Fall has sure come fast this year!
I swear just yesterday it was shorts season. And now I’m layering up more and more each day! ⛄ Brr!
As our last leaves dance their way down, I can’t help but think about when we’ll be seeing the first snowflakes. But don’t get me wrong – I am not looking forward to the piles and piles we’ll be shoveling again!
Aside from pushing around all that white stuff, I think I’ll be spending my time mostly indoors. Sure I love a good walk here and there during the winter, visiting friends around the city, and a few weekend getaway trips. However when it’s rainy and chilly outside, even these favourites make me want to stay indoors!
I would much rather cuddle up with a good book, a matcha tea latte, and positive energy than brave the chilly weather.
Take a moment to think about what you have been trying to do consistently or focus on improving in your life. This is a great way to figure out what your winter project may be and to set some goals in advance!
Photo projects are a great winter task to tackle. As is pairing down on memorabilia, since they don’t require many supplies other than maybe a photo album if your photos are not digital!
I believe in you and I know you can do this! It’s not easy to start, but once you get through decluttering one shelf or check off a few To-Do’s, you get momentum.
With all of this extra time spent inside, it becomes so important that we love our spaces 🤍 I, for one, would not like to be cramped up in a cluttered home with little to no opportunity of regular daily escapes. I love having a vibrant, comfortable home to welcome me during the colder months.
Which is why I spend much of my leisure time improving systems around my home and doing regular clutter checks in hot spot areas I know can accumulate clutter easily.
For those of us who work from home, keeping up with clutter is vital. We normally spend (aside from the time spent sleeping) 62% of our time at home. That equals almost 10 hours each day! This leads me to believe that we need to curate our homes to maintain a healthy, productive atmosphere for ourselves, but more importantly, for our families.
In this time period we are also seeing more of what is called the “Indoor Generation.” This title refers to the growing number of people who are spending the vast majority of their time indoors.
From one study, Canadians estimated we spent 68% of our time indoors*… but in reality, it is actually 90% spent indoors – often without enough daylight or fresh air.
*Indoors referring not only to the home. This includes other buildings, enclosed methods of transportation, etc.
If that isn’t a scary enough statistic for you, listen to this: Children who spend this much time indoors will be more susceptible to asthma, allergies, and other breathing issues over time. A whopping 40% more likely than their outdoorsy counterparts.
This is exactly why it is of utter importance to be on top of cleaning and decluttering regularly 👍🏼 This doesn’t mean we need to be doing chores in every moment of free time, but rather choosing joy in the process of decluttering and organizing to make it enjoyable! Without this self-discipline we would actually be putting our health at a big risk. Since we are blessed to live somewhere in this world where we are able to keep our homes safe and clean, why would we neglect to do so?
Now that you know we will be spending much more time inside… would you like to know exactly how much more? 🤔 Here is the breakdown of the differences in activities for the winter months:
❄️ November
This first real month of winter (for most of us) is where we begin to see an increase for time spent inside. November coaxes us to watch TV and Netflix 6% more than the preceding 8 months. Our socializing is also down -2% as we adjust to spending more time indoors.
🤍 December
Did you know December is the runner-up to July for spending the most time with family and friends? This makes sense with the various holidays landing in these 31 days… but would you have guessed it’s up by 15%?? It also takes the number one spot as the month we spend the most time cooking; an additional 8%!
📺 January
January takes the prize for the most time we spend watching TV and Netflix – with a shocking 13% increase. This is made possible because we cut down on social interactions by about -12%. And as the holiday buzz simmers down, our patience for cooking does as well. This drops to only a 1% step above the majority of a year’s months.
I hope these statistics shocked you into wanting to be organized and highly productive as they did for me!
Which stat wow-ed you the most? And what goals will you set for this winter season?? Comment below!
