Fall cleaning.

Reflections on creative renewal and the school year ahead.

Sep 01, 2024

It’s Labor Day weekend, and we’re upstate in the woods for a few days before the kids head back to school on Tuesday. It’s been an uneventful summer for us with no travel—a situation I’m determined not to repeat. I think we’re all ready to get back into action, even if that action means school.

My oldest is starting middle school next week, and my son is heading into 5th grade. I’m beginning my first full year as the PR representative for three school districts, and it definitely feels like a big fall ahead.

Fall has always felt like a “new year” to me—a fresh start, a time to get organized and dive back into life feeling refreshed and re-inspired. While January is when I set new goals, September is when I clean up the chaos of the year so far and refocus on those goals with systems, plans, and simplification.

Here’s what’s been on my mind this week as we head into the new school year:

Creating Brand Stories for My School Districts.

I started my new job at the end of May, which meant jumping headfirst into the deep end with graduations and all the madness that comes with the end of the school year. Now that the dust has settled, I’m delving back into the “storybrand” and “science of story” training that guided me when I was creating brand films for small businesses. I’m working on uncovering the story, mission, and goals for each of my school districts—how they see themselves, how they want the community to see them, and the areas of focus most important to their identity as a school community. By uncovering these brand stories, I hope to use them as guiding principles for all the content I create and share throughout the year.

New Gear.

I know, I know—it's not about the gear, right? But the truth is, my main camera system (a pair of Sony a7iii’s) is going on seven years old, and they’re getting tired. I’d like to upgrade to take full advantage of the leaps in autofocus technology. I’m also considering off-loading lenses I don’t use and simplifying my Sony gear as I take on less private client work and less video work. I’m looking at the a7cii and considering getting one, then adding an a7v (whenever that’s released—hopefully next spring). I like the small size of the a7cii. We’ll see—I’m renting one next week to try it out.

In addition to the Sony gear, which is my reliable pro setup, I’m still on the hunt for fun old digicams to throw in my bag as everyday carries and to whet my creative appetite. After two Lumix LX3s died on me (the risk with old cameras), I’ve ordered an LX5 and an LX100 off eBay. I’ll report back on how I like them.

Back to School Clothes.

My kids aren’t the only ones getting new clothes this fall. This PR job is the first one in my life where I’ve had to dress in something other than jeans and a t-shirt (except for the few months I worked the night shift in a law firm proofreading department when I first moved to NYC). I’m still working out my work “uniform.” I like to wear pants with pockets when I’m photographing, so I have places for things like lens caps. I need comfortable shoes. I need to look professional, but I also want to appear relatable so the kids feel comfortable with me. I don’t want to look too formal or intimidating.

So far, I’ve been relying mostly on Old Navy’s Chino pants and Pixie Straight pants, paired with button-down shirts. I’m on the lookout for some boots with a small heel (but comfortable!) for fall and winter, and I’d also like a blazer. I’m interested in a pair of dark denim trousers too. I’m also intrigued by loafers, though I’m not sure if I’m really a loafer person!

Here’s my work style Pinterest board if you’re interested in seeing what I’m working out for myself style-wise: 2024 Work Style

I’m leaning into the menswear trend, inspired by the likes of Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Lauren Hutton from the 70s and 80s: 70s/80s/90s Style Inspo (another Pinterest board).

I also want to do a “fall cleaning” of my closet. My new rule is, “If I’d be embarrassed running into an ex-boyfriend while wearing this, it needs to go.” Lol. It’s a good barometer.

Exercise.

My workout schedule has been all over the place this summer. Some weeks I made it to the gym every day; other weeks, not at all. I’m looking forward to my kids being occupied, allowing me to get back into a rhythm. When I can, I go to classes at Body 30 in Garden City. When my work schedule doesn’t cooperate, I do The Class at home.

Creative Practice.

I have two main goals: artist dates once a month and daily frames.

For my 50th birthday in June, I took myself into the city for the day, visited three museums, and had lunch at my favorite restaurant. It made me SO happy. These kinds of outings need to be less few and far between.

As for daily frames, I’m not looking to impose the strict rules of a 365 project on myself, but I do want to get back into the practice of “seeing.” Before kids, I always had a camera with me and found plenty worth photographing in daily life. I want to find that practice in myself again.

In addition to these two main goals, now that I have more space in my life (I’ll write about this sometime—all the space that has opened up now that I’m not relying on my own photography business to pay the bills), I’d like to jump back into some of my old hobbies that have been collecting dust—knitting, sewing, embroidery. I even have weaving gear I haven’t had a chance to use yet, and supplies for encaustic work. It’s time to get back to all those things.

Home.

Cleaning the house is probably my least favorite task in the world, but unfortunately it’s not going to clean itself. Like any other challenge, I’m breaking it down into manageable steps. My goal is to deep clean one room a week (in addition to the light tidying of the whole house that I do each week). This includes cleaning baseboards and fans and finally clearing out the baby snack cups and things from the kitchen cabinets (since my kids are, you know, 10 and almost 13!).

And I might attempt a tiny bit of seasonal decor for fall. We’ll see—that might be pushing it, lol.

So what about you? Any goals for the new school year? Any fun fall plans?

A few links for your weekend reading:

Loving this project by Mark Steinmetz, documenting moments at Atlanta’s airport. I’ve done some street photography here at JFK before and it was pretty fun - thinking I should get over there again sometime.

I really love the pastel colors in these images by Txema Salvans, and the game of finding the dogs in each photo is really fun.

I keep thinking about this project, Family Portrait, by Bianca Morra. So powerful.