Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Ideas to Bust the Gloom of Winter Days

 Many of us are experiencing winter.  It is cold, snowy, wet, damp, gloomy, and just plan old blah!  Many are stuck in the house.  Outdoor activities are limited.  Winter can be the most depressing season of the year.
There are lots of little things we can all do to add a little PUNCH of cheer to our homes and our days.

  • Open your blinds and curtains - even if the sun is not shining bright, natural daylight is a mood enhancer.  It is so much better than artificial light!
  • Re-arrange furniture or pretties if at all possible.  Give yourself a different perspective and view of your home
  • Turn on FUN music and DANCE!  Super good exercise and such a mood enhancer.
  • Start that spring cleaning - yes de-clutter and super clean your home.  A clean and decluttered home is just more enjoyable and less stressful.
  • Add some color - put out some bright pillows, change out a bedspread or linens, add a colorful afghan or quilt.  Move pictures around - add some nature pictures (use something you have photographed).
  • Paint - paint isn't totally cheap, but it isn't crazy expensive either.  Changing the color of a wall or walls can change the mood totally
                         Color changes so much and just brightens a room.  (Not my picture)
  • Use boxes, baskets, frames, pots, etc. for storage for pretty, for accents.  Not only are there many pretty and interesting options out there - but the can be ever so useful.
                                                             (not my picture)
  • Use things in new ways - get creative
  • If you have ANY opportunity to let in some fresh air to the house - take it!!!!!!  Air out the musty old winter!  Germs thrive in closed up warm houses.
  • Go outside as often as you can.  No matter how cold - get outside.  I am outside at least 7-8 times EVERY day - 365 days a year.  Fresh air is healing and refreshing.  Feeling tired and sluggish?  Go out and walk around the yard or the block - it will wake you up!
  • Given the opportunity - grill something outside.  Nothing says you can only grill in the summer.
  • Get exotic!!!!!  Buy a fruit or veggie that you normally wouldn't buy and fix it.  A little splurge now and then can sure lift spirits.
  • Start planning your garden and your flowers NOW - read the seed catalogs and look at magazines for ideas
  • TURN OFF the news and social media!!!!!!!!!!  Surround yourself with happy and positive vibes
  • Read fun books and watch fun and informative (learning) videos
  • Buy yourself a bouquet of flowers from the grocery every now and then!  They don't cost much and they will sure brighten a day/home
  • Get off you butt and DO SOMETHING!  ANYTHING!  We all tend to sit and veg out during the winter.  Make a plan and get busy and creative - do something different.
  • Nature watch - that can be so entertaining - it sure beats TV
You don't have to give into the doom and gloom of winter days.  YOU have the option to change things.  DO SOMETHING - to change things up a bit.  Have a little fun (yes you still can - it isn't outlawed!!!!).  You can be safe and still have fun and joy and beauty and enlightenment in your life.

BUST THE GLOOM!!!!!
SMILE

27 comments:

  1. Very pretty kitchen. I even like the melon colored walls.

    And love the baskets, have some myself around the house. I also have lots of books and family/travel photos. I like a lot of visual interest in a room. I know some people are visual minimalists, but not me.

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    1. No minimalist here either! I have tons of family pictures and books around as well.
      I would like a kitchen that big!! Mine is tiny. Although it has fed some mighty big crowds back in the day!

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  2. I am enjoy reading your blog, thanks for the encouraging posts

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    1. Thank you so much. Glad to have you here. We all need a little encouragement now and then.
      Thanks again!

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  3. Blinds are open every single day no matter the weather. I don't like rearranging furniture at all (drives my older sister nuts). I'm a feng shui girl and it "feels" just right in every room. When we walked into this house 30 years ago, I knew immediately this was THE one.

    Walls are filled with art made by family, friends, me as well as some pieces purchased directly from the artists. Always fun to look around.

    I don't do clutter except for the cat toys scattered about ;-)

    Purchased garden seeds last week. I do need to wait another month but I'm ready! No planting till May here and tenders in June :-(

    We've grilled year round for decades!

    Congratulations to our newly inaugurated President Biden and Vice-President Harris.

    Cheers! Happy Wednesday.

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    1. Glad to hear you are keeping your home happy and bright. My blinds are open every day as well. As soon as it is light - they are open!!! I love the natural light.
      I do have stuff - but all things I like. I can't move stuff around much, but that is OK.
      You sound like a gal who knows what she wants!!!
      Cheers

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  4. So many wonderful ideas here. Thank you for sharing. And I agree with getting outside every day, multiple times a day when possible. This morning was on the chillier side than we've recently seen. Anyone want to walk my pup at 7:00 AM or want to take the evening shift????

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    1. Thanks. I go out to feed the kitties at 5:45 every morning and last time out at about 6PM. I go outside many times in between.
      The fresh air wakes me up every day!
      I would help if I were closer!!!!!

