Embracing the Gentle Days of January

How do you feel after the last Christmas decoration has been put away, the last mince pie consumed and the long days of January stretch endlessly ahead?  After shiny December packed with fairy lights and festivities, January   arrives with a heavy and unwelcome thud.  Many of us feel the doldrums hit about now.  The excitement of Christmas and New Year have completely worn off, there is no sign of a bank holiday until April, and days remain short and dark. January has always had a bad rap hasn’t it.  And yet I feel this is somewhat unfair.   January is a gift after the noise and excess of December. I have learnt to embrace this unloved month, and realise January can be a joy!

A Time for Home and Hygge.

Despite the often chilly temperatures in the UK about now, I see January as a cosy month.  January is the time of year where it is perfectly acceptable to not go out.  It is a time to embrace hygge, and home, light candles, make your nest wherever it is, warm and comfortable and somewhere you want to hunker down in for a few peaceful weeks.  This time won’t last.  Before we know it, days will become longer and lighter and the impetus will be back on getting out and doing, rather than stillness and just being. Don’t let this happen before you have used the opportunity to recharge weary batteries and soothe minds which went into overdrive with multi tasking in December. The safety and familiarity of being at home in January is a lovely place to be.

Time for Reading

I often do my best reading in January.  Its a great time to reflect on the books I read last year and plan what I want to read this year.  At this time of year more than any other I am likely to come home from work and settle down in an armchair with a book before the rituals of cooking and dinner begin.  I tend to reach for ‘cosy’reads too.  Persephone books, and Miss Read and the like are what I like to lose myself in about now.

Time for Creativity

I mostly find January a really creative month.  New beginnings and a head full of ideas combined with time to actually make some of them happen is a good combination.  The first creative thing I usually do in January is make Christmas cards into gift labels for next year!  Weekends are generally quieter and its a ideal time to get on with some making and creating.  I have set my self a water colouring creative goal for this year which I’ve already started. I’ll maybe share more of that in a future post.

Time to Think and Time to Plan

It will often take me a few days to embrace January, but I always know when I have succumbed to the spell of gentle January because I fall into planning mode.  One of my January rituals is filling in my planner / calendar for the year. I love doing this. I like all those days ahead waiting to be filled. I find myself full of ideas. Lists are made and note books scribbled in with half formed plans and snatches of thoughts on things I want to make happen.  There is so much promise right now.

Time to Organise

January has always been the month I am most likely to organise things at home too.  Christmas inevitably brings with it an influx of stuff into our homes.  I am never going to be minimalist, I enjoy having my things (books etc) around me too much.  However I do like to be organised and a tidy cupboard pleases me greatly!  Last year during January I totally bought into the Marie Kondo method of tidying and had a huge sort out of all my clothes.  They remain as neatly folded and stored in drawers today as they did a year ago.  This definitely sparks joy! There is something very calming about opening cupboards and knowing exactly where to find things.  Most years in January I also sort through all my food cupboards, disposing of anything which is too wildly out of date.  Its a good way of taking stock of what I need or don’t need and a useful way of thinking about the kind of cooking I want to do in the months ahead.

I hope you are able to embrace the gentle days of January and see them as a gift rather than a burden.  Enjoy the days of preparation and planning the books, the candles, the cosy nights in. Be creative and find joy in times of quiet.

You may also enjoy a piece I wrote last year on Embracing a Hygge Life