The Sweet Spot of Summer: 7 Farmhouse Rituals that Slow you Down and Fill You Up
There’s a hush in mid-July. The calendar may be full, the garden might be bursting, but there’s a quiet current running just underneath it all—a longing to breathe deeper, to move slower, to be instead of do.
This is the sweet spot of summer.
Slowing Down Summer
It’s that time…the summer sports are wrapping up and there may be a week or so before we start chopping our hay again. Here on our farm, we pay attention to this lull. Not as something to rush through, but as an invitation to recalibrate. We lean into simple, sensory rituals that gently reset us, keep us rooted, and help us savor the beauty of the season before it slips into back-to-school bustle.
If you’re craving ways to slow down summer while still tending to what matters, here are seven farmhouse-inspired rituals to help fill you up again.
7 Practices to Slow Down your Summer and Quiet your Mind
1. Line-Dried Laundry Days
There’s nothing quite like the quiet act of hanging clothes on the line. It slows you down. It makes you notice the breeze, the sun, the birdsong. And it turns an everyday task into something sacred. I often bring a big basket of fresh-washed clothes out and let the rhythm of pinning each item bring me back into my body. Bonus: the smell of line-dried sheets might just be the scent of summer itself.
2. Evening Porch Sitting (With Cold Drinks)
Evenings stretch long this time of year, and the porch becomes a place of rest and reconnection. Spending a warm summer evening on the porch is my favorite way to completely savor a summer day – we watch as the sun goes down and the stars illuminate the dark sky right above our heads. We sit, sometimes in silence, other times with friends and glasses clinking. My favorite? A glass of my Grandma’s Lemon Iced Sun Tea or Frosty Lemonade.
When our kids were younger we enjoyed watching them run around the yard playing charades or flashlight tag when the fireflies were just coming out. Now, we enjoy a card game with the entire family or we go around and say our “rose, bud, and thorn” of the week. When the family is all in once place, we don’t take it for granted. Porch-sitting reminds us that we don’t need to go anywhere to find peace. It lives right here.
3. Midday Rest in the Shade
Some days, we take a cue from nature and rest in the heat of the day. A hammock under the trees, a quilt on the porch, or just a sit in the barn with a breeze coming through. This kind of rest doesn’t feel lazy—it feels essential. Let your body cool, your mind settle, and the world turn without you for just a little while.
4. Canning Prep Days
We’re not always ready to can in July, but it’s the perfect time to prepare. I use this quieter stretch to organize lids, clean jars, take stock of what’s left in the pantry. It feels productive but peaceful—a way to tend to the work that’s coming without hurrying it along. It’s anticipation, not urgency.
Canning at the end of summer allows us to preserve our jams, sauces, and soups we make with our ripe summer produce.
5. Handwork Hour
Summer evenings often call for something quiet to keep the hands busy. Making something with my willow. Mending. Wool crafts. Maybe it’s stocking up on our felted wool dryer balls, making a batch of whipped tallow balm or hanging up the braided garlic to dry. This kind of handwork slows the mind and roots the spirit. It reminds us that beauty and function often go hand-in-hand.
6. Cold Bucket Dips or Creek Walks
Not every farm has a sauna, but every farmhouse has access to a hose, a bucket, or a creek. On the hottest days, I set out a cold bucket of water for dipping feet, or take a stroll through the cool shallows of our creek. It’s farmhouse-style contrast therapy: a shock to the senses in the best way.
On these sunny mid-summer days I like to lather up with our tallow sunscreen, it’s natural and gives the right amount of protection on days I’m working in the yard
7. Intentional Media Fast Days
One of the kindest things we do for ourselves mid-summer is declare certain days tech-free. No scrolling. No checking in. We put the phones away and let the world feel small again. Sometimes we journal. Sometimes we just sit. But always, we feel more whole when we return. This doesn’t just mean our phones, it means spending a Saturday with the TV off, being welcomed inside by the voices of our kids rather than the same repetitve advertisements or letting the birds be our ambiance as we work outside rather than a Spotify playlist.
Connecting with your Community
Between festivals, fairs, and farmers markets, summer offers us an abundance of opportunities to connect with the local community. When you can, spend a night out in your community – catch up with friends, talk to local vendors, buy a natural product you didn’t know you needed. The greatest currency in life is connection!
The Mid-Summer Reset
You don’t need a retreat or a vacation to reset your soul. Sometimes, what we need is already here: the line in the yard, the porch swing, the rhythm of our hands and days. This is the farmhouse way—slow, steady, rooted in rhythms that nourish.
Let this be the week you find your own summer sweet spot.
I’d love to hear: what rituals do you return to this time of year? Share in the comments or tag me over on Instagram @hearty.sol so I can see your slow summer days, too.
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This post may contain affiliate links from a paid sponsor, Amazon or other program. When you use these links to make a purchase I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This allows me to continue creating the content that you love. The content in this article is created for information only and based on my research and/or opinion.
Emily T.
DAILY INSPIRATION ON THE GRAM @hearty.sol
it's hip to be square!
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