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Self-care

11 Amazing Self-Care Winter Ideas To Try Now

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As the season has shifted and the darker days and nights are starting to draw in, this is the perfect time to look after your mental and physical health. The winter months are approaching and the winter blues can set in. During this time of year, our self-care and well-being can take a hit due to the end of daylight savings, the weather becomes grey and tinsel has already started appearing in the shops. 

With Stress Awareness Week approaching (30 October – 3 November), it’s a good idea to keep an eye on our mental health now that the shorter days and colder months are approaching. 

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is something that affects many people this time of year leading to low mood, and difficult times due to less daylight. Seasonal depression can take a toll on our emotional health. 

There are many positive things you can do to help yourself; spend time in the fresh air even if you many not want to, have a warm bath, avoiding junk food and adopt a healthy diet. 

Check out these self-care tips for eco-friendly ways you can look after yourself. Self care is so important so look at which self-care routine tips you could adopt to help with the dark days and cold weather. 

A hot drink

Photo by Lisa Fotios: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photography-of-blue-ceramic-coffee-cup-734983/

This is such a British thing, when we’ve got troubles, we ‘put the kettle on’, it’s a great form of self-care and there’s nothing better than a warm drink. I’m a huge tea drinker and have swapped to loose tea leaves. Some teabags contain micro plastics which could swim around in your cuppa so I’ve ditched the tea bags. If tea isn’t your thing, try Pumpkin Spice Latte or a refreshing Mocha. Give your tastebuds a little head start. 

Self-care with candles

Photo by Lisa Fotios: https://www.pexels.com/photo/macro-shot-photography-of-tea-candles-1652109/

When I’m having a soak in a hot bath, I light some candles. Why? Because it’s a fabulous way to unwind and wash away the day. Candles come in all shapes, sizes and scents. I find they’re a great way to get rid of any negative emotions and really relax. If you fancy it, you could even add a bath bomb. I don’t tend to worry if my fingers end up looking like prunes, the goal is to relax and make myself feel better. You could read a book in the bath or listen to some music. I personally prefer to daydream. 

A wheat Bag

This is a great way to unwind if having a bath isn’t your thing and these are extra special because they are something you can reuse over and over again. Many are scented with Lavender and other soothing essential oils which can be perfect to help you relax, unwind at watch a good movie at the same time. It can make you feel really cozy.

Time to de-clutter

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-using-laptop-on-the-floor-3791614/

Having a lot of clutter around you can really affect your mental health. Take some time to start decluttering areas around you that may be bugging you. You don’t have to do it all in one go, do a bit at a time. Look at things you no longer need or use; I’m sure there’s things you can donate to charity or regift to close friends. 

Self-care with a sleep mask

Getting a good night’s sleep is the key to everything. Because without a good night’s sleep, it is difficult to function properly. A good sleep mask will block out all light and help you fall asleep. I use one myself and I wouldn’t be without it.

Disconnect from Social Media for a bit

Photo by Kerde Severin: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-person-using-iphone-x-1542252/

Don’t get so caught up on what others are doing. Remember, people only put the best of themselves on social media, people don’t tend to post the bad side of their lives. You’re only seeing a small snapshot of what’s going on with them and some of what you see is probably artificial. It’s OK to turn your phone off. 

Dopamine can be your friend

Lack of dopamine can negatively affect your mood, motivation and focus. Do something you’ve never done before; there’s probably a large hill near you, climb it and enjoy the view. Music is a great way to elevate your mood; put your headphones on and dance around the living room like no one is watching.

Move your body, get some exercise, you don’t even have to go to a class, I bet you’ll find something on YouTube. Now this is a bit extreme for me but a friend of mine has a little lake near her and she goes for a swim. She’s a really strong swimmer and she finds it helps her mood (make sure you don’t go alone and stay safe at all times!)

Essential oils

Photo by Mareefe: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-clear-glass-bottles-with-liquids-672051/

There are a wide range of essentials oils that help with relaxing, general wellbeing and can have restorative benefits. Check out this post I found with some great information on how essential oils can help your overall health.  

Get writing

This may not be everyone’s bag but writing down how you’re feeling can be quite freeing. I’ve found that once something is out of my head, I think about it less. This is an incredibly personal thing so don’t be too scared to write down everything you think about; the good, the bad and the ugly. Get it out of your head. Remember, it’s OK not to be OK.

