September is upon us already and I think like most people who have made comments on this and other blogs I am not ready to give summer up just yet and so my autumn will not start until 23rd September in line with the astronomical calendar!
The weather is still warm and sunny here – not the stifling heat we had earlier but quite a pleasant warmth. Still pleasant enough for picnics and eating outdoors; still pleasant enough to take an evening stroll, and just right for foraging in the hedgerows.
The evenings are certainly cooler though – I keep reaching for a cosy throw whilst I am sitting watching TV rather than turning the fire on to take off the chill. In my notebook I have been planning September – all our commitments have come to an end; school starts on Tuesday and my mum has returned home…September is all mine.
Like at the beginning of the year I am turning my intentions once again to the home – some of my good intentions and routines have been abandoned during the carefree summer months and the house is looking a bit neglected. Cooking, cleaning and neatening always feels deeply satisfying to me and September is the perfect month to begin again – preparing the home and garden for the coming winter months and getting back into a routine – albeit for me it will be a new routine now I no longer working.
Recently I have been having a serious clear out in my kitchen and dining room. I began with the food and then moved on to the crockery, pans and all the oddments that are held in the drawers and at the back of the cupboards. It is not an easy task. Decisions have to be made. But space is created.
I find that once I have been over everything it is good to go back again and I will often find more items to discard.
So for as long as the weather holds I have many plans for September…
mEAndering
Stillingfleet, Hartington and Glazebury all have gardens or well dressing events. There is also Heritage Open Days on 13th to 16th September. So much to choose from. We will certainly be having a few days out.
A trip to Scotland to our cottage
homestEAd
 buy a new shed and erect
reinstate the compost bins
source a new front door
source a new garage door
hire a contractor to renew the driveway
revamp the front garden
nEAtening
the kitchen cupboards – continuing the decluttering and simplifying
crEAting
outdoor sketching and card making
fEAsting
meal planning for late summer early autumn meals
baking with my homegrown apples
rEAding
I have an extensive library of books by my bed and I intend to read more on the subject of simplifying and living with less.
trEAsury
looking at our new reduced budget to make ends meet
So that seems plenty to be going on with – I will be back with pictures of my declutter- it is very much an ongoing project at the moment.
where the journey takes me 2 
That’s a long list, although at least plenty of it involves other doing the work, which is always good. I’m glad the extreme heat is gone and hoping the it stays a similar temperature to now. It is so much cheaper to put the washing on the line than in the tumble drier which had a bit of a shock last week when I called it into action!!
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It is very good washing weather at the moment and when the contractors go on Monday I will be able to catch up with my large load. I have not been able to do any all week as rendering is a messy job and involves a lot of dust!
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Like you, I am waiting until the 23rd before I’m completely ready for Autumn, although I’m very much in a late Summer frame of mind and beginning to prepare the garden for the colder months ahead. X
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There is definitely a shift in the feel of each day – cooler mornings and evenings, but I am squeezing every last ounce of summer out this year. It was so nice to be able to go out and not think warm jumper, rain coat or umbrella this summer even if at times it was a touch too hot for me.
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Seems we are on the same wavelength when it comes to clEAring 🙂 things out. I tackled my linen closet the other day. The closet had become a dumping ground for things other than current linens since it is not that deep, nor terribly wide (e.g. shelves are only 56cm wide x30cm deep and only 30cm in height) although it does reach from floor to ceiling. Threw out at least a third of the items. Boxed up for charity what linens were in the cupboard–another third gone. Purchased some smaller, separate bins to keep like items together (e.g. medications; toiletries) which will only require that I pull out one bin at a time to find things. Now I actually have a fair amount of open space in the cupboard. A good start. Best of luck with your September to-do list.
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My cupboards have all become a bit muddled over time – it seems that you might have a place for everything at one moment but then it only takes a new purchase, a gift or some extra stock of something and you find suddenly there is no place for it to go so it gets pushed in with something else in the meantime. Always feels good after a clear out though!
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You have a lot planned for September. I really need to make lists and have a plan for the month. I like to do a lot of baking in the autumn months so I am sure apples will feature somewhere. It is lovely to visit you here again Viv. x
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Lovely to hear from you Simone – I have had a few days break as it is impossible to even read a blog while she is here. I read your last post and sent you an email – hope you got it. x
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I love a good declutter occasionally. I feel one coming up in the near future!
xx
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I am definitely on a mission at the moment!
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I’m with you, it;s still summer in my world. At the weekend I saw so many posts with pictures of falling leaves and pumpkins – it’s still sweetpea season!
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Blogland can sometimes feel like when I worked in fashion and maybe it is the same for you in the CS that you are always looking and being one step ahead. Enjoying the moment can be so difficult – already Christmas is invading the shops and the autumn clothes came into Sainsbury’s weeks ago.
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