| How to Enjoy Winter Dec 21st 2012, 08:00 Taking the outlook that the winter months are dreary, cold and hard can cause you to face winter with grim determination. Far better to see winter as a chance to recuperate from the year's toil and as an opportunity to plan clearly for the warmer months ahead. Winter may bring shorter days and colder temperatures but it also offers many chances to snuggle up, get through your reading list and partake in heartwarming cuisine. - Make your house healthy. You'll be spending a lot more time indoors during winter, so it's important that your house is healthy and as warm as you can make it.
- If your house is drafty and cold, look into what can be done to improve it for little cost. Many municipalities have started to offer subsidies or schemes to help you insulate your home to make it warmer. You can also do a lot by looking for the places that are sources of cold air and caulking/covering/fixing gaps as best you can.
- Let fresh air in when possible. You still need clean indoor air and the only way to get this is to bring it from outside. If you don't have a system in place that does this for you, open the windows for half an hour each day. You might also turn on a fan to circulate air.
- Clean off anything that encourages mold growth. While it may seem a chore, mopping up condensation or pooling water around window areas each day is time well spent in preventing mold growth. Scrub bathrooms weekly to remove any mold and prevent more from growing.
- Rug up if you cannot turn up the heat. Wear more sweaters, thermals and cover up with rugs when you're not active. It saves money and it keeps you warm, and fortunately, modern materials make it even easier to stay warm without turning into the Michelin man!
- Make sure your duvet (bed cover) has a high tog rating (a measurement system for duvets) to ensure adequate warmth.
- Make your home cozy and welcoming. A home that feels inviting will cheer you up constantly. Keeping your home comfortable and neat is important and there are a few things you can do to brighten up the place, such as:
- Change your sheets once a week. Fresh sheets improve your sleep experience and keep the bedroom smelling sweet.
- Light some spicy scented candles, and turn on your central heating for a gentle waft of delicious scent.
- Switch lights on, make sure your house is lit up prettily. A dark house in winter can be depressing, and make you feel lethargic and miserable. Remember not to waste electricity though, so only turn on lights in the rooms you're using. (And having solar lights and LEDs can help keep down energy costs.)
- Buy a few bunches of nice flowers, fake or real, and place them in vases around your home to cheer things up. Yellow flowers in particular have been shown to increase happiness. Houses can look especially bare in winter, when Christmas lights and decorations have been taken down, so flowers can improve the overall feel.
- Fill your house with laughter. Have friends over for dinner parties, TV nights or for a cup of hot chocolate together. Watch your favorite comedian on YouTube, the box or on DVD. Turn the news channels off, as winter is prime time for depressing and tragic news stories. Watch lighthearted, funny shows, such as Friends, or watch a comedy movie. If you're reading a magazine or newspaper, and you see the headline of a tragic story, skip it and try to find an inspirational article with a happy ending instead.
- Buy, borrow or haggle for something to cheer you up. You don't have to spend a fortune––perhaps a new pair of jeans, a scrapbook, a song you've been wanting to download for a while. Or visit a thrift shop or check out the offerings on Freecycle. Who knows what discarded goodies might bring a ray of sunshine into your day?
- Music is a great way to cheer yourself up. Consider buying a few new tunes, then making an entirely new playlist that includes both the old and the new tunes. Look for songs that bring a sense of enjoyment into your day and avoid those that leave you feeling melancholy.
- Make something to cheer yourself up. Think about how you might turn someone else's junk into your treasure––borrow a library book on recycled craft and let your imagination run wild. Get out the dusty sewing machine and start stitching up a storm; or, get into knitting, crochet, hammering, modeling or photography. Crafts and hobbies provide ample opportunities to spend your wintry days profitably.
- Make some winter clothes. Whether you're good at sewing, knitting, crochet (or not so good but you're willing to learn), making clothes for winter has a great incentive––at the end you have something to keep your ears, head and body warm!
- Favor bright colors. Making a quilt? Choose brightly colored fabric. Rearranging the living room decor? Replace the objects with brighter ones (or repaint/cover the existing items with more vibrant colors).
- Eat well. Comfort food is lovely in winter––just make sure you don't eat too much of anything stodgy or calorie-laden. Eat everything in moderation. Things like fries, hot chocolate, and popcorn are fine to have now and then, provided you're sticking to a balanced diet. Eat warm satisfying food.
- Try healthy options of warming food. Heat up some tomato soup and a bread roll, or have a baked potato.
- Make yourself a Japanese style soup that is both healthy and warming. Add miso, shiitake mushrooms (soak half a dozen in water for half an hour before adding to the soup), some kombu, tamari to taste and udon noodles. Yum! (And miso soup is also delicious and very easy to make.)
- Make hearty winter stews based on grains like barley and beans like kidney beans. You'll get lots of fiber and some delicious flavors. If you're a vegetarian, leave out meat additions.
- Get baking. Winter is a perfect time to improve your baking skills and use baking as therapy for dispelling the blues. Cakes, muffins, cookies, bread and rolls are just some of the delicious foods to try. And if you're feeling ready to go to the advanced level, consider teaching yourself to make French pastries––time consuming, fiddly but well worth the effort in the end!
