Over the last several years I have definitely grown to realize the importance of self care. There are so many different types of ways we can give ourselves a little pick me up and I think that’s so cool. I always love seeing what other people do to give their body and mind the rest it needs to rejuvenate. In this blog post I am going to share some of my favorite self care outlets that I do on a daily basis. Enjoy!
The first self care thing I am going to talk about is keeping things organized. This is probably one of the most important parts of my self care routine and one I find very beneficial in my day to day life. There is nothing worse than coming home when you’ve had a long day and walking into a messy space. Clutter instantaneously makes me more anxious and almost gives me a pit in my stomach. When I am feeling stressed about life, cleaning and organizing is so therapeutic for me. Don’t get me wrong, I will have days when I let things go and my room will look a mess, but for the most part I am a very tidy person. I have been very intentional with my cleaning routines and they have had a huge positive impact on my life. I physically/mentally can’t wind down and relax if the room I am in is chaos. Putting in a little extra effort to tidy up is so worth it!
The second part of self care I am going to discuss is planning ahead. If you are anything like me, you like to know what’s going on before it happens and love to plan out your life essentially (lol). In all honesty I have to remind myself to live in the moment and be okay with giving up control now and again. The aspect of planning ahead that I want to highlight here is doing things the day before that will make the next day easier. Now maybe I can’t control what happens in a day before it comes, but I can control how I prep for the day ahead in hopes of starting my morning on the right foot. On days when I work the following morning, I will lay out my clothes and get my lunch ready the night before. Doing this has helped me so much and I know it makes my work days much less stressful. Rushing around trying to find an outfit to wear and grabbing something to eat last minute adds just a little more stress to my plate that I don’t need. Packing my food for the next day also gives me control to make healthier choices and that is a part of my routine I love. Small steps in the right direction are what we are striving for and this is definitely a great step!
Third self care topic is a little bit different, but something I strongly believe in. The body wash you use matters. Let me elaborate, I am a huge advocate for treating myself when it comes to the body wash I use. Now for obvious reasons it’s important to find one that’s are good for your skin and what not, but I am here to talk about scents. If the body wash I am using does not have the best smell, my shower experience is automatically tainted. I think it is so important to have at least one scented body wash that brightens your day and invigorates your soul. Call me crazy too, but I think having several body washes in your shower with different smells is a game changer. The body wash you use can either make you or break you and I think it’s important to take that very seriously. Method body washes are my personal favorite and I won’t apologize for having multiple bottles in my shower! We can talk about my skincare routine another day, I’m here for the body wash routine lol.
We all know that sleep is so important for our overall physical and mental health. I believe that taking proper measures to make your sleep schedule a priority is so crucial for self care. I have to get up at 5:30am for work and it was such a hard transition in the beginning. I almost felt like I couldn’t function properly during the day because I was so sleep deprived. Now being at that job for over 2 years, I have found the routine that works for me. Sometimes I feel like a grandma, but going to bed by 9:30pm on nights I work the next day is a must. Again, it was hard to implement that at the start, but now my body is fully adjusted to that lifestyle. It’s crazy how resilient our bodies are and how quick they can adapt to new things. It takes some discipline, but prioritizing your sleeping habits can have a positive impact on your day to day life.
The next part of my self care routine is buying myself flowers every now and again. I personally love fresh flowers and having them in my room to look at always brightens my mood. I have this little corner shelf in my bedroom that is the perfect spot for a jar full of sunflowers and I decided to not let it go to waste. I know that having your significant other buying you flowers is cute, but I am an independent woman that is perfectly content buying my own bouquet! Sunflowers are my absolute favorite flower because they remind me of my Grandma who passed away in 2014. I have a sunflower tattoo on my arm and anytime I see one I think of her. There is nothing wrong with doing these small steps of self care that lift your spirits and I definitely cherish this one.
For most of my life I have not been a coffee drinker whatsoever. I just recently started dipping my toes into that world, but my first love was tea. I seriously love drinking tea and I wanted to talk about it because it will hold a special place in my heart forever. Whether it’s iced or hot, tea just makes me feel good. It’s soothing and not too abrasive which is something I enjoy. In my opinion, there is nothing better than waking up in the morning on a rainy day and drinking a cup of hot tea while listening to the sound of pitter patter outside your bedroom window. It is such a calming experience and yes you can definitely enjoy that scenario just as much with coffee, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Tea is healing for me and my personal favorites are Roobis, Echinacea and Chamomile. Self care has never tasted so good and I am here for it.
Those are just some of the many things I do to show my body and mind some self love. We can’t pour from an empty cup so going the extra mile to make sure we’re feeling our best is important. Our bodies need rest and we shouldn’t feel bad about giving ourselves time to recover. Self care is not selfish and I know I take on each day with a better mindset when I do some of these simple steps each day!
life with Ash 