Fall Projects to Do With and Without Your Kids

You most likely can already feel it: autumn is on its way. Soon you and your family members will be huddling inside in the evenings after work and school. As the weather gets cooler, your activity level probably slows down. Although it's nice to spend more time at home during the evenings and weekends, you could find yourself feeling like you don't know what to do with yourself or your kids.

Why not generate a list of fall projects parents can do with the kids? Some of the projects can be done by parents alone while others can be handled by your kids. Take a look at these suggested fall projects to do with your kids as the leaves fall from the trees:

Clean Out the Garage.

Even though it's getting pretty chilly outdoors, you can most likely tolerate being inside the garage for an hour or maybe two at a time during early fall. Why not embark on that project you've wanted to do for months? You'll have more room for the car when winter arrives.

Plus, cleaning out the garage is a great opportunity to make a bit of extra money selling the things you don't want on Craigslist or through your local newspaper classified ads. It's possible you'll find something that you want to bring inside and use through the fall, like that Breadmaker up in the corner. Definitely consider cleaning out the garage with your kids' help this fall.

Purge all the Junk that has collected in your Car.

You know how it can build up over the summer months, particularly if you've got a couple of kids that ride in your vehicle frequently. Give the kids a plastic grocery bag and have them pick up all their garbage. Anything they want to save should be brought indoors. This autumn job literally takes only a few minutes for most people's cars.

Read one Book a Month.

Autumn is the time to settle in to a good book. Select books you've been dying to read. If you like, allow each of the kids pick a "chapter book" they've wanted to read. As a family, you can all cuddle up together and take turns reading a chapter a night, kids included. Seriously, can you think of a better way to spend fall evenings at home?

Organize kitchen cabinets one cabinet at a time.

You know how messy and over-stuffed kitchen cabinets can get. And when you think about cleaning out all of them, it's just too overwhelming. You'll never get to it. But what if you cleaned and organized shelves behind just one cabinet door at a time? Or even just one shelf at a time? This might be a job to do on your own, unless you have teenagers.

You're going to be surprised that removing all the items from just one shelf, wiping the shelf down and replacing the items (as you pitch unwanted items or place them in a bag for the Goodwill) is probably going to take only 20 minutes or so. Don't worry about cleaning all the cabinets at once when you can do them one shelf at a time during the fall.

Apply Coating or Stain to Garage Floors, Driveways and Walkways.

Depending on where you live, the fall can be a great time when the weather's nice and dry. You can use rollers to stain or paint your garage floors, driveways and walkways. It's a good idea to pressure-wash such surfaces a couple of days before you plan to stain or paint them. They should be nice and dry before you begin. You won't sweat too much because there's a chill in the air. The older kids can help with this autumn chore.

Research Topics You're Interested In.

Have you ever wanted to know more about a subject but just couldn't find the time? Why not allow yourself an hour every other evening once the kids are settled down to explore topics that fascinate you? Get a spiral notebook and make your notes as you discover facts you've been curious about.

Maybe you want to know more about World War II or the history of a particular country. Fall is your time to discover new knowledge you seek. Share your interest with your kids, if it's appropriate. They'll learn something, too.

Select a family project you can do together.

No matter what the age of your kids, there's probably a project you can all do together. Rearrange the furniture in the family room, making a corner for the young kids, a computer corner for the older kids and parents and a sitting area with the television placed just so.

Clean out the camper so that come spring, you'll have gotten rid of stuff in there you don't use anymore. Whatever family project you come up with, figure out a way for each of the kids to join in the work and the fun.

Don't be bummed out about fall's approach. Put on your thinking cap to come up with some home projects you've wanted to complete for some time. Have the kids join in the work to make it fun. Completing home projects this fall will be useful and fun for all.