If you’ve listened to my first episode or know anything about me, then you know that I’m a huge advocate of self-care and mental health. We all need to take care of ourselves, or we’re no good to anyone. I also like to discuss seasonal topics because living within the seasons can be very nourishing and a lot of fun. 

If you’d prefer to listen to this review, you can check out the full episode on The Bookmarks ‘n Blankets Podcast on your favorite podcast platform or listen below. 

So with it being in the middle of spring right now, I thought it would be a great idea to talk about all the ways we can enjoy this time of year if you live in the northern hemisphere. Sorry to the folks who are in the southern hemisphere. You’ll have to wait for my fall tips later this year. 

Recently, I was watching one of my favorite cozy YouTubers, and she had a video on romanticizing your life as a way to bring more ease and joy into our lives. Oh, I absolutely loved that idea and wanted to learn more, so I watched more videos by other YouTubers and did some searches on Brave. 

Through all of this research, I’ve found that there are many of us that want to slow things down, savor the smaller pleasures of life, and do things that make us happy. Romanticizing your life and what you want it to look like helps to intentionally give more space for doing those simple, little things that bring us so much joy. It helps to elevate your mundane everyday life into moments of awe, wonder, curiosity, and bliss. It’s a way to focus on YOU as you move throughout your day.

With springtime upon us, it’s time to alleviate any stress in your life and show your enthusiasm for the spring season.

50 Ways to Take Care of Yourself This Spring

I’ve broken this list down into seven categories. Some of these ideas are easier than others. Some are cheaper than others. Some are more practical than others. But they are all doable given your time, interests, and means.

Spring Cleaning:

1. Clean out your closet and donate old items – clothes, shoes, purses, toys
2. Clean out the garage, attic, or basement and throw a yard sale to sell old items
   • Storage unit – If you have one, clean out the unit
3. Spring clean your kitchen:
   • Wash out the microwave, stove, and fridge
   • Clean out pantries, cupboards, junk drawers, etc. 
4. Digital spring cleaning: Clean out your email inbox and unsubscribe from people and companies in which you never look at their emails
   • Review subscriptions, especially if they automatically renew monthly or annually – services you use, memberships you’re a part of, etc. 
   • It’s also a good time to check your driver’s license and car tags and put reminders in your phone to renew
5. Clean up your phone apps, folders and files on your desktop home screen

Springify Your Home:

1. Decorate your home with new spring decor:
   • New spring curtains
   • New spring bedding
   • Throw blankets and pillows and pillowcases
   • Rugs
   • Decorations
   • Centerpiece for your kitchen table
2. Check out your local flea market or spring bizarre or festival to find new spring decor for your home
3. Reorganize your workspace or desk or favorite spot in your home
4. Buy new spring scent hand soaps for your bathroom(s)
5. Diffuse essential oil spring blends
   • Warm citrus breeze – Bergamot, Orange, Grapefruit
   • In the garden (earthy, herbaceous and floral) – Rosemary, Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang
   • Blooming flowers – Frankincense, Geranium, Ylang Ylang, and Lavender
   • Fresh meadow – Lavender, Lemongrass, Pine, and Eucalyptus
   • Allergies – Eucalyptus, Peppermint, Lavender, and Lemon

Get Outdoors | Be in Nature:

1. Sit outside in the sun – exposure to sunlight has many health benefits
   • You can take supplements to make sure your body is getting the right amount of Vitamin D, but NOTHING replaces natural sunlight!
   • Creates vitamin D, improves focus & concentration, improves your mood, regulates your hunger, supports skin health, and improves sleep
2. Walk barefoot in the grass
   • Grounding 
   • Shinyin-yoku – the Japanese art of forest bathing: It involves taking in nature through your senses (a sensory experience): listening to the sounds (twittering birds, rustling bush, trickling streams), touching natural textures (touching the soft, green moss carpeting logs and stones, or the rough bark on the trees), observing the environment and noticing the textured ground or shapes of leaves and trees, and smelling bright floral notes from the plant life or earthy mushrooms on the forest floor, breathing in the clean, fragrant air.
   • Health benefits of grounding and extensive Japanese studies on forest bathing – help relieve anxiety and depression (put you into a better mood), improve fatigue, better sleep, can possibly help your immune system
3. Splash in puddles during a light rainstorm to let your inner child play
4. Sunrise or Sunset picnic
5. Go to a pond or lake and feed the ducks and birds
6. Go on an afternoon bike ride or rollerblade
7. Visit a flower festival or botanical garden
8. Drink your favorite beverage outside with a good book

