Holidays are over…………(wah, wah, wah). And stores are stocking their spring decor?!!! A quick glance outside says its hasty; still freezing cold, snowy and grey; there is no mojo that feels like spring fever. I feel the frequent complacency and lack of purpose commonly known as the February funk. Its normal. Its just February.
This is no time for funk. This is the calm before the storm. February is prep month. Mar-April spring cleaning and gardening heralds a rush from the sleep of February. Well I’m not a fast responder; I can’t go zero to sixty in less than a minute. I prefer to gradually greet the chaos and greet it prepared. So here are a few February Funk busters that I think will fill your month with purpose and productivity if you find yourself in a similar mood as me.
Declutter
March and April are spring cleaning months and you can jump start your spring cleaning by decluttering February. Time to organize and purge the extras and even the garbage thats accumulated over the winter. Amazing how the house gains fats in the cold months same as our bodies. So let’s cut the house fat.
Pick a zone: by room (living room, bedroom, bathroom) or by task (surfaces, kitchen and bath counters/cabinets, floors-under furniture and baseboards) and declutter it. Some areas we generally forget to give attention are: closets, bookshelves, car/trunk, and the garage or shed.
Surfaces are an excellent target for attention. I like to limit surfaces to no more than three items and ensure baseboards are accessible without furniture blocking them to make for a faster, easier cleaning. Any time spent this month decluttering will be time saved next month deep cleaning.
Also, time to get on top of routine cleaning. When cleaning is maintained spring clean and deep clean add ons are so much less burdensome. As I go through this months routine weekly cleans I make a list of the grey areas, the areas I notice along the way that would take a whole other day with sole attention to that area, and likely have been neglected for a long time because of it: windows, vents, curtain panels and slipcovers etc. This list will help me chop away at my spring cleaning when it comes time without feeling stumped over not knowing where to start. Here is the spring clean recommendations I offered my clientele each Feb/Mar to be scheduled as add ons to any Mar/Apr services. Pencil any of interest onto your calendar.
Projects
Projects are an excellent February funk buster. The bustle of busier months leaves projects piling up in the corner with the label ”future” on it. Now is the time to declutter those piled up projects and complete them or find a new one.
Need some project ideas?……
I am the kinda gal who has a hard time throwing away last years calendar because the monthly art is too beautiful. This year I’m inspired to make something beautiful with 2021 versus throwing it away. Likewise, as I take down my Christmas cards I am bummed by the money spent on them wasted after such short time and by the loss of the constant reminder of my loved ones with their cheery faces in plain sight. So instead I save them for a ”future project.”
So I’ve made a Rolodex or card catalog out of my Christmas cards and decoupaging the calendar art to the top of 12×12 boxes. My storage will look so much better in these beautifully labeled corrugated boxes from The Container Store.
Another project that has been “sitting on the shelf” for me is sewing. I have a basket heaped full of items that need mending, and a bin full of patterns and fabric I’ve been searching for time to dive into. Easter around the corner, I’m diving into a vintage pattern for a handmade Easter outfit. This may sound crazy to you but the last time I did this was in the same time of year for my daughters First Holy Communion dress to be worn in May. The down time produced by February and a beginner pattern with the help and urgency of the deadline I was able to accomplish in three days!
This time its a 1950’s jacket in powder blue over an silk ivory blouse and the skirt in unbleached linen, lined. But I’ve got a few months vs a few days so if your betting on impossible-check back for my Easter photo😜 This is just the accountability I need.
Painting……😬
Painting is a FABULOUS February funk buster! I have so many cans of paint sitting in the mudroom awaiting for me to come along and touch up baseboards, trim and doors with a fresh coat. This is one of those tasks I LOATHE and would likely never get to, but I have a little trick perfect for not letting that keep me from accomplishment. I’ve got a friend, the kind that loves to paint, and has a genetic expertise in the task, with a flare for art and interior design as well. I’ve bartered with her to accompany me through this project to let her flare of interest and love of the task motivate me and also hold me to it with her appointment of appearance.🥰 So if you want to tackle a task your likely to procrastinate on, set a date with a friend and barter task for task.
Good Reads
February is not just good for productivity; its excellent for R&R too. (Rest and Recovery;)
I plan to burn through a good book or two in the days I’m feeling less motivated. For myself I have Erik Larson’s Dead Wake and Thunderstruck on the chopping block. My eight year old girl has just started the Little House Collection by Laura Ingles Wilder.
I have a thirteen year old boy who hates to read but I was able to lure him into the Redwall series by Brian Jaques.
I’m reading The Boxcar Children TO them all as well as Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco from his biographical memoirs as a ”good morning address” over breakfast or a ”goodnight address” before evening prayer. St. John Bosco was a MASTER at keeping wayward teens especially boys in check and his dreams proved valuable insight into their souls. And ours.
Garden Planning
I always say everything about me is green except my thumb, but I am a fast learner and I have a watchful eye and just happened to be surrounded by gardeners. But I’ve noticed my husband, a landscaper, and my client a master gardener of many years, in addition to quite a few friends with a deep love of gardening; they are on the move this month, buried in gardening magazines and sketching plans. If there is one thing February is PERFECT for, its garden PLANNING. I may not be that into gardening myself but one thing I love is a good strategy. Much like meal planning, this month in my downtime instead of scrolling emails and online shopping I’m researching the best months to plant what. I’m starting with herbs because they are easy to start indoors and I can appreciate the perky greens donning the sunny window sills throughout St.Patricks when its rainy, gloomy and dank.
March/April right after the last spring frost is prime for veggie roots like potatoes, radishes, carrots, beets, onion, garlic and even cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce greens that are hardy enough to tolerate an occasional frost. So February is perfect for getting those seeds on hand. Don’t let those egg cartons go to waste and sprinkle with fresh potting soil to start some seedlings in the sunny parts of the house.
Wow! So February that at first glance felt like an old dusty trunk in the attic just opened up to reveal a trove of treasures and new to do’s.
I hope this post gave you a few light bulbs too. Please post in the comments if you have any ideas of your own you could share.
Her House 