Nearly ten years ago, I learned about the benefits of living seasonally.
The only thing is, I struggle with the rhythms of “seasonal living” during the long winters where I live. We often have cold, wintery weather from about mid-November until mid-April. That's a full 5 months. Add 2 weeks of mediocre weather on either end of that timespan and we basically have 6 months of winter. Although so many people espouse the benefits of resting in winter and embracing turning inwards during the dark months - an idea I can get behind - considering our long winters, I just can’t rest that long. Yet, the darker period we experience here doesn’t seem like the right time of the year to start new projects.
After years of struggling with anxiousness and restlessness especially towards the end of winter, I’ve had to come up with an action plan for what to do with myself during those long, late-winter/early spring weeks: I don't completely rest, preferring instead to be productive and lay the groundwork for the busier 5 or 6 months ahead of summer. At the same time, I don't launch myself so forcefully into projects that I wear out before the bright and busy part of the year truly begins..
What is seasonal living?
It's generally accepted that we, as humans, are wired to live seasonally. For generations, centuries, millennia even, our ancestors were closely tied to the lands and the seasons. They needed to plant or seek new foraging grounds in the spring, grow and seek out abundant crops in the summer, harvest in the fall, and rest and conserve energy in the winter until it was time to experience the cycle all over again.
Only in the past 150 years or so have we started to be cut off from these seasonal ebbs and flows: with the industrial revolution, electricity, and better transportation of foods and goods across long distances, we no longer have to plan our life around growing food and doing everything during the lighter, warmer half of the year and hunkering down and just making due and resting in the darker, colder part of the year. For the most part, having the option of eating, say, oranges and strawberries in January even if you live where there’s a raging blizzard outside your window isn’t the worst thing. Modern conveniences mean that we can (in theory) be healthier and less stressed about our day to day survival.
“Winter is for rest”
A few years ago, the social media algorithms pinned me as someone who might be interested in nature-based living. So, not a winter goes by without me coming across at least several dozen posts about how winter is the time for rest, how I should use winter for self-care and reflection.
And that’s okay, I don’t have a problem with that idea at all. Where I live, our darkest months are November through January and I’ll admit that I naturally tend to slow down on projects and creativity at that point. It’s not uncommon for me to take a breather and put less pressure on myself during that time of year.
The only problem is, I live in a place where winter can drag on for months. Half of the year, almost. We can get our first truly cold days and snows in winter, and this lasts until at least April, sometimes the final snow falling in the first days of May.
I can’t rest that long.
Winter is not an ideal time to start new goals and projects
However, I do agree with the ideas circulating that early January is not the time for “new year, new me.” Early January is truly a terrible time to start new projects and endeavours. It’s the dead of winter in most parts of the northern hemisphere (and the height of summer in the southern), truly not ideal timing. Generally, we are worn out after the fervour of the holidays in December, and slow, sluggish, with poor immune systems in the dark and dreary month of January. What a miserable time to muster up the energy courage to begin new projects, goals and resolutions.
I never felt like January 1 was the start of the year; to me, the end of the year feels more like fall, when summer wraps up and new projects and the school year tend to start over.
Another time of the year that feels very new is, of course, early spring, and that is also a time when I like to start new things and begin new projects. This definitely follows the rhythms of nature, as the snow melts, the rains refresh the soil, and the earliest plants begin to push out of the cool soil after the long winter. Like the world around me, I always feel a burst of creative energy and creation energy.
What should we do in winter (beyond just resting)?
So what does that leave us with during the long weeks (or in my case, months,) of winter? How do I still live seasonally and in alignment with the earth and nature throughout winter without, you know, just hibernating the whole time? (And by the way, if you want to hibernate the whole winter, don’t let me stop you, I totally get it.)
Like I mentioned, I do tend to slow down and rest for a while. Often, sometime around February 1st, I begin to get a little stir-crazy. This tends to be when the light starts returning at a rapid pace where I live. We will gain several minutes of light at the end and beginning of the day starting in early February, and over the course of the short month, add an hour to the beginning and end of our day. This starts to give me a boost of energy, which I sometimes confuse for restlessness because I am often still confined indoors with low temperatures and/or snow and ice outside as winter continues.
Over the years, this restlessness - the clash of the brighter days with the confines of the raging winter season - can cause me to become agitated, irritated at winter, or even cause anxiety or (what I suspect to be) seasonal depression. Instead of getting too stressed or frustrated, however, I have learned to collect myself and channel that late-winter energy into some other things that feel both in alignment with the winter season and yet also to help me prep for the busy spring and summer seasons ahead.
Finish Projects
One of the first things I consider doing is finishing projects. Spring, summer and fall are such busy times of the year that I often start things that I just can’t complete. This can come in the form of small projects around the house, organizing a closet or re-painting a wall, that I never finished or really wanted to do but never got around to during the faster-paced times of year.
