Even if the weather hasn’t been that bad, even if you took a recent vacation, even if you haven’t had a cold or the flu – the winter months can give any of us the blues, the blahs, the ‘no energy for anything’ feeling. The shorter amount of daylight, the general grayness of the outdoors, the wilted Christmas wreaths, the black puffer coats – ugh! Enough already!

Fortunately we don’t have much of winter left to go, but what’s a gal to do to make it through the next several weeks? No, put down the wine bottle…we all know that alcohol is a depressant, so that’s not the answer! Instead, here are five simple things that I find therapeutic during this time of year:

1 – Get a haircut. Even if you don’t really need it, getting a fresh haircut can be very uplifting…the same goes for hair color – why not try something a little different? If you tell your stylist you need a subtle change, they will help you find a color or highlights that’s right for your skin tone. Instant lift!

2 – Read a book. No need to be bored when you have a good book and can instantly immerse yourself into a whole different world…if you aren’t dying to pick up your book, you’ve got the wrong book. Pass on it, don’t feel guilty! Your books should ‘spark joy’. I recently read ‘Then She Was Gone’, by Lisa Jewell – a gripping psychological thriller that I could not put down! Now reading ‘The Alice Network’, by Kate Quinn, a story of two very courageous women during wartime – great characters, hilarious and heart-wrenching at the same time, plenty of sex. SO GOOD.

3 – Don’t go shopping. Yes, I really said that and I mean it. This time of year you will find mostly picked over winter clothes on clearance…there’s a smattering of spring clothes, but not much, and there’s definitely better stuff coming…you will also notice a lack of energy in shops this time of year, so the experience of shopping is lackluster…save your money for better shopping days ahead!

4 – Purge. This is a good time to go through your closet and get rid of things that you know you will never wear, you know will never fit. Pull out your spring clothes too and decide what you never wear – put the spring purge items aside and consign them at the end of March or early April when they are more likely to sell. If you aren’t looking forward to wearing a certain dress again, let it go!   

5 – Change up home decor details. OMG, enough of the snow globes, enough of the winter decor (ok, except for my Stowe pillow and decorative skis)…you really don’t need to spend much on new items, it’s more about removing the winter items that will give your home a fresh look…add a bouquet of tulips (real or not!) and a dish of pretty wrapped candy and it’s instantly uplifting. A quick story on this topic…

After putting away winter decor items, it’s fun to find a few new things to give rooms a fresh look, right? Last week at Home Goods I picked up a romantic arrangement of faux roses that I thought would look nice in our bedroom…I placed it on a dresser, and artfully arranged it near a photo of Peter and me, with a tall flameless pillar candle. OH NO. What the heck??? The combination of the flowers, photo, and candle made it look like a MEMORIAL! Like one of us DIED! That will not do. Flowers immediately moved to another room. 😉 Hahaha…

What do YOU do to beat the winter blahs?