Find out how you can embrace the seasons and find comfort in your home to live a more natural lifestyle.
Our busy modern life offers an always-on experience. Lighting, air-conditioning, mobile connection, industrialised food systems and standardised daily schedules. We’ve been lulled into thinking living this way is more comfortable, productive and convenient but actually, if we look a bit deeper, it’s not really sustainable.
Living in the ‘always-on’ mode can cause exhaustion and poor health and wellbeing. It’s not responsive to our needs or biological rhythms. It’s like we are always fighting against something.
We were all designed to live in cycles of ebb and flow. Living well is a delicate balance of light and dark; warmth and cold; and activity and rest, and we can look to nature to show us when to hit the brake and when to hit the peddle by following the seasons.
Living in harmony with the seasons means living more closely with nature. It’s about finding a new energy in each season, feeling a sense of synchronicity and harmony, embracing the moment, and taking advantage of the gifts of the season, whether that be the harvest, activities or simple pleasures that each new season brings. It’s about paying attention to what is naturally available and making adjustments for optimal comfort and wellness.
Living in harmony with the seasons requires you to listen to your inclinations and appetites and use your intuition. Rest when you feel tired; eat when you hunger. It’s simple yet profound. It also gives us the chance to be prepared and plan ahead for the demands of the upcoming season, whether that be changing out your wardrobe, or planting a new crop in your garden.
Here are our four top tips to help you live in harmony with the seasons.
1. Fluff your nest
Think about little changes you can make around your home to embrace each season and bring the the outdoors in. Think seasonal colours and textures. In winter add throw blankets and cozy cushions to the couch. In summer add fresh greenery to your dining table. Hold a spring cleaning weekend. If you like decorating, don’t just limit yourself to Christmas. Build a little capsule of items for each season and bring them out each year. You could also try changing out artwork prints, lighting scented candles, and bringing in seasonal flowers and foliage from your garden. Try to engage all the senses and create your own little seasonal haven.
2. Feast on seasonal produce
When you shop at your local farmers markets you can be confident that you’re buying produce that is in season and abundant. Sustainable Table offers a guide to seasonal produce in Australia. Experiment with cooking methods and recipes that celebrate seasonal produce like barbecuing in the summer and making soups and stews in the winter. Eating this way is kind on the planet because it reduces waste and food miles. It’s also cheaper to buy food that’s in abundance.
3. Explore the great outdoors
Write a bucket list of things you want do each season. Spend time outdoors in nature and marvel at the changing landscapes; the leaves changing colour, the flowers, animal life and water ways. Take the opportunity in autumn and winter to go on long hikes and in the summer time swim and enjoy picnics at the seaside.
4. Refresh your wardrobe
Build a capsule wardrobe for each season. Divide your wardrobe into seasons and store them separately so you don’t have to rifle between out-of-season clothes to find something to wear. You will enjoy the thrill of changing over your wardrobe each season and seeing beloved pieces coming out of storage.
We hope we have inspired to you to embrace seasonal living and given you some ideas to try at home. Please let us know your thoughts using the comment tools below.
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