Ugh. Please tell me I am not the only one who falls into a winter funk.
The fall season in Ohio is amazing. There is no better season in the Midwest, in my opinion. That fall “high” kind of snowballs into the holidays and we usually see our first snowfall during Christmas. From there, the Christmas season is absolutely magical in every single way…especially with 4 little kids.
After Christmas, I look forward to the start of a new year. It’s a time to reflect and refresh goals, and set some new challenges for myself.
And then ……. there’s nothing …….
February is often very cold and drags on, even though it is the shortest month of the year. The beginning of March sometimes gives us a glimmer of hope for spring, and other years we can see more snow. I like to use the months of February and March as a time to prepare for spring. But sometimes despite my best efforts, I often fall into a funk during the dead of winter. My kids are stir-crazy, I am stir-crazy, I need Vitamin E and to be outside. But oftentimes, that isn’t possible in Ohio.
This year I worked really hard on keeping myself from falling too deep into a seasonal depression and wanted to share some of my ideas with you!
- Get outside, even when it’s cold outside. We invest in cold weather gear every fall which helps tremendously. Bundle the kids up and get outside! Every single day if you can. I found a really cool group on Facebook called 1000 hours outside and it’s inspired me to get outside more often. We always feel so much better after spending time outdoors, not to mention… the kids sleep better!
- De-clutter your home and do the projects you won’t want to do during warm weather.Every single year we set goals for doing a little remodeling or rearranging in our house. I think the dead of winter is a great time to tackle those projects. When the weather gets warmer, I don’t want to be cooped up in the house, so try to get to work on some of those indoor projects. Here are some ideas: https://shesbecomingdomestic.com/2021/02/04/winter-home-ideas/
- Start planning or daydreaming about your next vacation.Even if it’s just a small weekend getaway, I like to plan ahead and daydream about our next escape. Right now, I’m looking ahead to Spring Break when we go to Florida. I. CAN’T. WAIT!
- Exercise. This is a big one. I move my body every single day. Whether it’s outside for a walk or on the treadmill. Whatever you enjoy doing, be sure to move your body every single day. It helps tremendously releasing the endorphins you need during the winter blues.
- Do some soul searching. Take some time during the winter to evaluate your goals and where you’d like to be this time next year and in the next 5, 10, 20 years. I find there is more downtime during winter, which is why I like to take some time to reflect, meditate, pray and set some life goals.
What are some ways you kick the winter blues to the curb?
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