Learn something new

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cards-casino-chance-chip-269630/

Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn but never found the time? Could be something you may not ever use again… Learn the piano, juggle, learn a new language, twirl a pen with your fingers, memorise all 50 US states (don’t forget Hawaii and Alaska, I always forget those!), whistle with your fingers, play poker, learn the monarch song (I learned this!), line-dancing, balancing act with a fork and a toothpick, how to burp on command. You see where I’m going with this. There are so many things you could learn, do something for yourself and it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else. 

​The beauty of sleep

A big one to include in your self-care plan. Sleep. Without sleep, we struggle to function. Dark mornings and dark nights can affect our daily routines. Make sure you get a good night sleep and keep your body clock ticking over.

Self care looks different for everyone, there’s nothing selfish about it and the best thing is to find new ways to look after yourself. These self-care practices will go a long way with positive health benefits. 

Sustainable Living ideas

Ditching tea bags

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Following a program that aired on the BBC and the discovery how much plastic there are in tea bags, I am so glad I’ve made the change to loose tea.

Firstly, I would like to state that I’m a tea-loving brit. I work from home and probably have about six cups of tea a day so there was no way I was giving up tea forever, I needed a solution.

My partner works for a food distribution company who supply restaurants, pubs and cafes food and beverages. Luckily for me, he is able to purchase these items too and asked him to source loose tea (sometimes at large discounts).

The only issue I have from ordering from my partner’s workplace is that it comes in a plastic bag that can’t be recycled, not really helpful! Once I’ve finished the bag I’ve got, I will be trying out different companies in the UK to find the one I like.

For someone who has always used tea bags the transition to loose tea wasn’t as smooth as I thought it would be. Making tea from loose tea leaves…how hard could that be?

Firstly, I bought a pack of three tea infuser strainers from Amazon. They seemed to be perfect; scoop up tea leaves, leave them to hot water and remove…until they broke, that didn’t last long!

I refused to give up so I looked for a teapot infuser. I found in Sainsbury’s and I was very happy with the results. I’d forgotten that there could be some leaves at the bottom of the mug but that is expected from loose tea anyway. Word of warning; don’t drink every last drop from your mug unless you want a mouthful of tea leaves!

It took a while to figure out how many spoonfuls of tea I would need to make a round for guests but as I post this, we are in a pandemic and haven’t had many, if any, visitors. I will worry about that later. I’ve figured out how to make a cuppa for myself and have it down to a fine art.

Also, the bonus is that I know there is no plastic in this and can confidently put this in my compost bin.

There are so many places in the UK that sell loose tea leaves and some offer 10% off your first order. I’m also on the lookout for companies so if you have a recommendation, please let us know.

The change from tea bags to loose tea may be little but it still makes a difference to the environment.

Sustainable Living ideas

Plastic in tea bags

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Us Brits are tea-lovers. We love our tea; we have it with cakes, biscuits, toast and we can even go to expensive shops to have luxury ‘afternoon tea experience’. When we’re sad we have a cuppa, when we are happy we have a cuppa, when we go to a friend’s house, guess what…we have a cuppa.

But, do you think about the tea bag?

When you discard your teabag, where you do put it? Bin? Compost heap? Food waste? Nope, the only place is landfill because some brands use plastic to make their tea bags and some could be leeching micro plastics.

Just what you want, you’re enjoying a nice cup of tea and, unknowingly, your cuppa has millions of micro plastics swimming around in there. Yuck!

About three months ago, I found out about plastic in tea bags and I was mortified. I had put my tea bags in the compost and they don’t actually belong there. Of course, all brands are different so it’s worth checking the label but, in my experience, if a company is doing something they shouldn’t be doing, they won’t be very vocal about it. So, I changed to tea leaves. It took a while to get used to but I can’t ever imagine going back to tea bags.

My decision to move to loose tea leaves was further reaffirmed by a recent BBC programme called War on Plastic presented by Anita Rani and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Anita investigated the claim of plastic in tea bags this with the help of the team at University of East Anglia (UEA). The team of scientists aimed to dissolve six of the UK’s biggest tea bag brands to see what was left. Some dissolved completely and some tea bags left, what looked like, a plastic skeleton.

There are even some tea bags that aren’t made of paper at all – they’re entirely plastic! A team in Canada conducted a study on these tea bags where billions of micro plastics and nano plastics were found in the cup of tea. How gross!

The thought of these floating around my cuppa makes me feel sick and with all the plastics found in the oceans, I wouldn’t be surprised if micro plastics have already entered our food chain. Who knows what damage these will all do to our fragile bodies.

I think I will stick to my loose tea leaves.