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  5. I decided to open all doors and windows for 10 minutes this afternoon to clear the air and the karma in my home. Temp only dropped 1 degree. It feels much better to me. I love fresh air and airing out my home restores my soul :-) (and it was just 37 outside ;-)

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    1. Good for you! I love getting fresh air inside as well. Boy you are right - it restores the soul.

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  6. Such good ideas. Since I'm still working FT, I get out every weekday and usually there is something to do on the farm outside on Saturday. Sunday Farmer usually coaxes me out to help with afternoon chores. I dislike getting out of my comfy clothes & into chores clothes but it's good to get fresh air after being inside all day.

    I have been buying garden seeds this week. I won't start any tender ones until March at the earliest since I won't put out tomatoes and such until Mother's Day or Memorial Day.

    I've been making a concentrated effort to keep the house picked up and tidy. With being inside so much in the evenings, it would be easy to just let it all slide. I like tidy and would dearly love to do minimalist if Farmer would let me.

    I hope you are getting warmer days this week. Cold and unsettled next week.

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    1. Being cooped up inside every day can do a number on us. I have some seeds and just looking at sites about gardening. Way too early to start anything here as well.
      A tidy house is just relaxing and enjoyable.

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  7. I must be weird, I actually love winter and it doesn't get me down at all. I know for some people it does though. We woke up to snow this morning. It had melted off by the afternoon, but I enjoyed it while it lasted. Have a good day!

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    1. You are some of many that love winter. I have friends that pray for snow. I don't mind the cold so much - it is just the dark and gloomy days. I hate ice as well.
      Have a good one.

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  8. I could tell Hubs was really winter bound today. But with covid I do not know what to do to keep him busy.

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    1. You guys still seem to keep somewhat active. Get him out in the garage or maybe with the missionaries. The gray days can get you down, for sure.

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  9. Great ideas - and happy to say I do a lot of them already.
    I live n Canada - Winter is a fact of life - no point n moaning about it (at least not too much). :-)
    .I open the blinds
    .I am notorious for moving furniture & changing accessories
    .I am a naturally tidy person
    .I still find things to declutter though and as I get older I'm more ruthless about it
    .I get outside and walk at least every other day - even now - did 2.5 hours walking down at Lake Ontario this morning. It was -4C but sunny and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
    .I've become a bird watcher during this lockdown - this morning my friend and I found a spot where a LOT of cardinals had congregated and she got lots of great photos - the males are so incredibly bright red!
    .Some snow due over the next couple of days so I'll complete some reports that are due for the office - update some things on our website and get some reading finished - nice cozy things to do inside. :-)

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    1. Sounds like you have it down to a science. Good for you. The cardinals are so pretty. Nothing like seeing those males and bright colors.
      Hope you don't get too much snow. Enjoy catching up on reading and staying cozy.

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  10. Hi Cheryl, I've been reading your blog for a while but think this is the first time I have commented. I love your list for avoiding the winter blues. I walk every day although due to lockdown here in the UK we are only allowed out for exercise once a day. Fortunately we have a reasonable sized garden so can use that too to get outside. The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has a BirdWatch weekend at the end of January each year when twitchers (keen birdwatchers!) spend an hour looking out over their gardens and counting how many of each species they can see. It's interesting to see the trends of which birds are more common and which have become rarer over the years. Thanks for all your blogging efforts. Vicki in Yorkshire, UK

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    1. Hello Vicki and welcome. So glad to see another reader from across the seas.
      Glad to hear you get out each day. The bird watch sounds like a fun activity. That would be very interesting and I am sure it also helps the sciences. It would be interesting to keep track of the various birds - I may have to start keeping a list of what I see each week. Something interesting to do!!
      Thanks for being here!

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  11. All excellent ideas for brightening up our homes and our spirits. You are a very active person and I'm sure that helps you in lots of ways...fresh air, physical exercise, enjoying nature and your kitties. It is supposed to be in the 40's today...good day to be outside for a while. We will take all the sunshine we can get. Still doing some decluttering here. There may some things we can't control in life but having a pleasing home environment we can design to fit our needs. Whenever I want to complain and whine, I remember what Elohim did to the Israelites when they complained...ha! We have so much for which to be grateful.

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    1. I love being outside and surely will be for a while today.
      YES control what we can - that brings us joy. Much of life is out of our control, but we can control our own little world.
      Grateful to the max.

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  12. Great post, Cheryl. It's interesting to me how many of these things I've been doing. Rearranging furniture, dusting/cleaning, organizing, going for walks, watching birds, etc. Sure does lift the spirits! Thanks for another great post :)

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    1. Glad to hear it. Simple things really can make you feel better.
      Thanks!

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  13. I see you have a spammer up above.

    I like all these ideas...it feels so good when I find something to get rid of. I just need to do more but am down to the nitty-gritty and it is hard.

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