NO! It does not include going on a shopping spree! With more and more people hitting the malls every holiday they get, holidays are becoming an economic drain rather than enriching our souls.
Sure shopping makes us happy but that happiness is very short lived and needs to be replenished with repeated trips to the mall. It is a vicious cycle! This summer, try something that creates everlasting memories, makes you feel good for real and enrich your soul rather than draining your pocket on stuff you won’t fancy as much after a while.
Operation Clean Up
Clean up the whole house! The kitchen pantry, the attic, the garden outside, especially your closet! Yes, rather than buying more clothes, go through everything you own and throw out stuff you haven’t used in a year. The dresses, the shoes, the bags, even old jewelry that has gone out of fashion or doesn’t catch your fancy anymore. THROW IT OUT! Or better, donate it to charities. The fresh feel of a recently cleaned up space is magically soothing! De-clutter your life. It will literally make you feel lighter.
Grow Something
If you have garden space, and you haven’t given it time before, now is the best time to build something simple and relaxing in your own backyard. A simple lawn and some flowers can have a great effect on your mental health. Create a place where you can sit with a cuppa and unwind. Nothing better than the greens. It is a pure delight to see the progress of the flowers you’ve been growing. Or get succulents! Those little beauties will surely keep you busy in a positive way.
Get Close to Nature
Go camping or hiking with a friend. Hire a cottage in the woods and get lost in the serenity of Mother Nature. There is nothing more healing than nature itself. Every so often, a get away from our busy lives surrounded by honking cars, tall buildings, pollution, and screens are very important for our emotional, physical and mental well-being.
If you absolutely cannot take out the time or don’t have the budget to travel, just take a photo walk in your city. Photograph the little squirrels scurrying around your driveway or the flowers in your neighborhood park. Or even the blades of grass in your own backyard! Read a book under a tree. Just get out there for a while every other day and get away from the mundane things you do every day. Break the routine! Even if it means indulging in child-like activities. They will give you pure, child-like joy!
Volunteer for Community Work
And this does not have to be at some fancy charity at all! Find out who needs help in the neighborhood. Help out an elderly neighbor with their groceries or mow their lawn. Visit the sick in the community hospital. Make some goodies, fill up a jar and give them out to the homeless or sick kids in the hospital. Better still, if you are a home grower and have a vegetable patch in the backyard, pull out excess veggies and pass them on to anyone who needs them. You can even put up a stand where the whole community can leave things they do not need and pick up the things they need. Like a community exchange point!
They say: Never Buy your Bread – Bake it yourself!
Yes! This summer, bake something unusual. Try another country’s cuisine. Try cooking something you’ve never had before but want to and only heard of it in that travel brochure. Spend time planning a little brunch for family or get all your girlfriends together for a cute, girly tea party. You do not even have to do all the hard work. Make it a one dish affair with everyone bringing something for the table. Make it a little fancy by putting up candles or flowers to go with a theme or simply put up some fairy lights in the backyard and have a BBQ with your pals. Whatever it is. Gather the best people in your life around you and celebrate life together!
Bring about these little changes to your lifestyle and you will emerge a completely different person. Happy holidays!