10 wonderful things to make, do and celebrate in September!

10 wonderful things to make, do and celebrate in September!

September! September is here! I am suddenly fizzing with new ideas, there is a decided crispness to the morning air, the leaves are starting to turn and my first baby started year one at a new school today. September is a changing month, a time for endings and beginnings. It's the final hurrrah and goodbye to the slow easy days of summer. It's the turn of a new season, a desire for new stationary and preparation for the cold months to come. I feel the change in the air!

I have missed pulling together my monthly newsletter of wonderful things to make, do and celebrate in the coming month, so it's back. Here are some of my favourite things to do in September.

1. Embrace a fresh start. September symbolises new starts for many and even if you aren't experiencing back to school fever, the turn of the season is a good time to get back on track with the things you want to be doing. Give yourself a bit of time to asses where you are against where you want to be, and think about some clear, realistic steps you can take to get a bit closer to your goals.
2. Pick plums, blackberries and elderberries. September is the foragers paradise with so much produce ready to be harvested. Elderberries are very high in vitamin C and are therefore the perfect ingredient for a winter tonic. My friend herbalist Natasha has a lovely recipe here, on her blog.
3. Get organised. Treat yourself to a new notebook or a beautiful pen or pencil to help get you organised.
4. Have a seasonal declutter. Have a look around your house and get rid of anything you no longer love or no longer serves a purpose. Don't put any summer clothes away you wouldn't LOVE to see again next year. Donate. As you get out the Autumn/winter clothes and blankets, discard anything you no longer love. Deal with the paperwork pile.
5. Plant bulbs now for Spring If you can be organised now, you will be rewarded with a garden full of colour year after year.
6. Establish earlier an bedtime. Often over summer, bedtimes slip later, so spend some time working on everyone catching some more zzz's as school starts again and the cold germs of Autumn set in. Try instigating a new bedtime routine. EG We recently started listening to these wonderful bedtime meditations for kids. I have started having a cup of herbal tea before bed too.
7. Prepare your home for Autumn and winter. Get the chimney swept and the logs ordered, freshen blankets, jumpers and coats on the washing line, stock up on candles, check the seals on the windows and the boiler. Display seasonal treasures like pretty leaves as they change. Store or donate any seasonal fabrics or decorations etc. Get cosy blankets and sheepskins ready.
8. Sort and print summer photo's! Go through your summer photo's and file them or get some printed. Use a photo book service to make a photo album.
9. Pamper yourself. If your summer has been action and adventure filled (or work/childcare filled!), you might find yourself approaching September feeling exhausted. Make time to pamper yourself with a long, hot candle lit bath, lots of early nights with a book, or take yourself off for a massage. I am needing all of this, this week!
10. Celebrate the Harvest. In Britain, thanks have been given for successful harvests since pagan times. Harvest festival is traditionally held on the Sunday nearest the Harvest Moon (the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox - 20th September). Decorate your table with baskets of fruit, bake a harvest loaf, or donate to a local charity. Spend some time thinking about all that you have harvested emotionally in your life too.

Original article and pictures take www.seedsandstitches.com site