Cozy Up in Winter with Decor To Elevate Our Mindset

Cozy Up in the Winter Season with Decor For Snow Days in easy ways all through your home to bring your joy factor up in simple yet big ways.

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Winter decor helps snow days feel more cozy, but it can also add to our overall attitude.

When it’s cold outside, whether there is snow or not, the addition of extra cozy measures indoors make a big difference in how we embrace the season.

In many ways I crave the winter and the rest and restoration it brings.

There is comfort in the slowing down and extra self care that come into play in these darker months.

Welcome to Camp Paradise

What a difference this year has been in The Northwoods.

The first winter we lived Up North there was around 100 inches of snow.

My husband was driving his truck on the ice to plow an ice skating rink for the kids.

We were ice bowling, ice fishing and snowmobiling.

Each winter has brought those fun outdoor activities where coming inside to warm up is such a welcome part of the memory making moments.

But this year we have no snow.

We’ve had some snowfall off and on, a few inches at times, but right now the driveway is clear for basketball playing instead of piled high for fort building.

The temperatures at times require a coat, but have often been just right in only a sweater, more like the Texas winters I grew up in.

It has been a disappointment for many who travel to our area for their winter recreational fun like snowmobiling the miles of trails, for cross country skiing and snowshoeing.

The businesses have been struggling as well with loss of revenue by the down numbers in tourism.

A few things can add to the positive twist when even the weather is unexpected and brings disappointment and hardship.

• mindset
• habits
• support
• adapting

Gain a positive mindset

We talk about the weather a lot.

It’s a common way to start a conversation and connect.

Much of it is just surface banter, but it can be a bit of a downer to those we visit with and to our own psyche.

So we need to make conscious decisions to keep our thoughts positive and our actions intentional to shift toward joyful moments.

We can embrace the new, the temporary and the challenges by keeping them in perspective, holding out hope and creating a haven at home.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Tiny moments to look forward to can build on each other adding happy drops of pleasure into our days when we feel a bit emptied out.

Warm drinks bring a great deal of comfort, warm in our hands and warming our insides as they go down sip by sip.

Use common items in uncommon ways. What do you have around that could make a great tray to set or serve on? I love using a snowshoe in winter.

There are habits to do around your home that take seconds, but add hours of enjoyment.

Lay soft blankets over the arms of chairs.

As you get home, as you walk into the room, it will beckon you to come curl up and sit a while.

When you do sit, be purposeful about what you then fill your mind, eyes, ears and heart with.

Maybe not the news or the weather.

Maybe have a book sitting there waiting, or a hobby you’ve begun like embroidery or knitting, a journal to write in.

Do you have a pastime you love? One you’ve dreamed of starting?

Give your mind some true downtime.

Be intentional about capturing negative or frustrating thoughts right away and replace them with uplifting ones.

If you don’t know where to start then begin by listing and filling your mind with things you’re grateful for.

Great Habits Lead to Gorgeous Home Life

Keeping it simple with habits that become automatic can stack and build to cozy moments in a gorgeous home life.

Even everyday objects like pretty slippers become a piece of decoration when set by the door or the side of the bed waiting for you.

Make a practice of waking and sliding into your soft slippers and pulling on a warm robe you have laying at the end of the bed.

Walk in the door or after running errands or working all day and switch into your slippers, take off your coat and pull on a cozy sweater.

Mr. Rogers had a lot of wisdom and it started in those first moments coming in the door.

It only takes a moment to serve yourself a treat or a sliced up apple on a pretty dish instead of a paper towel or plastic plate.

Keeping my eye out for beautiful dishes is one of my favorite treasure hunts when I’m out thrifting or at antique shops.

I own a brick and mortar shop in Minocqua, Wisconsin and one of my favorite areas is our Dish Bar, a little room full of dishes, tea cups and saucers, tea pots and goblets all waiting to be mix and matched or discovered.

Plan a visit or see what else we offer on our online website showcasing thousands of antique, vintage and new items.

Have morning and nighttime rituals that restore you and prepare you, comfort you and nurture you.

Light the fire in the fireplace.

Pour a kombucha or glass of wine.

Keep on some background music.

Wake up and calm down surrounded by lamp light.

Get in the habit of lighting candles and filling your home with fragrances that relax.

Support Local Small Businesses

A cozy winter enjoyment is searching out and supporting the local small businesses in your area.

Frequent the coffee shops, sit a while and gather with friends or take along a stack of notecards and write a few notes to some you haven’t seen in a while.

Purchase items that add to your home’s winter decor layers from these stores.

Pick up a candle, a throw blanket, a vase to add some fresh flowers from the grocery or some found natural objects.

Be in tune with what’s happening in your local economy or those you support around the country.

When you hear times are tough you can still support by shopping online, buying a gift card or even sending an encouraging message.

The messages I receive from followers and customers really help keep me smiling.

Home decor goes deeper than just outside accessories, it truly can add to our comfort, elevate our attitudes and fill our hearts.

Adapting

This year, winter has not been typical, not what was expected, but adapting my expectations, my outlook and the way I spend my time can help turn possible disappointments into possible marvelous moments.

One of the prayers I keep close to my mind and lips is The Serenity Prayer.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

If I cannot change something (like the weather) then what is the point of being frustrated by it.

It wastes my time and my energy when I can better adapt and refocus on ways to enjoy what I do have control over.

Not doing the usual outdoor activities, while still not having the weather to work on landscaping and other outdoor projects, has freed up some time for me to work on indoor plans.

Organizing my closet.

I’m calling it the Last Chance Closet- what I don’t wear gets donated and not dreamed of the day I will fit in it again or have an event to wear it to.

Reallocating storage spaces.

Turning the coat closet outside the kitchen into my dream dish pantry and moving all the cleaning supplies from there into the closet under the stairs.

Sorting through the kids memory boxes and finishing up scrapbooks.

I can’t wait to surprise my youngest son (now 15) with some finished books.

So adapting to what I cannot change and embracing what I can is so productive and powerful.

I’m adapting these days in more ways than to the weather as my kids are all growing up and becoming young adults.

One in college, one abroad, one in the work force and two in high school.

Though not empty nesters yet, my husband and I do find our busy, bustling home much quieter these days and are adjusting to more downtime just the two of us.

I heard something the other day I loved, we aren’t empty nesters, we are bird launchers.

My decor usually is inspired by what I see outside the windows of my cabin in the forest and the lake, but this year maybe my decor will inspire a bit more snow to fall outside.

Well, I can wish.

A few more pretty snowfalls would be welcomed before true spring.

But even if the flakes don’t fall, I’ll adapt and lean into my decorating to uplift my mindset, support local, small business practicing habits that bring joy.

Are you looking for more encouragement?

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