for the Homemaker.

The holiday buzz is fading away. The glow of Christmas lights slowly disappears. The good cheer that was in the air gets replaced with the dreariness of the dull weather. If one isn’t careful the winter blues can be a cancerous feeling that will not be budged.

If everything has a season, then there is a divine reason for the winter season. My belief is it’s a time of rest and recouperation. Just as the land rests in the winter so must humans to a degree. Likely a notion that has been forgotten by our fast paced society. Think on it for a minute. From Spring to Christmas its just a marathon of activities.

Here are 5 things I do to help with the Winter Blues

1. Leave up the twinkle lights
2. Eat healthy hearty wholesome foods
3. Focus on others
4. Grow something
5. Allow yourself to rest

Leave up the Twinkle Lights

Are you a leave the Christmas tree up until New Years or pack it away right after Christmas type person? I grew up with the tree being left up well into January. Likely for the following reason. I always feel once the Christmas tree is torn down and packed away it leaves a big hole in the cozy feel we all crave in the winter months. So you can imagine my surprise when I married, that the norm on my in-laws side was to take it down like the day after. For some, though, the amount of space and busyness the tree holds is just overwhelming and doesn’t help that cozy feeling after awhile. Also, the idea of starting the New Year off fresh with Christmas packed away is appealing. I personally love the tree until the gifts are all gone from under it, then it starts to feel useless and in the way. Especially in a small home where you have to rearrange everything just to fit it. So I usually pack it up at some point in the week between Christmas and New Years.

Anyway, it really doesn’t matter when you take it down whether it’s Boxing Day or not until the daffodils start peaking out. The idea is to keep the cozy feeling going for the rest of the winter. I think one thing our human minds crave is light in the winter months. With that in mind I leave up the twinkle lights I have scattered around the house. The warm glow from them in different corners of the house helps chase away the grey shadows. I also make sure the blinds get opened and get as much natural light as possible. My new love is also lighting homemade beeswax candles, particularly when I’m working in the kitchen. Chase away the grey, basically, with warm cozy light. You won’t be sorry.

Eat Healthy Hearty Wholesome Foods

Yes, January is the month for all the diets and fitness goals. While those can all be good, let’s make sure we aren’t robbing our bodies of the vital nutrients it needs for these more challenging months. We already aren’t getting the Vitamin D from the sun and other nutrients that are more easily found in the summer months. Everyone’s diet looks different for different reasons and I by no means have any credentials to tell someone what is best. I just know from 9 years of homemaking and motherhood what works best for our family. I absolutely love focusing our diet on the seasons. So for winter there’s a lot of root vegetables, soups, warm foods, and homemade carbs.

That all nourishes our bodies but what about our minds. Making sure we are spending time filling our minds with God’s word and other helpful fuel is just as important. I’m not huge on New Years Resolutions but one that I was actually successful at last year was reading through the entire Bible in a year. To my shame at 28 years of age I had never done that. For many of my early motherhood years I had made the excuse when it came to Bible time that I didn’t have the “time”. Turns out I just had to use some less then conventional methods to make sure it became a part of my day. Listening to the audio version helped me stick to my goals and get me into the habit of “making” time. My brain could be digesting what I was hearing while still keeping my hands busy. It’s been an amazing stepping stone for me.

Focus on Others

The best medicine I have discovered for myself when I’m feeling down in the dumps, is to focus on others. So often our own selfishness is what causes us to get that blah feeling. We all have troubles and trials to different degrees. It’s of course important to deal with those properly. The danger is when we become self-indulgent in our woes and let the melancholy take root. I’m a firm believer that the Lord puts us in different situations to help us grow and learn to depend on Him. So why would we waste our time feeling sorry for ourselves? Please know, I don’t say that lightly. When you’re in the midst of hardship it’s okay to feel the hardness of it. That’s what makes the growth happen.

To help combat the “feeling sorry for myself” feels, as soon as I turn my attention to other people I find it disappearing. Whether those people be in my own household, my extended family, a friend, or a neighbor makes no difference. It can be a small thing like sending a note or a text message. It could take the form in making a meal for someone. It could look like inviting someone over or visiting someone who is also likely trying to fight the winter blues. Once we get out of our own head and focus on others the blues won’t feel so oppressive. They may even disappear entirely.

Grow Something

In a time when nothing seems to grow outside maybe grow something inside. Nothing cheers up a room quite like some tulips in the dead of winter for me. With that in mind I’m thinking of doing some tulip bulbs indoors if I can hunt any down. There is also the opportunity come February and March to start plants for the garden.

If you’re not the gardening type though maybe growing a hobby is more what is needed. My latest favourite is making candles. It’s such a simple hobby that takes little skill and only a little time but great joy. Being able to make something with your hands brings a good amount of satisfaction. And what better way to mark the end of the winter then to be able to look back at all the things you’ve made.

Allow Yourself to Rest

If winter is for resting and recuperating then lets make sure we actually rest. As I write this my children are quietly building Lego. Come summer they want to be running full boar outside, swimming, and climbing everything in sight. They still have bursts of energy for sure in winter but even they seek out the quieter activities.

It’s okay to take that nap. It’s okay to enjoy a movie afternoon. It’s okay to play a game. It’s okay to read a book. It’s okay to sit and enjoy baby snuggles. It’s okay to let the house get a little messy so you can rest and enjoy your family. You do not have to be busy every minute of every day. If you’ve read that and thrown up your hands in despair because you don’t feel like you have enough time as it is to get all the things done, I hear you. Saying no to things, figuring out systems to run your household, and giving up on perfection are the only ways I know to allow time for rest.

These are only a few basic ways to change your winter for good. Let your winter be a time of joy and rest instead of doldrums and misery.

The Sunflower Homemaker – Alyssa