September is self-care month and it is said to be a time to remind us that taking care of ourselves, first and foremost, is not just something we do when we find the time, but something we should see as being as important as anything else we do - the housework, washing, cooking, cleaning and so on - basically speaking, it is essential.
For me, self-care Sunday is my day, having had the bathroom renovated, I now love spending time in there, locking the door and shutting the world out completely. In it, I grab a book, ensure the bath is full of hot water with either a bath salt, oil, bubbles or a mixture of everything and I am gone for a good hour, more if the water stays warm (can someone please invent a device for this).
Over the past few months, we have all had major changes to our lives, be it working from home, reduced hours, cancelled holidays and not being able to see loved ones and with comes stress, strain and other untold anguish. At the onset of the lockdown, I decided that as well as working from home, I would use my breaks from work to do something constructive with my time, now I haven't got my work colleagues to stand and chat to over a brew, I needed another way to distract myself for 15 minutes to an hour each time - so DIY it was. The reason I went with DIY is because that list was growing by the minute, small jobs become bigger job is they are left unattended too and that in turn becomes a stress you don't need adding into your life - so I am told.
Who knew that fixing loose screws, changing fuses in plugs, re-affixing some of solid wood flooring that we have back into place (thanks YouTube) ready for a carpet runner to go over the top and building some flat-pack furniture could be so therapeutic?! Okay, so I built a radiator cover and a Kallax box from Ikea to go in the Kallax Unit we purchased, but I still managed to do it and they are still standing.
Now I am far from getting to the end of my to-do list. We have decided the kitchen cabinets need new doors, we need a new fridge, a new bed and the list goes on but it is much shorter than it was. What I have proven is that by keeping busy and distracted my stress levels have come right down, my blood pressure is bordering normal (for me) and I can now sit back, light a candle and welcome the autumn in full - whilst awaiting the arrival of my new sofas to complete the living room!
How have you taken care of yourself this month?