After the holiday festivities in December and early January, sometimes things can start to feel a little bleak by February.  Cloudy skies, cold rain, or even snow combined with the still shortened (but slowly getting longer) days have us spending more time indoors.  Sometimes when we are feeling a little blah, tackling some projects that benefit you, your family, and your home can help to lighten the mood and remind you of the small things that you have to appreciate.   Here are some things to tackle at your home in Locust Grove (or anywhere) this February.

Plan Your Garden or Big Home Improvement Project

When you’ve got some extra time indoors, use it to plan those projects that you’ve been itching to get to during the warmer months at your home in Locust Grove.  Do some research and spend time selecting materials for your project and planning how you will complete the project.  Love to garden?  Want to learn how?  Winter is the perfect time to look through seed catalogs and learn about whatever you are interested in growing.

Give the Pantry an Update

How many times have you looked in the pantry, thought I need to get this organized, then closed the door.  Spend an afternoon pulling everything out, setting aside anything that need to be used relatively soon, and organizing and declutter the space.  Here are some tips for pantry organization.

Set the food that is close to it’s expiration date on a counter, and plan some meals around it rather than letting it go to waste.  You can use websites like All Recipes to input the ingredients you have and find recipes that use what you’ve got.

Check your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors

If you haven’t done it yet this year, take a few moments to test all the detectors in your Locust Grove home and replace the batteries as needed. Check on your fireplace too if you have one.

Add some Water

The humidity levels in homes can be low in the winter.  This isn’t always the best situation for tropical house plants.  Give your plants some love by spritzing the leaves with some water or adding a humidifier to a room. Adding humidity into a room can also help with dry winter skin and lips that we all experience.

Bring some Light

Bringing in natural light can be a mood booster during winter.  Open up blinds and curtains in your Locust Grove home to welcome the light into your home.  Add additional table lamps to rooms that just feel too dark after the sun sets.

Refresh Children’s Spaces

Refreshing a child’s play space can help to chase away those complaints of being bored.  Decluttering the area is a sure fire way to get a child to play with the fast food toy that you just found laying underneath the couch which your child suddenly cannot live without.  But, seriously, sometimes just switching out toys and bringing the ones from the bottom of the toy box to the front helps to spark interest.  Creating a small space where art projects can happen with plastic table cloths spread on the floor and table can provide hours of entertainment with less fear of destruction.

Embrace the Cozy

Just because the holiday season is over doesn’t mean that we have to lean into the cold.  Keep textured blankets on the couches along with pillows to snuggle with, use candles to add light and warm fragrances into a room, enjoy a book in the evening instead of scrolling on your phone at your home in Locust Grove.