Seasonal living, or considering the four seasons when you make day to day choices, sometimes feels harder when living in an apartment. Taking small steps to bring the outside into your life pays off, though, by reconnecting you to the patterns of the earth.
While modern living, from air conditioning to fast food, provides convenience and year-round options, embracing the seasons suggests a softer approach. In fact, seasonal living keeps you grounded and centered, whether you dwell in a high-rise or a basement level garden unit.
Try these month-by-month ideas to get started bringing the seasons into your decorating, food, clothing, and wellness routines. Adapt them to the colors and intensity of your own local seasons. Whether you notice subtle changes, dramatic extremes, or unendingly warm months, pay attention to the cycles of nature outside your apartment window.
January: Cozy Up Your Decor and Add Touches of Light
Embrace the seasonal winter bleakness by highlighting pale, soft, neutral colors in your decorating. Look for twig-colored grays, the browns of a fallow field, and the lightest of taupes like a cold, hazy sky. Cozy up in a soft blanket. Try crocheting a throw out of thick yarn. Not only will it warm you when it’s done, it’s the perfect activity for a long, windy evening.
Light up a dark corner with a soft lamp. Rather than brightening your entire apartment, place just enough brightness where it makes the most impact to create an inviting atmosphere. Not to mention saving on electricity. Make one out of a driftwood base, or look for one used when you next thrift. Sit near it as you try some guided journaling.
February: Add a Splash of Intense Color to Winter Clothes
Think of the contrast of winter berries against the snow, and add a similarly vivid splash of color to freshen up your wardrobe. Look for a suggestion of warmth, whether this means a crimson cabled wool scarf to accent your long down coat on a sub-zero day, or a deep, ocean-blue cotton cardigan to throw over your t-shirt and jeans as you walk near the southern high tide.
March: Reap the Benefits of Deep Leafy Greens
As your body starts to hunger for longer days of Spring, feed it nutrient-dense collard greens, kale, or spinach. Chop kale up and throw it into your vegetable or chicken soup a few minutes before serving. Add pieces of collard greens to the final minutes of potato boiling time and mash them into your side dish. Blend spinach into your morning smoothie, or mix a handful into your scrambled eggs.
April: Plant Lettuce Seeds In a Planter On Your Balcony
For no more money than a package of baby spring mix from your grocery store, you can buy a packet of seeds and grow a season’s worth of your own. Look for blends of different styles. Lettuce grows best in cool weather, between about 55℉ and 75℉. Start planting a little before your last frost of the Spring. Looking forward to tiny lettuce sprouts provides a great incentive to look into your local weather forecasts. Predictions about the last frost date will also make you intensely popular at your next night out with friends.
May: Self-Care for Your Toes After a Season Encased in Socks
Whether you’re looking for tips as a seasonal living beginner or just love pedicures, either is a great excuse to take your socks off, soak your feet in some warm water, and care for your tootsies. Try combining oatmeal and milk to make your own natural exfoliant scrub. Cut your toenails straight across to avoid ingrown ones. File, buff, and throw on a fun nail polish if you’re feeling it.
June: Find Exercise Suitable for the Season and Get Outside
Look for ways to mix movement and sun, whether walking near a lake or doing yoga next to a window. We all need Vitamin D, and sunlight is its primary source. Soak in your vitamins and you’ll improve your mood and immune system, and sleep better at night. Don’t forget your sunscreen if you’ll be out for a while, but do look for ways to feel warmth and a breeze on your skin. Spread your good mood by smiling at someone as you run by.
July: Take a Mental Health Break from the Seasonal Heat
By July, the summer months’ heat feels overwhelming. Find a shady spot, grab a bowl of watermelon chunks, and practice calming, cooling affirmations. A few to consider when feeling anxious and stressed:
- This too shall pass.
- I inhale peace and exhale worry.
August: BBQ Poolside to Keep Your Apartment Cooler
Take cooking heat out of your apartment and lather on zesty barbeque sauce or add a spicy marinade to your steaks, vegan sausages, or veggies from your CSA Box. Ironically, adding heat to your food activates your sweat glands, cooling you off in the process. Look for outdoor grills to share with neighbors in your apartment complex.
September: Practice Seasonal Self-Care by Learning Something New
Are your kids back in school? Or do you remember when you were? Get into the season of learning by heading to the library and checking out a book on a history topic you find interesting. Digital library cards give you access to online reading options. Some even allow you to check things out from across the country. Other options? Take a free online class this weekend. Or watch a TED talk on YouTube.
October: It’s Boot Season, So Polish Yours Up
In the Autumn months, boots protect your feet from the cold, rain, and coming snow. Take care of them and they’ll last longer. Clean off accumulated dust, polish any leather, and add a new coat of waterproofing spray. Need a new pair? Head to your local thrift store or look for sales.
November: Find a Great Indoor Workout Routine to Last All Season
As the weather grows cooler, you’ll feel better if you keep moving. It’s a great time to attack a new indoor mat routine. Look for a hearty strength building session – build muscle using bodyweight exercises like push-ups, planks, situps, even jump rope. Or greet the Autumn morning with a warming sun salutation yoga routine. Both of these let you stay active regardless of the amount of space in your apartment or the weather outside. And they don’t require tons of equipment.
December: Communicate Gratitude as the Year Comes to an End
Regardless of which holidays you personally celebrate, year-end celebrations encourage excess and FOMO. Try the opposite – a gratitude practice. Pick a time every day, perhaps right before you go to sleep or with your morning coffee, and think of things you’re grateful for. Try writing them down, telling your cat, or explaining them to your partner.
Seasonal living keeps you aware of and grounded in the bounty of life. It reminds you that things change, that nothing lasts forever. Working with the cycles of nature, rather than merely trying to control their effects, conserves energy – yours and the planet’s – to use on more important priorities.
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