Create One Place for Everything Leaving the House
Designate one spot for returns, donations, borrowed items, and packages that need to be mailed. Keeping outgoing items together prevents them from disappearing into closets or sitting in different rooms for weeks. Make checking that spot part of your normal routine whenever you leave the house.
Something to do today:
Clean the things you normally forget. Think remote controls, light switches, doorknobs, cabinet pulls, or the inside of your trash can lid. Ten minutes is plenty.
Something to do this week:
Take a walk just to notice fall. No step goal or workout required! Pick a pretty route, leave your headphones at home, and notice what’s changing around you.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Page 70 in The Simplified Cookbook
Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup ranch dressing
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
2 cups shredded chicken (about 2 chicken breasts or 1 rotisserie chicken)
1/2 cup buffalo suace
Optional: 2 green onions, diced
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together cream cheese, ranch dressing, and half the mozzarella cheese until melted and combined.
Add chicken and buffalo sauce and stir to combine. Pour into baking dish.
Top with remaining mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
Hack: Make this in a disposable pan and bring it to your next football party! Everyone will love it, and when the party’s over, there’s one less dish to bring home and clean. Win-win!
Get ahead of your week & make time for the things on your agenda!
Send out birthday cards for upcoming October birthdays.
Plan one night this month to host friends for dinner — casual, nothing fancy, just set the date.
Replace toothbrush heads and razor blades
Confirm your voter registration status
Buy Halloween costumes and candy before the last-minute rush
👇What else are you putting in your planner this week?
Laura is loving this laundry basket to roll through her house and pick things up. Genius!
The brown and white polka dot dress we’re still not over.
Our team is split between cute Halloween decor and spooky Halloween decor, and these little ghosts somehow meet right in the middle. Even better, they’re only $5!
It’s officially soup season, and we’re all swooning over this BEAUTIFUL non-toxic, nonstick pot. Apparently, it makes your cooking taste better and your stove look better too!
Wait until you feel this blanket. It’s such a good dupe for a much more expensive version. Every color is so pretty, but the espresso adds such a rich, cozy look to any room.
This pink face mask will be saving our skin through the dry, cold months.
Liz and Lindsey both finished Our Perfect Storm this week and talked about it on every meeting. It’s safe to say the both loved it!
These flats were everyone’s favorite last week, and we totally get why. Definitely staying on repeat!
This corduroy dress feels made for fall. Love the color!!
Lindsey just got this bag and is already making everyone else want it. It’s hands-free, goes with everything, and the quality is SO good.
Each week, we're answering your real-life questions — about routines, meal ideas, work-life balance, favorite movies, and everything in between. Got a question? Leave it in the comments!
Q: “What is something you always put on your calendar before October gets away from you?”
Emily: A football Sunday get together. I love making a big pot of chili with all the toppings while everyone watches a game.
Brittany: We love to go apple picking, and there are so many good places near us to check out. I expect there will be a lot of apple recipes on the meal plan this October, along with some really sweet photos and memories.
Whitney: A trip to the pumpkin patch! My kids looove picking out their own pumpkins, and I love soaking in the cool air and October vibes.
Dusty: I put the holidays on the calendar before the holidays put me on the calendar. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas, family gatherings, school events, travel, and all the “We should get together before Christmas!” plans, things can get crowded quickly. I like to get the big things down early so I can actually enjoy the season instead of realizing on December 20th that I somehow agreed to three dinners on the same night.
Laura: I come from a big college football family, and we always prioritize getting an in-person game on the fall calendar that we can all get to. A favorite fall tradition. Go Irish!
Carly: Halloween party plans! We love to host a little bonfire costume party at our house, and we always have a big list of To-Do’s for it — so the sooner that’s all scheduled out, the better!
Lindsey: I try to get at least one hosting night at our house on the calendar before October gets away from me. We love having our friends over, especially in the backyard, and the October weather is just too good not to take advantage of. I’ll come up with some kind of theme, text everyone a date, and then use it as an excuse to go a little overboard on all the details!
Liz: Our pumpkin patch trip! Aka my excuse to snag the best apple cider donuts. If I don’t pick a weekend in advance, the month sneaks away! Also, I always always always get my Halloween candy the first weekend of October. That way, I don’t forget and things aren’t picked over.
🩷 Have a question for our team? Leave it in the comments and your Q might be featured next week!
Our NEW Holiday Collection launches tomorrow!! Join Emily LIVE on EmilyLey.com to see all the details at 12pm EDT.
Lindsey is working on all the fun taglines, captions, and campaign themes that will take us through the end of the year. We’re convinced her brain is writing captions at all times.
Laura is deep in designing and planning out the website for Goodpaper. This secret project is getting more exciting by the day!
Whitney and Carly had the best holiday photoshoot with an incredible group of models. We’re so grateful we get to meet the real customers who bring Simplified to life!
And we can’t even believe we’re saying this, but Liz put a Q1 planning meeting on the calendar this week. Somehow, we’re officially talking about 2027!
How to Build Your Fall Capsule Wardrobe
Think of a fall capsule wardrobe as your cute little uniform for the season: a group of pieces you love, that work together, and that actually make sense for the life you’re living.
That last part matters! Before you start pulling pieces, think about what’s actually on your calendar this fall. Are you heading into an office? Working from home? Running kids around all afternoon? Going to football games, date nights, school events, or lots of casual dinners? If you’re spending most of your week as kid Uber, a closet full of gowns probably isn’t going to make getting dressed any easier.
You do not need to buy a whole new wardrobe to build a capsule. Start with what you already own, what you genuinely love wearing, and what fits the plans you actually have!
Pick your 3 go-to bottoms. Start with the jeans, trousers, skirts, or leggings you already reach for most.
Choose 4–5 easy tops. Think tees, button-downs, lightweight sweaters, and pieces that can easily mix and match.
Add 2 layering pieces. A cardigan, blazer, denim jacket, quilted jacket, or whatever works best for your everyday life.
Choose 2 pairs of shoes. Pick the pairs that work with almost everything and are comfortable enough to actually wear.
Stick to a simple color palette. Choose a few colors that naturally work together and, most importantly, that you actually love to wear. This makes mixing and matching everything so much easier.
Create 3 outfit formulas. Think jeans + sweater + loafers; trousers + tee + cardigan; or dress + jacket + boots.
Try everything on. If something doesn’t fit well, feel good, or work with the rest of your capsule, take it out.
Take photos of 5 outfits you love. Save them in an album on your phone for mornings when you’re convinced you have nothing to wear.
Notice what’s actually missing. Don’t shop first. Wear what you have for a few days and pay attention to the gaps.
Add one fun fall piece. A great bag, patterned dress, scarf, or statement layer keeps your capsule from feeling too boring.
The goal is to build a closet that makes getting dressed feel easier, more confident, and more like you. When you love what you own and know how to wear it, getting dressed becomes something to look forward to instead of one more decision to make.
What traditions or rituals do you look forward to in October?
Get your journal for the season here.
Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Sunday Prep! We hope you have the best week! Can’t wait to chat Wednesday in our next Post! 💕
My favorite way to start Sunday! Love the idea of creating a capsule wardrobe and taking the photos!