Summer may be wrapping up, pumpkin spice is already sneaking onto menus, and we’re all pretending we love raking leaves… but here’s the truth: real estate doesn’t care what season it is. Life keeps moving. Jobs change, families grow, kids head off to college, and new opportunities pop up. Which means homes are still buying, selling, and swapping hands every single day.

The calendar may still say summer, but the air is shifting. Mornings are cooler, evenings come a little earlier, and the sunlight looks just a little softer. It’s not quite time for pumpkins and mums on the porch, but it is the moment when summer décor starts to feel tired. We always hear about spring cleaning, but fall cleaning is just as important. In fact, it may be even more valuable, because we’re heading into the heaviest decorating and hosting season of the year—fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, one right after another.

As we gear up for Rory’s senior year and Kennedy’s final lap through middle school, Brian and I have been feeling it. That tug of pride. That flash of excitement. And yes, that slightly panicked flutter in your chest when you realize—this is happening. They’re growing up. And they’re getting ready to fly.

It might be July, but at The York & Co., I’m already reaching for the velvet ribbon and fluffing garland. Why? Because for me, the magic of the holidays isn’t bound to a calendar — it lives in the joy we create, the memories we make, and the spaces we fill with love, sparkle, and a bit of wonder.

I’ve always believed that the places we live, work, and gather in should spark joy, tell our stories, and feel like us — whether that means a cozy holiday mantel, a bold wallpaper moment, or a perfectly styled shelf that somehow makes everything feel just right.