- Exercise and keep moving. Staying active and keeping fit will make you healthier and leave you feeling more content with life. While it's cold outside, movement is your best bet for staying warm, so stop making excuses and start moving instead. Go for winter walks with a friend, enjoy the scenery. It's especially pretty if it's snowy or icy outside (just tread with care). When you're starved of sunlight during the winter months, you risk becoming downhearted, or suffering from "cabin fever"; feeling blue all the time and lacking adequate light to activate melatonin production can contribute to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Even if the sunshine is only out for a few hours, make sure you go outside and bathe in it.
- Look for other outdoor activities that can keep you active. Some cities and towns have places where you can go cross-country skiing in local parks, ice skating and playing ice hockey. Some places even keep cycling paths cleared for winter riding.
- Dogs still need walking, so if you have one, walk every day (being sure to take care of Fido's paws). Offer to walk your neighbor's dog now and then if you don't have a dog. And if you like animals and live near an animal shelter or a farm, offer to help pitch in and keep the place clean, feed the animals and exercise them––you'll be doing a good turn and staying active at the same time.
- Check out nature. Go birdwatching, feed the birds in your garden, follow winter nature trails and take photos of animals during winter.
- Where it's possible to do so, get out in the garden. For those living in temperate climates, gardening can continue through winter, while for those in harsher winter environments, you can start readying the garden for growing things by late winter. Some vegetables need to be sown in the winter months, so plan ahead.
- Wear appropriate clothing for being outdoors in the cold. If you're not sure what's suitable for the activity you'd like to do, ask for advice from a sports retailer, your physiotherapist or a health adviser.
- Relax and reflect. Winter is a time for reflection, rest and the release of pent-up stress. Relaxation will allow you to stand back from what you've been doing during the year and take stock. Consider whether you want to keep going in the same direction for the following year or if you'd like to make changes. Write down your thoughts and desires in a journal and perhaps map out any desired changes for the times ahead.
- Take a hot bubble bath with extra bubbles on the weekend.
- Lie on the sofa with a magazine or book. Idle away a few hours reading and learning.
- Plan things. Buy a diary, and fill it up with things to do. New Years Eve, New Years Day, Shrove Tuesday, and Valentines Day are all good days to make plans. Give yourself things to look forward to.
- Allow yourself thinking time. Don't have any expectations––just think. Record thoughts only if you want to––what's important is giving yourself the space to think.
- Study. Use winter as the time for learning new things. Whatever your age, winter provides the ideal opportunity to get stuck into learning and with many online courses freely available, there is no excuse for being unable to find something of interest. From the Khan Academy and MOOCs, to instructional videos on YouTube and courses made by educational institutions, there is a wealth of online information and learning tools available to every person on Earth. Sign up for something that you can learn at your own pace and aim to be more knowledgeable by the end of winter.
- Share your knowledge with others. Tell other people what you're learning and show them how to access the information too.
- Improve your memory skills. If you're worried that your memory might not be as good as you'd like it to be, use the winter months to train your memory to be more effective. See How to improve your memory for more ideas.
- Study isn't just about learning about the external world. Studying yourself is good too––what do you know about yourself, are you fulfilling your dreams or have you lost your way? Now is a good time to reassess your career, your interactions and your life's path.
- Get enough sleep. Winter days are short, with long nights. This, along with the cold weather can make us tired and lethargic. Get at least eight hours a night of good quality sleep.
- Sleep in a little on weekends. The added sleep is good for you and it's a winter treat you can revel in.
- Use spare mornings to lie in bed a little longer and read novels or non-fiction that you'd otherwise be too busy to catch up on. Luxuriate for the good of your body and brain!
- Stay healthy. Winter chills are a normal part of getting through winter. But you can help yourself by eating healthily, exercising sensibly, practicing good hygiene and speaking to your doctor about specific health needs (such as getting a flu shot). By being proactive about your health, you are in a better position to minimize the impact of colds and viruses that are bound to come your way.
- Celebrate the winter solstice. The shortest night of the year deserves acknowledgment with at least a drink with friends!
- As much as possible, enjoy winter produce. Fruit such as apples, pears and oranges are good during the winter season, as are vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and leeks.
- Some people find aromatherapy of help during winter months. By bringing fresh, summery scents into your home, you can convince yourself that warmer times are ahead. Focus on citrus scents, lavender, rose and geranium, as just some of the fragrances that tend to lift the spirits.
Edit Warnings - Never leave lit candles unattended.
- Stay indoors if weather conditions are severe.
- Don't air a house during a storm or severe weather conditions. If someone in the house is ill, do not expose them to cold temperature fluctuations. Use your common sense when assessing whether airing is appropriate or not.
- Have winter tires fitted where this is needed; stay safe this winter. Drive appropriately for winter conditions.
- Beware icy sidewalks and areas when walking; also be vigilant about overhanging ice that falls during melting periods.
Edit Related wikiHows |  |
No comments:
Post a Comment