I also use this time to look around and consider what artistic projects I have not gotten around to doing. In the spring and summer, I am so full of inspiration for my jewelry and art that I often sketch out ideas for new projects or start them but have no time to finish them. This is a great time to take stock of what I’ve started and make a plan to wrap them up. I love doing this type of thing in winter because sometimes finishing a project can feel longer or more mundane than coming up with the concept/starting it, and yet I have more patience and what feels like more time in winter to concentrate on it, so it’s the perfect time to actually get a project done. It’s also really satisfying!
Learn New Skills
Although the start of the school year can feel like the natural time to go back to school or take classes to level-up something you really want to get better at, over the years I’ve found that I love investing time and energy into myself and my learning goals in the winter. It helps me focus less on the long weeks of winter and more on something that can help me build and prepare for the future. I feel really productive as I know I am investing time into learning that I may not want to spend the time on in the summer, when outdoor activities or hangouts with friends after work are far more appealing than going to a class.
I love academics, so in the past, I’ve pursued professional certifications in the winter, but nowadays, I get just as much (if not more) satisfaction learning new skills that I think will help me in the busy months ahead. Examples of this could be researching gardening techniques or taking yoga classes to help support your mental and physical wellbeing the rest of the year.
In the past few years, I have taken most of my metalsmithing classes for jewelry in the winter. I’ve also tried to practice and learn new techniques related to painting with water-colour and gouache. In the near future, I want to learn how to weave, so that in the summer I can dye natural fibre yarn with plants and flowers from my garden that I can later use in new weaving projects. Learning new hobbies and crafts through a long, cold can be very relaxing and definitely in alignment with the restful nature of winter, but at the same time, feels a bit productive, too.
Prep for the Season Ahead
The winter is also a great time to plan all of the projects and activities you want to do in the spring, summer and fall. I use it as a time to research and plan vacations or special outings. It would also be a good time to research, shop for and plan an outdoor renovation project, such as building a new patio or setting up some outdoor furniture. As an avid gardener, in past years I used winter as a time to draw detailed plans for my garden, and of course to start seeds depending on when they need to be started ahead of the growing season.
In very late winter or early spring, if the snow has melted from the ground, you can even go lay the groundwork (no pun intended) for the projects you have planned: for instance, I am usually the first person at the garden center in March or April buying bags of compost, potting soil and mulch for the yard. That way, I ether have them on hand for when I start planting in May, or if the snow is gone I start spreading the compost over the soil and get it ready to plant up a few weeks later. Most people don’t think to buy their compost, soil or mulch until the time they plant in May or June, at which point they are going to have a lot to do all at once.
Also for gardeners, even here in the north there are a lot of seeds that should be in the ground very early. If you read seed packets carefully, some flowers actually need a cooler period in the ground before they will germinate and grow, which means they might need to be planted as soon as the snow melts. For instance, I have had good luck growing poppies by scattering the seeds in the super-early spring, and then I have blooms by June.
Clean and organize
Even though everyone knows about "spring cleaning," I like to actually do spring cleaning in late winter. This frees me up to be out of the house more once spring actually arrives (who wants to be bogged down with stuff to do inside on the first sunny, warm day of the year?) and also is a great way to pass the time. Cleaning isn't just about doing a deep clean: I also use it as a time to throw away, recycle, give away or sell items I haven't used or needed in a long time. I also organize closets and do small projects like buildign shelves that will help me organize my things the rest of the year.
Once the days warm up, I open my windows to get fresh air inside and do a more typical "deep clean." It can also be fun to make your own cleaning sprays... one of my favorite things to do is to make an all-purpose cleaning spray by combining white vinegar and water, a few drops of dish soap, and some essential oils like lavender, orange or lemon to add a beautiful, natural, spring-like scent to the home.
Try a Seasonal Drink or Dessert
I am not an avid cook, but I tend to switch up my meals according to the seasons. Winter is a time of soups, stews, and baked dinners, while I look for lighter and fresher flavors by spring. I buy local, greenhouse-grown strawberries and can start to make desserts incorporating those. I also like to switch from drinking hot teas in the afternoon to iced matcha lattes in the spring. I often flavor my iced matchas with orange blossom water and honey, which is a really spring-like scent.
Get out of the House
Finally, and probably most importantly for my physical and mental wellbeing, as the snow starts to melt and the days warm up a touch in March, I make a big effort to get out of the house. This could be a quick walk to a local park where I enjoy watching for birds that might be migrating back north, or it could be a longer road trip out of town to spend a weekend away from the city, hiking along trails or enjoying the ground without the snow and ice I've been navigating all winter. A change of scenery and some extra time to soak up the rapidly-returning sunlight can really work wonders.