Springtime Cozy Cooking:

1. Make a big pot of your favorite soup (for those chilly spring days)
2. Bake homemade bread & jam or your favorite sweet treat – baking can be very therapeutic; medicine for the weary soul
3. Make herb-infused oils
4. Visit your local farmers’ markets for fresh produce that’s in-season
   • Produce eaten in-seaon is fresher, tastes better, and are more nutritious.
5. Try indoor gardening with kits – herbs, fruit, veggies
6. Throw a tea party with your loved ones or friends – brew your favorite tea, make little finger sandwiches and bite-sized treats and desserts
7. Go on a picnic – pack your basket with foods to make charcuterie boards and your favorite wine or beverage – fruit-infused water, punches, herbal teas (fruit)

Health & Beauty Self-Care Practices:

1. Mindful eating – notice all the senses while you eat, no distractions
2. Take a walk in nature, gentle movement – listen to your body
3. Color your hair light for the warmer months
4. Get a manicure and pedicure, paint your nails pastel spring colors or bright/vibrant spring colors
5. Hydrating face masks and under eye patches
6. Try a new fragrance – perfume, lotion, body spray

Mental Health & Personal Self-Care Practices:

1. Make a spring bucket list
2. Digital Detox – step away from social media, unfollow brands and companies that don’t align with your beliefs, remove toxic people from your feeds
3. Play hooky from work on a nice day – Sometimes, you just need a day for YOU during the week. Or plan to take a Friday off for a three-day weekend.
   • I’ve been taking mini spring breaks every April for the past few years, which is really just a 4-day weekend. 
4. Change up your morning routine – Instead of grabbing your phone first thing, or getting up and starting your day right away, make time for you and allow your body to slowly get adjusted to the day.
   • Wake up to soft music to put you in a good mood
   • Take 5-10 minutes to meditate before doing anything else
   • Wake up earlier to start your day more relaxed – make a cup of hot tea or coffee and then read a book, journal, make your to-do list for the day
   • Gentle movement, stretching or yoga to help wake the body up
5. Drive around town, listening to your favorite music, sing along, put the windows down, enjoy the scenery – when running errands, take a different way home from work if you commute, change things up and create more energy in your body and lift your mood
   • Weekends – get out of town for a bit, explore a neighboring town or city you never go to
6. Buy yourself fresh spring flowers – don’t have to wait for your special someone to buy your flowers; put them in a beautiful vase for your kitchen table, workspace or desk, vanity in your bedroom
7. Change your wallpaper on your phone, laptop, iPad, or desktop
   • Make a digital collage
8. During a spring rain storm, just sit and listen to the rain against the window, close your eyes, and just enjoy the sounds. If it’s warm enough to open the window, enjoy the smells of the fresh fallen rain. Be present with this little wonder of nature.

Springtime Cozy Hobbies & Pastimes:

1. Sew, crochet, or knit a springtime blanket, article of clothing, or decoration for your home
2. Paint a spring landscape
3. Coloring spring pictures – physical book or color app
4. Press flowers and make a scrapbook
5. Air dry clay – press flowers/herbs into clay and then paint once it dries
   • Make springtime coasters
6. Create a spring mood board or vision board for this quarter – physical cork board or digitally
   • What do you want to feel during this season? 
   • What are some goals you want to reach this quarter?
7. Photograph all the blooming trees and flowers around your town or venture out of your area and visit a new suburb or town – make a photo album (physical or digitally)
8. Make spring jewelry
9. Watch your favorite spring movies (I personally love historical period dramas & love stories)
10. Watch spring/cottagecore YT videos
11. Read books that make you think or feel spring vibes or cottagecore
    • Read beautifully illustrated books
      • Jill Barklem – Brambley Hedge
      • Tasha Tudor – The Secret Garden

Enjoy Yourself in the Springtime:

I hope you enjoyed this long list of ways to romanticize your spring and take care of yourself during this time of year. 

We’ve all been through a lot these past few years, and some of us are still going through difficult times. It’s so important to take of yourself, be gentle and compassionate, and do what you need to do for your body, mind, and soul. Everyone benefits when you are healthy, fulfilled, and joyful.  

Many of us just need to get out of our heads and stop overthinking all the time. As someone who deals with depression and anxiety, I work really hard to do this and live in the present moment. It takes a lot of work and practice, but it can be done.  

I think this can be a really fun season where we can let our imaginations run wild, nurture our inner child, play more, be in awe of the simple things, and take pleasure in the tiny moments. Life goes by so fast, so we can only live for the moment.