How to Stay Sane in the New England Winter
A guide to not losing your marbles when the beach is no longer an option.
Brrrrr
Cabin fever, stir crazy, climbing the walls – whatever you call it, being inside for too long can drive anyone bonkers. As any New Englander knows, our February is a far cry from our July. No more days at the beach, sunsets by the grille, or nights by the pool. Mobility becomes limited, life slows down, and if you’re not careful – insanity sets in. But there are plenty of ways to avoid it!
Chemically
A huge part of the reason we feel so sluggish during the winter is the lack of Vitamin D. When we spend all day in the sun we get plenty of it, but between shorter days and more time inside, our levels drop. A good way around this is to take Vitamin D supplements or eat food rich with with Vitamin D. These foods can include salmon, egg yolk, mushrooms and tuna. They even make Vitamin D lamps!
Channel Your Inner Julia Child
Speaking of foods! Take this winter as an opportunity to expand your culinary horizons. Whether its from Pinterest, a cookbook, or your own imagination, try a bunch of new recipes. Cooking is a great way to get the type of visual stimulation we miss from summer, with ingredients of all different colors, heat, and the excitement of creating something delicious you’ll forget all about the cold temperatures outside!
Find a Hobby
Use the winter downtime to learn a new skill or sharpen an old one. There are a million things you can do inside to occupy your time! Pick up a knife set and start woodcarving. Get into sewing. Finally try your hand at painting or write that short story you’ve had in your head since college. Cooking counts! And lets admit it, sometimes the best hobby is diving head first into a binge-able show or a great book.
Mr. Clean
Clean your house! And I don’t mean wash the dishes, but take this as a chance to really clean. Put on an audiobook, podcast or your favorite album and go to town! Clean behind the fridge, scrub your bathroom countertops, get rid of all the old stuff in your cabinets. Nothing feels better than a recently decluttered and spotless house. While you’re at it, reorganize your house! Set up your living room differently, move your bed to the other side of the room, rearrange where everything is in your kitchen. After all, its going to be harder to go crazy in a house that seems brand new!
Embrace it
When all else fails, layer up and embrace it! We’re New Englanders, we’re tough! There’s a special rush about facing the elements, something exciting about going against cold temperatures and snow. There are a number of fun winter activities you can do. You can go sledding or find a big parking lot and go drifting. Take a weekend trip to a winter paradise like Waterville Valley, New Hampshire where you can ski, snowboard, snowmobile, or ice fish. You could even take up hunting or simply throw on a jacket and go for a walk through the woods to lose yourself in the beauty of a snow covered landscape.
One last tip: joining a coworking space is a great way to get out of the house and into a bright, cheerful environment. Check out our events calendar and join us for an open house or a workshop this winter!
Hopefully this list gave you some ideas on how to avoid going insane as we enter February.
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