Continuing our series about how to prepare for fall, today we'll look at some decluttering.

Everything about winter and the holidays is easier when you start from a tidy space. It's easier to put up decorations if you don't have to move the mail that's on the mantel. Setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner is easier if the table isn't your auxiliary file cabinet.

Now, I'm not suggesting that you embark on a massive declutter in the weeks leading up to the holidays (though if you're up to that, have at it!). Instead, focus on the handful of places that become a problem when you have guests. Think about things like this:

• the guest room bed, closet, and drawers. (Will an overnight guest have a place to sleep and hang his or her clothes?)
• the hall closet that becomes a jumble of boots, gloves, hats, and scarves — some of which even match.
• the dining room table which becomes the repository for everything you can't decide what to do with.
• the kitchen table, covered with mail and school papers.

You get the idea. Once you've identified these places, discard or donate the things you no longer use. Put back what you actually need to keep handy. File all the paper where it actually belongs. If you don't need it, shred or recycle it. If you don't have files, now is a great time to make them.

If you need to store stuff, that's ok, just label the boxes well and promise that you'll make dealing with them a new year's resolution.

Ideally, before Halloween rolls around, you'll have done enough so that you can feel comfortable if holiday guests appear.