Feel Good Factors for October

When the weather is miserable and the rain falls relentlessly, the nights are drawing in and summer is just a memory; we need to nurture our body and soul to deal with the onslaught of winter.

Now is the time to make ourselves feel good. It is not a time for diets and deprivation. It is time for nurturing and nourishing.

I hope that the list below provides some ideas and inspiration to help you through this difficult month.

Buy yourself a big, new, soft fluffy towel to envelop yourself after a warming bath or shower.

Make lots of tasty soups using colourful vegetables – be experimental!

Bake bread to warm the kitchen and fill the house with a wonderful aroma.

Stock up on reading material.

Fill a big bowl with pine cones and cinnamon sticks.

Make use of the pumpkins and squash available in the shops now – they seem to disappear after Halloween.

Take up a gentle craft such as embroidery or cross-stitch.

Plant some winter flowering pansies.

Stock up on seed catalogues and plan what to grow next year.

Buy (or knit) yourself a pair of soft comfortable socks to wear around the house.

Get back into the art of letter writing using the finest paper and ink pen.

Treat yourself to an individual cake presented in a box.

Buy or make a new scarf and wrist warmers.

Read inspirational quotes.

Drink a large mug of hot chocolate.

Stock up on store cupboard standbys such as tinned soup when you are not up for cooking or are feeling unwell.

Keep honey in the cupboard and lemons in the fridge for cold/flu emergencies.

Buy a new umbrella.

Light a candle.

Buy a bar of handmade soap infused with essential oils.

Make some cushions in autumn colours.

Make a draught excluder with woollen off cuts.

Focus on all that is good and put negativity on the back burner.

Start writing a gratitude journal.

Smile because YOU are LOVED!