Oh, baby it’s cold outside. Are you winter ready? If you are lucky enough to experience a winter season where you live, here are a few tips that will help you stay warm and healthy.
STAY WARM
1- Keep your hands warm
A good pair of mittens is a must! If you like to sew, these upcycled mittens are quite easy to make using an old wool sweater. They are snug, toasty warm, and make great Christmas gifts. The PDF pattern includes adult sizes XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL, and child-size large. It also comes in infant and child sizes.
A detailed measuring guide comes with a pattern to make sure you sew up the right size! You can get the patterns here in my shop
Pop these little hand warmers in the microwave for 30-40 seconds and place them in your coat pockets and you’re good to go. They are a great thing to send your kids off to school with, or on the ski slope. VERY easy to make! The free sewing tutorial can be found HERE.
2- Keep your feet warm
If your feet get cold in bed, I have the perfect remedy. Corn or rice-filled therapy bags are the best. Just microwave and throw under your covers. They’ll keep your little tootsie warm for hours. The tutorial and pattern can be found HERE.
Sweater slippers and sweater slipper boots made from (you guessed it) upcycled wool sweaters are an excellent way to keep your feet nice and toasty. Patterns HERE.
3- Keep your insides warm
A nice cup of yarrow tea is sure to keep your insides warm AND keep your immune system in check in case you get sick!
What is Yarrow good for?
- ANTISEPTIC and VIRAL INHIBITOR
- BLOOD PURIFIER
- CIRCULATION
- COLDS AND FLU
- DIGESTION
- FEVER
- INFLAMMATION
- TONIC
Yarrow tea is a great preventative remedy. If the crud is going around the neighborhood, don’t just sit there waiting for the symptoms to start, drink 1 to 2 cups of yarrow tea a day as a preventive tonic. If you already have symptoms, start flushing it out with 4 to 8 cups of Yarrow tea each day. Get the full yarrow scoop HERE.
There is nothing better than a hot bowl of soup to warm you up inside. Here are a few soup recipes you may like to try.
4- Keep your head and ears warm
Of course, you need to keep your head and ears warm too! Hats, hats, hats, there are all kinds of hats. Beanies, pilot, pixie, and pillbox hat styles can all be made using an upcycled sweater. The patterns can be found HERE.
WINTER READY TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY
Staying healthy and well during the winter is a good thing. Here are a few preventative things you can do to help keep your immune system up and running.
If you were to ask me what I thought the most important thing you could do to promote and maintain a healthy body, mind, and spirit would be……….. MOVEMENT would be at the very top of the list. I am talking about PHYSICAL MOVEMENT, moving the body in some way or another.
5- Rebounding
At this time I want to bring to your attention a form of movement that you may not have heard about or considered something of real value, REBOUNDING. Who would have thought that bouncing on a little trampoline could do anything for you? Well, I am here to tell you, by experience, that it can
Rebounding provides benefits to nearly every body system, from increased flexibility and skin tone to decreased stress. Its up-and-down movement improves circulation and lymphatic flow and gently massages the internal organs for whole-body health.
In my research, one of the things that intrigued me the most was that jumping on the mini-tramp 10 minutes equals running for 30 minutes for a cardiovascular workout. That is quite amazing! I think a lot of us have it in our heads that in order to be in the top physical shape we have to RUN marathons to achieve it. Rebounding is so much easier on the joints than running and can get the same results in less time.
Get the full scoop HERE.
6- Skin Brushing
Skin brushing is simple, quick, and very rewarding. This is another one of those things on the top of my “stay healthy” list! Skin brushing has been part of my morning ritual for quite some time. I can tell a big difference in my skin and in the way that I feel. Here are just a few of the benefits of skin brushing.
- Stimulates blood and lymph flow
- Helps eliminate toxins from the body
- Removes dead skin cells
- Encourages cells to regenerate
- Helps combat cellulite
- Results in smooth glowing skin
- Anti-aging through cell regeneration
- Strengthened immune system
- Stimulated nervous system, toned muscles, and tightened skin
- Stimulated both the sweat and sebaceous glands (contributing to the restoration of moist and supple skin)
You can learn how to do it HERE.
Although preventative measures are the best to keep you healthy, there still may be times you come down with that nasty cold or flu. Here are a few things you can do naturally to get you back on your feet.
7- Sore throat remedy that REALLY works!
If you are experiencing a sore throat, don’t jump in the car and run to the clinic just yet. I am going to share with you 4 simple alternative remedies for a sore throat that really work! Many of the ingredients you probably already have in your home.
- HONEY, CAYENNE AND GARLIC
- ORANGE JUICE AND CAYENNE PEPPER
- SALTWATER
- LYMPH MASSAGE
Go HERE to find the details and recipes
8- Thyme Bath
If you have the aches, chest congestion, and a lingering cough, this thyme bath is the perfect thing to get you going onto a QUICK recovery.
When my kids were small, they would ask for a thyme bath whenever they weren’t feeling well. My youngest son is now 24 and had the flu a few weeks ago. He came home for a thyme bath because the place he lives doesn’t have a bathtub, only a shower. Can you see how this has been ingrained in their heads as something that WORKS!
The thyme bath is not real labor-intensive and most likely you may have everything you need right there in your home. If not, you can get dried thyme at your local health food store or use Thyme essential oil.
You can learn the whole process HERE.
So, there you have it, 8 different ways to get ready for the cold WINTER ahead. It’s going to be a good one!
I am Wishing you a warm cozy and healthy winter season.
Jan Howell
Connect:
Jan Howell
Whether it’s a new recipe, a fun craft, or some handy tips for your garden and home, I hope to empower and inspire you with skills that you can use to create joy, improved health, and to do it in a simple way.
