(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases for any associated autumn home buys. This means I may receive a commission if you buy through links in this article, at no extra cost to you. Prices, ratings and review counts below were correct at the time of writing and may have changed since — always double-check on Amazon before buying.)
As the nights draw in and the heating clicks back on, a handful of home buys reliably spike in popularity every year. I’ve picked out eight that are genuinely useful rather than just seasonal marketing, based on what’s actually selling well on Amazon right now.
1. Everlasting Comfort 2-Sided Draft Excluder
One of the cheapest, quickest wins for a draughty room, this self-adhesive foam strip runs along the top, sides and bottom of a door to stop cold air getting in and warm air escaping. It won’t fix a genuinely ill-fitting door, but for the gap around most standard doors it makes a noticeable difference to how quickly a room holds its heat. Currently rated 4.3 stars from 10,100 reviews, £12.99. See it on Amazon.
2. ANSIO Dehumidifier Disposable Moisture Absorbers (10-pack)
Autumn is when condensation and mould start creeping back into bathrooms, bedrooms and anywhere with poor airflow. These little pots sit in a cupboard or on a windowsill and pull moisture out of the air and I can testify that they work well and fast. They’re not a substitute for proper ventilation if you’ve got a genuine damp problem, but they’re a cheap first line of defence as the weather turns. Currently rated 4.3 stars from 50,573 reviews, £9.95. See it on Amazon.
3. Deconovo Blackout Thermal Curtains, 46″ x 54″
Thermal-lined curtains do double duty as the evenings draw in — they block out the earlier darkness and help stop heat escaping through the window overnight, which matters more once the heating’s back on. Worth double-checking your window measurements before ordering, as sizing is usually the main complaint on curtains like these. Currently rated 4.5 stars from 74,423 reviews, £10.34. See it on Amazon. If you’re not sure how to hang curtains I’ve got a video on that.
4. Cloud-Like Comfort Bamboo Viscose Mattress Topper
A cheap way to make a bed feel warmer and softer for the colder months without buying a whole new mattress. The bamboo-viscose cover stays breathable, so it doesn’t trap heat the way some synthetic toppers do. It’s also a good way to make a cheaper mattress feel more luxurious. Currently rated 4.3 stars from 27,898 reviews, £29.99. See it on Amazon.
5. Mia&Coco Electric Heated Blanket Throw
Heated throws are one of the most sensible autumn buys going: running one on the sofa in the evening costs a fraction of turning the central heating up a notch. This one’s a genuine best-seller rather than a niche pick, and the auto-off timer means it’s not something you need to remember to switch off. Currently rated 4.4 stars from 11,100 reviews, £21.67. See it on Amazon.
6. Innotic 1500W Electric Heated Clothes Airer
Once it’s too wet or cold to dry washing outside, an indoor airer like this earns its keep quickly; it heats the rails rather than blasting hot air everywhere, so it’s considerably cheaper to run than a tumble dryer. The zip-up cover version speeds drying up further by trapping the warm air in. Currently rated 4.2 stars from 2,700 reviews, £59.99. See it on Amazon.
7. Nikura Peppermint Essential Oil, 10ml
Autumn is when spiders reliably start turning up indoors as they look for a mate and somewhere warm and dry to see out the colder months. Spiders are said to dislike the smell of peppermint, so a few drops on cotton wool left near doors, windows and skirting boards (or diluted in water and sprayed around entry points) is the natural deterrent people reach for instead of chemical sprays. It won’t stop every spider, but it’s a cheap, low-effort thing to try first. Currently rated 4.5 stars from 43,300 reviews, £4.99. See it on Amazon.
8. Silentnight Comfort Control Electric Blanket, Double Bed
A proper electric underblanket rather than a throw — it sits under your sheet and warms the bed itself, which uses far less electricity than heating a bedroom all night. Silentnight is one of the best-established names in electric blankets in the UK, and with nearly 37,000 reviews it’s clearly the one most people already trust. Currently rated 4.4 stars from 36,800 reviews, £40.00. See it on Amazon.
Autumn home buys: quick questions
What should you buy for your home in autumn?
The changes that make the biggest real difference are usually about sealing draughts, controlling condensation, and warming a room or bed without turning the whole heating system up. A door draft excluder and a moisture absorber in bathrooms or bedrooms tend to be cheaper and more responsive than reworking your heating.
Do heated throws actually save money on energy bills?
Yes, and the gap is bigger than most people expect. According to Uswitch, running a heated throw costs around 8p an hour and an electric underblanket around 7p an hour, compared with roughly £1.76 an hour to run a typical 24kW gas boiler heating a whole home. That’s why they’ve become such popular autumn buys — they work best for avoiding heating a room (or a whole bed) you don’t need to heat all night, rather than replacing your heating altogether.
How do I stop draughts under doors?
A self-adhesive foam or brush strip along the bottom and sides of a door is the cheapest fix and takes minutes to fit. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that draught-proofing windows and doors can save a typical gas-heated semi-detached home in Great Britain around £30 a year, with a further £20 a year possible if you also block up an unused chimney. If a door is warped or doesn’t sit flush in its frame, a strip alone won’t fully solve it and the door itself may need adjusting.
Is a mattress topper worth buying before winter?
If your mattress is still structurally fine but feels too firm or cold as the weather turns, a topper is a low-cost way to add warmth and softness without buying a new mattress. It won’t fix a mattress that’s genuinely worn out or sagging.
Does peppermint oil really keep spiders away?
There’s more evidence behind this one than for most “natural remedies” — a peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology tested mint oil against several spider species and found it significantly repelled both the brown widow spider and the common garden orb-weaver. It did not, however, work against the noble false widow (Steatoda grossa) — the venomous spider people in the UK most often worry about indoors, since true black widows aren’t found here. So peppermint oil looks genuinely useful against many common house spiders, but it isn’t a reliable deterrent for false widows specifically, and it works best alongside sealing up obvious gaps around doors and windows.
None of these are exciting purchases, but they’re the ones that often make a biggest difference once autumn properly sets in, and clearly a lot of people are making the same buys right about now. If you want to go further on cutting costs as the heating goes back on, it’s worth reading Stop overpaying on energy bills alongside this list.