Parting with the summer is a sweet sorrow, but the beginning of the chilly season brings a lot to look forward to. Motivation, for one thing. We get to say goodbye to the heat, the FOMO that comes along with ongoing summer parties and the ever-present ice cream trucks. Now, we can feel the back-to-school vibe that tends to make us want to start fresh with goals. Send off the summer right with these revitalizing rituals.
Canning peak-season fruit
Apricots, peaches, blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are all in season in Ontario in August. Lock in their freshness and keep it stocked in your cupboards all fall and winter by making jars of pickled veggies, jam and salsa. (If canning is totally foreboding, check out this batch of ways to preserve August fruit without canning via Simple Bites.)
“Back to school” shopping
You don’t have to be a student to do this, we say. Sprucing up your wardrobe or refreshing your stationery and office supplies if you’re into it”is a refreshing way to start the chilly season. End of summer sales are often too sweet to miss and fall clothes are just the best.
Cleaning out your closet
Retire your summer wardrobe right with a proper closet clean-out. Donate clothes you don’t want anymore, and stash away what you won’t need access to in the fall. Unearth your cardigans, sweaters and shoes and actually go through them and decide what you still like and want to keep. Wash and hang what you do, toss what you don’t. Do this before you shop for fall clothes and you’re guaranteed to shop smarter.
Freshening up your space
Re-arranging your room or apartment can do wonders for a new outlook. It gives you a chance to get rid of the clutter and make your space how you want it, now. Make your bed awesomely inviting and your bathroom well-equipped and ready for streamlined getting-ready. Make your home office more organized so there are no barriers for you to jump into the work you do at home. Give your cupboards legit cupboard setups that the true adults in your life wouldn’t frown upon.
Using up your vacation days
Taking advantage of last-minute cheap airfare is never as sweet as in the final days of summer. If you can swing it, embrace your spontaneous side, ready your phone camera and pack your bags. It’s scarily easy to put off taking your well-earned vacation time (the time off! The money! What will everyone do while I’m gone?) but travel is one of the few instances where money totally can buy happiness, if you ask me. Our memories make up who we are. Can’t swing a real vacation? Try a close-to-home getaway instead.
Printing your summer photos
Scrapbookers will understand the joy and ultimate sanctification this crafty ritual can bring. If you always say you should print pictures and never do”but your Instagram is a well-curated work of art (you go girl)”get thee to Kinkos and print at least a few of your favourites from the summer. Hang them up in your space where you can see them everyday and mail some to your friends, snail mail style.
