Embracing the Cold Weather | How I Do It

 

Now I know you may read the title of this post and think that there is no way you will ever embrace the cold weather, but just know that I used to feel the same.  Truth is, if you live in an area that gets cold weather, it's just a part of life.  Nature goes through seasons and there;s no way around it. But there is a way through it, and that's to make the most of it.  I have several ways I make the most of Winter and embrace the cold weather.


I still exercise outdoors. 

As many readers know, I am an avid runner and that means going outside in the cold air most mornings for a run before I start my day.  The cool thing is that when you're moving the way you do when you run, your body heats up pretty fast so I actually don't layer up the way I would if I was just planning to stand outside and do nothing.  I find the cold weather refreshing during my heated workouts.  I also manage to take leisure walks, including with my 3 dogs, on a sunny Winter days.    

 

I observe what nature looks like in Winter. 

I am a big fan of nature walks but I've noticed a lot of people think there's nothing to see on walks like this in the Winter.  Well, you're very wrong if you think that. My favorite time to take nature walks is shortly after it snows because I like looking for different animal footprints in the snow.  You can also notice the beauty of nature when everything is bare.  When I look at trees I often see how their roots look like stair steps going up the hill in my backyard because now that the weeds have died, nothing is blocking those roots. There's also something to be said for sitting near a body of water that's sparkling on a sunny cold day.  Get out there and explore!

I take advantage of warmer days. 

There are always a few days here and there that end up being unseasonably warm.  And man do I take advantage of those times. I'll go outside and ground myself by putting my barefeet in the grass. This is called earthing and I did an entire blog post on what it is and how easy it is to do.  I also will take advantage of the warmer days to get outside and be active with yard work like picking up sticks from the backyard or pulling weeds from the garden beds.  Yes, sometimes weeds pop up on warmer days but also sometimes I have to pull the dead stuff from my garden beds that I should have pulled in late Fall. Oops! 

I read a lot. 

What else should you do when you're stuck inside because it's snowing or super cold and windy?  Reading lets you explore new worlds, learn new things, and just relax and get lost for a while.  I go through so many books in the Winter and the easiest way to do it is on my Kindle and for FREE.  If you join your local library you can get books for free, even digitally!

 

I get my house in tip top shape. 

Every January I do a major deep clean/tidy/purge of my entire home, top to bottom.  It's a perfect project for the cold days and when Spring rolls around, you already have your major cleaning done.  I use a KonMari checklist I made to go through and get rid of things I don't need.  This makes me feel so productive and I would rather do it when it's icky out then be stuck inside on a nice day. 

 

So you see, it's all in how you use your time during the Winter months.  The cold weather can totally be taken advantage of AND enjoyed if you're smart about it. 

 

How do you embrace cold weather where you live? 

 

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