Fall is many things to people, but on the internet, it appears to be the season of buying things you didn’t know you needed. Not to be overshadowed by the holidays, which now somehow begin before we’ve even gotten through Halloween, Fall is a powerhouse for consumerism in its own right.

Here’s the thing, I get it. The second the weather turns, there’s a little switch in my brain that goes off, immediately yearning for an unattainable item of clothing which likely doesn’t exist to ring in the occasion. Even without following influencers on social media, I still get that pang as summer fades into fall. That little voice in my head reminding me it’s not really fall until I’ve found the perfect sweater. The difference now, is that I do not succumb to the little voice. I do not go full supermarket sweep in Target buying every throw pillow and candle within sight. I do not add an entire new wardrobe to cart.

Here’s what I wrote at this time last year:

And so, as the fall season arrives, I reach toward what nourishes me. Seasonal recipes, old comfy sweaters, homegrown flowers and pumpkins, library books, a long walk, tea, a crackling fire.

Here’s a few ways to make fall feel special with what you already have. I can assure you it’s nothing that can be found in a HomeGoods.