When winter starts blowing its icy cold winds it seems that it will never end. Cabin fever can easily set in quickly when you find yourself home more than you’re used to and maybe not from your own choosing whether its illness, bad weather, lack of spending money, or something else. It is so easy to get too used to being out of the home a little too often.  What can you do to really learn to enjoy being at home for comfort and peace during the winter and throughout the year?

Jane Austen wrote real “feel good” classic novels.  I greatly enjoy her contributions to the optimistic, lighter side of classic literature. Throughout her novels she shared stories of people who were happy, comfortable, and satisfied with their lives, convictions, and homes and some who were not.  The consequences of both sides are glaringly apparent.  One theme is certain: those who are content with their home lives are generally happier people and those who are not content seem to have self-made problems in all areas of their lives.  Happiness always begins in the home. Alexandra Stoddard in her book “Open Your Eyes” sees home and its spaces as divine and holy if we make it as such, “The most blessed, divine spaces can be all the spaces in your home and garden.”

Is there something about your home that is not comfortable to you?  In order to overcome this, it would be important to figure out why.  Are you one who does in fact love their home, surroundings, and family and yet still find it difficult to just stay home?  The sparkle and entertainment outside of the front door is almost too irresistible for some and they find it less and less satisfying just being at home.

Let us take a short look at a few often overlooked aspects of what can make your life at home comfortable and keep you more at ease in your little corner of the earth.

People who frequent

Take a quick mental inventory of the following people that may frequent your home.  Who have you attracted in your life as friends?  Are they persons of good character who have the capacity to inspire and uplift you?  Or do you allow people to visit your home that bring you down, or who bring drama and hatred for others with negativity, gossip, and dramatic stories that always seem to surround them like a contagious, dark haze?  Have you made an effort to make friends with your neighbors no matter your differences?  Maybe there a few ways that you can make changes to improve the quality of your friendships, visits at your home, and neighbor-based relationships.  Changing things little by little can make large ripples in the feel of your life and home.  

Have you learned to be comfortable being by yourself and being still?

Have you ever felt all alone amongst a crowd? Even if you have family members or furry friends at home, it is essential to learn to be comfortable with your innermost thoughts, who you are, and really honor yourself as a wonderful human being.  In not loving who you are one spends so much time running away from the self, ignoring the inner talk, and ignoring one’s innermost needs.  This running from the self can cause you to want to physically run away, and many times that is manifested in not wanting to be home often, or be in solitude, or with your own thoughts.

Becoming spiritually connected to God, and healing your emotions, your past, and becoming centered are the keys to achieving this higher level of comfort. Some suggestions on beginning this process could include: regular scripture reading- just start with five minutes a day, find ways to quiet the thoughts within with yoga or meditation, and heal your generational false beliefs, negative feelings, and past traumas with energy healing. Other ideas on healing your body, mind, and spirit can also be found here on the Homemaking Cottage.

Banish boredom

Learning how to entertain yourself in meaningful, wholesome, uplifting ways can sometimes be difficult, especially for many of us who were raised being entertained by electronics, raucous music, and events always inviting us to leave the home for the glamour and glitter it promises.  The television can be distracting, and with a large amount of the inappropriate, uninteresting, unimportant shows and movies that are so common today, spending precious hours watching these can leave us feeling bored, depressed, and apathetic.  

Try not to allow yourself to get caught up in the false belief that your life isn’t as good as someone else’s. Don’t allow yourself to play the comparison game.  It only causes dissatisfaction and disappointment.  Be happy with the life you’ve created.  Change negative habits and rid your life of the activities, “friends”, and circumstances that you can avoid that would bring you down and cause unhappiness.  All of these can lead to boredom and dissatisfaction and propel you to constantly search outside of yourself and your home for this fleeting feeling of happiness and satisfaction that can only be found inside of you.

Add a fun variety to your schedule.  Is your life very busy?  Don’t neglect to schedule in fun time at home and especially time for yourself.  Write a list of things you like to do by yourself and activities you like to do with your family.  When you get a block of free time go to your list and pick something to do that appeals to you at that moment.

And finally to keep things in perspective, here are five negative things that usually occur when you are gone away from the home too often:

1.    You end up dining out too often being exposed to toxins in foods, eating foods higher in fat and calories, and you spend money that you wouldn’t have spent otherwise.

2.    It is proven statistically that those who are always window shopping, or shopping for therapy spend too much money and have higher credit card debt.

3.    When you are always rushing from place to place using your home as a launching or landing place your mind is less focused and you become less organized about the trips away that you do make.  

4.    Always being on the run equates to far more time spent away from home and family and less time for you.

5.    Less time for self education such as reading great books, picking up a class online at a local college, or participating in teaching new things to your children.

Jane Austen’s character Emma so eloquently affirmed, “I like to stay home for real comfort.” This is something I’m working at getting better about too- staying home where I belong.  The benefits of having a loving, comfortable, and happy life at home far outweigh anything the outside world can offer me.  

Regardless of the winter that blows its icy cold winds, or any weather mother nature brings, you can rest assured knowing that all is well in your home as you make it a haven for you, your family, friends, and neighbors.

Shiloah Baker

Editor-in-Chief

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