Autumn Equinox – Being Thankful, Embracing Gratitude
Yesterday we kicked off our week of embracing the changing seasons and the upcoming Autumn Equinox by going for a walk in nature, harvesting items and creating a sensory bin to honour this time of change in nature. Today we are focusing on Giving Thanks and Gratitude.
I’m not sure what your house is like but I find that we constantly seem to be collecting stuff. Some of it’s good stuff, but lots of it has served it’s purpose and is not something we need anymore. Clothes that are too small, toys that have been outgrown, books that have been read and well loved, but are not ones we plan on revisiting, the list goes on and on.
The change in the seasons is a fantastic time to clear out the clutter. Shed all that excess and free up space in our lives for the wonderful adventures a new season will bring.
As part of our week long celebration of the Autumn Equinox we went through all our closets, toy chests and bookshelves and did a big purge.
Items that still had fairly significant value were packaged up and sent to a consignment store so we will have funds for new adventures. Both the boys have been having big growth spurts and we have quite a lot of clothes, and shoes especially, that have barely been worn. I love being able to get some of our money back on those items.
But not everything still has lots of value. Some clothes were simply not overly expensive when first purchased, or were worn quite a lot, or were second hand to us. As long as they were still in good condition and had some life left in them, we donated to a local charity.
Since the Autumn Equinox is a time of harvest and gratitude for the bountiful food provided we also went through the pantry for any non-perishable food, plus a trip to the grocery store for a few additional items, which we then donated to the local food bank.
I know it can be hard to have the kids help with purges like this but I make it a point to have the kids help. It’s a struggle at first but over time they have seen the benefits of clearing out the clutter and not keeping things they no longer need. They also like the idea that their stuff is not going in the garbage but to other children that can use the items. It took time, but now the boys happily help with our decluttering and it gives them a great sense of gratitude for what we have. It also gave us a great opportunity to talk about how we should help others and protect our environment by recycling and reusing as much as possible.
Yesterday we connected with nature, today we cleaned out our spaces, and tomorrow we celebrate the Autumn Equinox with a fun activity I can’t wait to share with you.
CELEBRATING THE AUTUMN EQUINOX SERIES
Day 1 – Kid Activities To Connect With The Changing Seasons
Day 2 – Being Thankful And Embracing Gratitude
Day 3 – Wheel of the Year Craft
Day 4 – Hearty, Homemade Ham & Potato Soup
