Winter Intentionality at Home
How can we be more intentional in preparing ourselves for winter at home?
Living in Wisconsin, I’ve learned the importance of preparing for ‘dark winter’. While we may not have it as intensely as our Canadian cousins, here in Madison the sun is inching closer to setting at 4:30 in the afternoon, and soon won’t start showing itself until 9am. The combination of long, dark hours coupled with perpetually grey skies and bone-chilling temperatures means that leaning into the dark is the only option.
I was on a Zoom call this morning alongside half a dozen of my favorite women, and our conversation quickly shifted to how we would be coping with the oncoming dark winter. It seemed an especially salient conversation, as our typical indoor social activities will be stunted due to Covid, and many of us are already feeling the emotional roller-coaster of effects from half-a-year of social distancing. Coping method suggestions ranged from burning more candles and taking longer baths to buying new gear to incentivize outdoor play – no matter the temperatures. But one of my personal favorite ways to prepare for winter is to energize my house. I know it sounds a bit new-agey, but if you’ve ever briskly rubbed your arms to warm them up, or practiced dry brushing, you’ll know that invigorating feeling that’s left behind in your body after it’s been woken up - and we can do the same for our homes.
Energizing your house doesn’t take special equipment or effort – just some intentionality. Similar to how spring cleaning brings a revitalized energy into a space, winter-energizing refocuses our attention inward.
1. Deep clean. Get to the back of those unused cupboards, donate what you can, and clean the corners that don’t make it onto your weekly chores list. Once our furnaces are turned on for the season, we’re stuck with the air and all of the dust that’s in our homes, which can accumulate at up to 40 pounds per year. Cleaning not only allows for fresher air throughout the winter, but spending time and attention cleaning those corners wakes up and energizes them.
2. Declutter. Marie Kondo knows the way if you’re looking for a full tutorial. Otherwise, get rid of the first 20 things you don’t use (please recycle, donate, etc), and make a vow not to bring new things in unless you really love them.
3. Move yourself and your furniture around. Every winter my husband and I move our winter clothes into the spare room and set up camp for the season. We started the practice several years ago due to the room being several degrees warmer than our master bedroom but found that we really loved the change in routine, experiencing our house in a different way, and the coziness that the smaller room brought to winter living. You may not have a room you’d like to move into for a season, but think about ways you can create a sense of coziness throughout your space. Maybe that means moving your sofa to a new wall and pulling up a couple of chairs to make a cozier seating arrangement, or setting up a game table in a corner of your living space for puzzling and ongoing board games.
4. Light those candles, set up diffusers, and burn some sage. Beeswax candles, essential oil diffusers, and sage all emit negative ions into your home’s air, which have been found to be mood enhancing, stimulating to the senses, and may relieve you of some of your allergy symptoms. My favorite essential oil scents are eucalyptus and lavender, and I diffuse them throughout our house, which has the bonus benefit of adding a bit of moisture to the extra-dry indoor winter air.
6. Thank your home. (So many of us go through our days not fully appreciating the comfort and safety that our homes provide for us, but as you go through your house cleaning and moving things around, say a gentle thank you (either aloud, or to yourself), for all the gifts your home has given. This practice of gratitude is a simple reminder of the blessings we have, and calls attention to what we may have taken for granted.
No matter where you live - whether it be an RV, an apartment, a single-family-home, or with your parents, being intentional about preparing for winter at home makes those cold, dark winters much more pleasant to pass indoors.
I’d love to hear about your rituals, what you’re doing to prepare for winter, and your favorite home blessings.