Just like the spring, autumn is a time of change. However, instead of blooming flowers and a sense of rebirth in the air, leaves fall from the trees and the temperature grows cold just in time for winter. It’s a time when everything about your schedule changes, including your skincare, your spending habits, the time you spend outside, and of course, the clock itself.
Autumn is a lot of people’s favourite season, seeing as it’s all about wrapping up in knitwear, getting pumpkin spiced drinks, and preparing for the holidays ahead. However, a lot of people really struggle during these months, thanks to the drop in temperature, lack of sunlight, and the impending expense of Christmas ahead.
If you’re one of the latter, we’re here to help you make the season of the clocks going back a little cosier. Those earlier autumn evenings and slowly darkening afternoons don’t have to bring the blues; they can be made fun, refreshing, and a lot more comfortable than you’re used to.
Add a Few Comfy Touches to the Bathroom
A common self care tip, dressing up the bathroom to make bathtimes a simple yet pampering experience is great when it’s dark out. Baths should be luxurious and make you feel a little bit special, but when it’s dark and cold and you’re feeling down, make this your mission.
So, what touches do you need to add to your bathroom to make it more comfortable for you? What lighting level do you like? What scent would you appreciate in the air? What entertainment needs to be in reach? Think about these things and make changes accordingly.
Keep the changes simple yet enjoyable as well. You’re not here to budget for and perform an all out renovation! You just need a few extra bits and pieces near the tub to keep you feeling bliss.
Set Up a Tea Set in the Living Room
This autumn, we’re going back in time a little and bringing back the tradition of having tea. You’ve got a kettle and a few mugs in the cupboard, of course, but turning teatime into an event can make your home a lot more cosy. Sit down, pour yourself a cuppa, pop some sugar cubes in if you like, and sip something warm and soothing against the dark outside.
If you don’t like tea, any hot drink you do like is fine here. Some people will always prefer coffee or a hot chocolate and that’s fine! As long as you’ve got a traditional teapot or cafetiere, and a prime spot on the coffee table to keep it, you can spend dark autumn evenings sipping on a wholesome brew that’ll make you feel good.
If you’re not sure your budget will stretch to a full on brand new tea set right now, head to a charity shop when you next get the chance and you’ll find many teapots on the shelves. These will be a lot cheaper and they’re often more attractive and/or cutesy in their designs as well.
Give a Reading List a Go
This is a great choice for rainy nights when you can hear the weather whipping at the windows! Sit down with the patter in the background and revel in the feeling of being inside where it’s warm and dry, wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of cocoa, and you’ve got a good book in your lap. It’s a little privilege, but it’s one that’s super easy to indulge in.
When the clocks go back and the conditions aren’t right for going out, diving into a good book and living with the characters gives you a break from reality. Plus, getting involved in a story is also healthier for you than scrolling through social media for hours on end!
If you find you enjoyed creating a cosy book nook for yourself and you want to make it a regular thing, put together a reading list and make your way through it into the new year. Romantic adventures and grand thrillers alike are perfect for reading sessions during the autumn, so pick up anything you’re interested in and give it a go.
Make Liberal Use of Small Lights
It’s incredible how much the human brain and body reacts to light. We’re primed to receive it; even your skin knows when it’s light out! But seeing as there’s less light outside during the autumn, we have to bring the light indoors as much as possible.
Don’t just turn on your overhead lights here. Instead, make liberal use of small light sources and layer them over the top of one another. Fairy lights over your bed’s headboard, RGB strips around the top corners of your wall, candles on the sideboard (as long as they’re not left unattended) – there’s a lot of different lights you can pop around.
In doing so, not only will your home be a bit brighter and make you feel better, but these kinds of light sources are cute and cosy. They don’t result in an overexposed look, and they’re less likely to give off cold tones that make your home feel echoey. Keep it warm to keep it cosy!
Try a Jigsaw Puzzle or Two
Puzzles are a great mood management technique. Seeing as a lot of people get seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the later months of the year, and this often brings mood regulation troubles with it, a puzzle could be just the thing to try right now.
After all, puzzles engage your brain and demand some focus, meaning you can end up blocking out the thoughts that aren’t related to the task at hand without even realising it. Mood management tools that don’t feel like mood management tools always seem to be the most effective!
If jigsaw puzzles aren’t your thing, you can get the same cosy effect from playing some card games like spider solitaire, which tend to require a bit of strategic thought. You can also buy a crossword or sudoku book if you’d prefer to pick up a pen and pour over a puzzle book. All in all, give your mind a little workout when it’s getting dark at 4pm and you may find it a lot easier to prevent SAD related thought cycles.
Eat Healthily and Heartily
Autumn food and drink is incredibly yummy! Most of the food on offer during September, October, and November is made to invoke the feeling of warmth, both in taste and colour. As such, make sure you’re eating healthily and heartily when the clocks go back.
Pumpkins and other gourds are around a lot more in the produce section of the supermarket right now. As such, look into recipes that use these as ingredients; stews and pies are easy ways to bake pumpkin, squash, and even cucumbers into your diet.
Both of these meals are super filling, but also allow you to get creative with spices and stock flavours according to what you like. You can then brush up on your pastry skills and cut out different shapes and patterns to use on top of your pie crust and filling. Healthy, hearty, and fun!
Put on Some Background Noise
It’s common for increased levels of darkness to make people feel lonely. When the night stretches out for longer than you’re used to, it’s easy for the space around you to feel still and empty. And while quiet and dark evenings are good for taking a nap, if you want autumn to stop feeling so slow and muggy, regular background noise could help.
No matter the noise you like, you can turn it into background noise; if you need a bit of sound right now, use it to keep your brain occupied. A white noise machine can bring some peace into your home’s atmosphere, but even just putting the TV on at a low volume while you get on with other things will work. You’re not going to watch, you’re just going to enjoy the vibe!
You Don’t Have to Dread the Clocks Going Back
Daylight savings have been up for debate for a long time, with questions over its relevance in our modern world. If you’re someone who suffers with sunshine withdrawal and feeling like the winter is never going to end, it would probably be nice for the clock to stay the way it is! You would feel a lot less all over the place regarding what time it is and how dark or light it should be!
But until that debate is finally resolved, we have to find ways to cope with the clocks changing. For some this means getting more daylight in the early hours, for others it means using sunlight lamps indoors.
For you, it could mean making those long and dark evenings a lot more cosy. Autumn isn’t a bad time of year and you can have a lot of fun with the seasonal change. Take full advantage of that with the ideas above.
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