle and find happiness even as the seasons change. Self-care isn’t limited to what you’d normally do daily. It’s about adding in that one little thing that can make a difference in your day.
I hope you enjoyed reading about some of these self-care habits. What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments below.
I just decluttered my wardrobe the other week and feel so much better now that I can see what I really wear and not what I hope one day I can wear again! I also need to get back into running outside, now that it’s not so hot – great tips, Riyah, thank you 🙂
I’ve always wanted to give running a try, but I am not the best breather. Glad to hear about the decluttering, it feels good to have a cleaner space.
These are some really great suggestions to help change your self-care routine for the Autumn months. I am definitely wanting to get back into journaling this month. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren x
I’m also getting back into journaling this month and daily yoga. Thanks for reading.
Fall is my favourite time of the year! I need to start thinking about decluttering Emmy wardrobe, I’m such a hoarder! But I really need to be brutal but I think I’ll be at peace once nothings overflowing in there. Oops!
HAHAHA I’m such a hoarder too, but I forced myself to clean my summer wardrobe this year. I’m also not buying a lot of clothes for the Fall and Winter season.
Hi Riyah, What a fantastic post! It’s so full of useful information. It was a great reminder of what’s so often overlooked in my busy world. I can’t wait to spend more time and utilize the info you have given me. I’m just over three of the most stressful weeks in years and have really struggled to focus on me. It’s very good advice to pay attention to myself, relax and enjoy my time.
I’m so sorry to hear about the stress Nikki. You should definitely take some well-earned time off for yourself.
These are excellent tips! I also think skincare in autumn and winter is so important as your skin tends to get dry. I love Vitamin C in the morning for my face and hyaluronic acid in the evening with a good moisturizer. Super helpful post thanks for sharing!
I’m a huge Vitamin C girl and I also really love to use retinol products. I recently started including a double cleanse into my night routine.
I think this coming season is the best time to so a self-care routine refresh; I will be doing the meditation as I think that is a really nice way to introduce some relaxation to help de-stress myself!
Meditation is such a nice way to start the new season.
This was such a good post! For a long timeI’ve never been a “self-care” kind of person but during this last year I started a skincare routine, that I try to keep at least in the morning, and it’s absolutely working wonders. It wakes me up in the morning and just give me a sense of vitiality! I will absolutely keep doing it during fall.
For the rest… errr, I’m terrible at any kind of meditation or excercise routine. And tbh in my everyday life I got little time for that, but I started to do some daily stretches during my work. Same discourse for gratitude, but I’ve been using a very cute app to keep me up with daily and short reflections. It’s called Finch – if you ever wish to check that out!
I’ll definitely follow more the suggestion of decluttering. I do it only sometimes but I’m sure my wardrobe would benefit a great deal
I’m happy to hear that you adopt a little self-care into your life despite your crazy schedule. I’ve actually never heard of the app Flinch, but it does sound very interesting. Thanks for the suggestion. Meditation is not for everyone, but I do recommend possibly giving yoga a try. It’s a great way to move your body and relax at the same time. Thanks for reading.
I’m working on the meditation, but it’s somehow it’s a bit difficult for having a lot of things. These are great tips. Thank you for sharing!
Meditation is definitely harder than it seems. I find that yoga helps with this. Thanks for reading.
Lovely ideas on how to adapt self-care for the season. I always need to declutter so that’s my priority!
Decluttering is my number one priority every season. I hate seeing a pile-up in junk.
Great tips. I am getting ready for the summer declutter and even spotted some orange leaves on the trees today!
I just finished decluttering and putting away my summer clothes. I love seeing the changing colors in the leaves.
I need to do this. I don’t always exercise as much in the fall and tend to stay indoors more as the weather changes. I really need to prioritize my self-care.
It’s tempting to hibernate indoors as the weather gets colder. I think there are ways you can incorporate exercise into your at-home routines without having to go outside. For example, you could always do HIIT yoga.
Because I suffer with seasonal affective disorder it’s always good to get my self care practice in order before the colder months.
Thanks for these tips.
I also suffer with SAD and I completely understand having to have the self-care in place prior to the colder season. Thanks for reading.
Change of seasons is the perfect time to rethink our routine. Thanks for sharing these great tips.
Of course! I also agree that the seasonal changes is the perfect opportunity for us to rethink or self-care routines.
I love these tips, because I think self-care is more important in the fall and winter than any other time, because it really is so much easier to burn ourselves out and struggle with depression and anxiety. I’m with you on moisturizer being important. I had to switch mine up last week because the lightweight one I was using just stopped cutting it, as it does every fall when I fight dry skin constantly. Thanks for the tips!
YES, I’m so glad you mentioned the depression and anxiety. I tend to suffer the most as we approach the colder seasons, and I find that practicing self-care helps me to stay on top of my mental health.
I love all these ideas to freshen up your fall self care routine. Thanks so much for sharing!
You’re welcome. Thanks for reading.
I love this! I think taking care of yourself is a must. Journaling doesn’t really work for me but I do try. Exercises outside are the best for me and I always try to find more time fir them. Updating skin care routine with seasonal products and impact is a must for me as well.
Journaling is not for everyone, granted. But, if you’ve tried that’s what counts. I’m glad you found some self-care methods that work best for you.
There are so many amazing ideas here for sure, I deffo thinking getting out into the fresh air and working out is a must do for sure x
I agree, especially as the weather gets cooler. Going out will be even more important as the days get shorter as well.
these are wonderful suggestions for the upcoming fall season. really looking forward to the breezier weather and all that comes with this colorful season and all the self care i can include.
I’m truly looking forward to this season as well and have already planned my fall-themed self-care days.
These are all amazing ideas and really have to start getting ready for Fall! I really love the idea of changing up the skincare and taking time for yourself to meditate! x
Thanks for reading Cristina. I think changing up your routines is important especially during the transitional period in between seasons. I love meditating in the Fall.