Do you feel it? That February sluggish slow-down? We all need a little fresh air, I think.
This week, I wanted to share some of the things I’ve been doing to battle my own late-winter fatigue. I’m all for joining the gym, going on a road trip or picking up a bright bouquet, but this is all stuff that you can do at home on any budget.
1. Shop your closet.
I revisited MAV’s CLEAR-OUT post and gave my closet a thorough and relentless purging. I took an evening to make sure what remained was mended and pressed Downton Abbey made for good company while I was ironing). The rest of the week, I challenged myself to combine and layer clothing pieces in ways I never had before. I felt like I had a new wardrobe.
2. Browse some cookbooks.
I sat down with a stack of cookbooks—some old favorites, some borrowed from the library, a new one gifted by a friend—and just spent some time turning the pages. No agenda. No menu planning. Just browsing.
I didn’t end up trying any new recipes this week, but what I did do was take inspiration from what I saw and applied it to some of our family favorites. I roasted the fish in the oven rather than cooking it on the stovetop. I added a panko topping to baked pasta. Just little stuff that helped things feel fresh.
3. Rearrange a little
After spending so much time indoors, I become a little tired of my surroundings. I get a pretty big hankering to move furniture and change things up (heck, I even start looking at real estate listings). Knowing a full-scale redo (or move) is not in the cards, sometimes it helps to rearrange just a tiny corner. I created this small display on my neglected bedside table.
The cat came along later in the day and knocked it all apart, but it’s okay. Sometimes it’s just in the doing.