While many people think February is the cruelest month, I (an Aquarius) think January is the worst. What with the start of real winter weather and the post-holiday low, the beginning of the year can mean a dip into the doldrums.
If January isn't motivating you to clean out your closets and make to-do lists, there are lots of small ways to make the long days more enjoyable. Here are just a few:
Plants: When the weather outside is, well, frightful, plants are a sure-fire way to remind you of warmer, sunnier days. The sight of a happy pothos or jade makes a nice distraction from gray, leafless trees.
Lighting: While your case might be milder, a lack of light is one of the contributing factors of seasonal affective disorder. Making sure you have adequate lighting can figuratively and neuro-chemically brighten those gray days.
A small gift to yourself: I'm not above buying myself a small Christmas present or two, and when I'm really not feeling good I like to treat myself to something like nice-smelling soaps. For about $5, they make winter showers and hand-washing that much nicer.
What's your winter pick-me-up?
Images: Flickr member Tgrab. licensed for use under Creative Commons
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Buy warm sports clothes, find a path in the woods and run. Run until your muscles are sore. You'll hear the chickadees singing and smell the tangerine scent of the conifers, and you'll fall in love with winter. Then go home and have a hot chocolate with whipped cream. Heaven.
Force yourself outside on what at first seem to be the dreariest of cold wet days. You will see there is beauty in this extreme. Your body and mind will acclimate and all that the season's have to offer will be sweeter.
I get my butt into my studio and start a new art piece. I stay up late working on it even if it isn't great, because it's still better than TV or the internet. I stop shopping online because the holidays really burned me out on that.
I agree with the forcing yourself outside while well bundled up. I grew up with winter being in the mid 40s but now live somewhere much colder and it took me a while to find out what an amazing job a long down coat can make.
I eat a lot of grapefruit. They are delicious this time of year and the scent cheers me up.
I bundled up and went for a walk today. It was 20 degrees, but getting sun and fresh air was lovely. I collected a few dried up hydrangea flowers (not the whole bloom, just a single twig with petals), and some red berries on branches to put in my office. A reminder of the beauty that exists in winter.
I put out a lawn chair and sit with my chickens.
I also walk in the woods near our home with the dog & kids.
Clean the house! I always feel better when things are clean and organized and cleaning gets me up off the couch and gets the blood moving.
Also, a sure-fire tip to beat the January blues? Extend Christmas until January 13th. The Swedes call it Tjuegondedag Knut (Twentieth Day of Saint Knut), and it's the last day of Christmas where you eat up all the leftover goodies, take down all the decorations, and throw the tree out into the snow (only works if you have a real tree and snow, of course). My Midwestern Swedish roots meant we always ate split pea soup, played Scandianvian music (on instruments, not CD players), ate lots of Scandianvian treats (like spritz, krumkake, rosettes, lefse, etc.) in addition to American ones, and sat around talking with friends and family until it was time for the ceremonial disposal of the tree. IT's a fantastic holiday.
Of course it helps that my birthday is also in January.
I'm with you on the plants thing, though. I have only an aloe vera plant on my kitchen windowsill. I need some low-light house plants! Any recommendations besides spider plants?
I moved to San Diego! It's 85 degrees today!!
heavy drinking november-april.
;)
I have to laugh -- 20 degrees... I wish. It was minus 20 here the other day (at that temperature, the C and F scales converge). I went to the art museum.
Fire up the woodstove and enjoy its cozy warmth with your beverage of choice. First, in order to enjoy the fire, spend some time splitting, hauling, and stacking wood. The outside work is even better if you have a dog, cat, or donkey to supervise you (we have the latter two).
My husband taught me early on that spending time outside in the winter can be a pleasure if you have warm enough clothing. As others suggested: take a walk. Enjoy the fresh air. Bring your camera and any people or critters willing to tag along. PerryA expressed it so well: beauty exists in winter. (It might surprise you!)
Here in kentucky we have only had a flurry one day. Usually though, this is when I get my craft on and my daughter paints. We actually went to a playground today. :P
I like to cuddle up with a blanket and my italian greyhound to read a magazine. Explore a library you don't usually go to. Plants like amaryllis and christmas cactus offer me something to look forward to!
I moved south. Living some where that only gets 7 hours of overcast daylight is too depressing.
Usually one really bad day in January will prompt me to book a flight to Mexico in February or March. Then I look forward to that all winter and it keeps me going.
Get rid of something - and I don't just mean your holiday pounds. Getting all those presents is a great recipe for overloading your house. Donating something to charity is a good way to lighten your load and make spring cleaning a little easier when it rolls around.
Go ice skating.
Go to a fun Zumba lesson.
Take yourself to the movies and sneak a mini-sized bottle of wine with you.
Read magazines in the library and feel good about yourself for not having to buy them all this month.
Unclutter your home and fall in love with it again.
To oksks, I love the idea of sneaking in the mini bottle of wine to the movies. I think they're also the perfect size for lunch bags, but I think my employer would disapprove.