Sustainable Self-care ideas
Part of my journey to a more eco-friendly and intentional living is to introduce routines that can bring personal wellness to our lives. Let me share easy sustainable self-care ideas for body, mind, and soul.
While I was writing my new year’s resolutions, I kept thinking about which new and old routines will I keep this year to make it even better. Taking care of ourselves sets us to live a more enjoyable and intentional life.
As I was looking into different self-care ideas that I can implement in my life, I realized that most of them don’t even include buying things or going to expensive places. Some of them are simple changes in our daily routines that help me to improve my self-wellness.
Here are some of my sustainable self-care ideas:
1. Relax time
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This is what I call “Me Time.” These are things we do to relax and recharge ourselves. It could be from taking bath salts, listening to favorite music, gardening, or reading a book.
Looking at a beautiful sunrise in the morning with a warm cup of tea or coffee in your hand will set you for an excellent start to the day. Sitting in your backyard, balcony, beach, or park and enjoying the sunset will relax your sense and get us ready for the night to come.
Taking 5 minutes breaks between tasks is also a way to recharge between activities.
In my case, I like to prepare a warm cup of tea before going to bed and read a book or write a journal. This is a routine we introduced a few years ago, and it has helped us to relax from a long day and sleep better.
I like to grow some of my own herbs at home for this purpose and buy others. I do prefer to buy the herb/flowers without the tea bag and use a stainless steel tea infuser making this a sustainable self-care alternative.
My favorite mix of herbs/flowers for bedtime is Lavender, Rose petals, and Chamomile.
2. Quality time with our loved ones
Enjoying moments with our loved ones is on my list. Living the moment and building beautiful memories with our loved ones recharge me; it fills my heart with love and energy.
I personally enjoy going for a walk with my husband, going to a park with my daughter, playing a board game at home, walking the dog, visiting a friend, or just enjoying a delicious meal together.
With our busy lives, we are so focused on the past and future that we forget to live in the present. Each moment in our lives is so precious. Our present builds our past, every minute that goes by, every minute that creates that past. The same occurs with our future; we create our future by our thinking, actions, and feelings we have in the present.
Living Intentionally, choosing our path, and mindfully living in the present is a beautiful combination. It is about how I want to create the life I want to live.
3. Prioritize
This is something that took me time to implement. In our life, everything is a priority, but when we look closely, we realize that we set so many tasks and expectations during the day that there are days that will be impossible to accomplish everything in one day.
I started to organize my day the day before. In my case, I set a number (which is number three) that has worked for me. The night before, I wrote down my priorities, three things I would like to accomplish the next day at work, and three tasks at home. I also include in the same list my healthy routines like exercise, walking, eating healthy, and so on.
It will be different for each person and their lifestyle, but prioritizing my task in a realistic way has helped me to focus more and enjoy my date-to-date.
4. Walk in Nature
I have to admit this is one of my favorite routines! Going for a nature walk has proven to improve our physical and mental wellness. We have found ways to get in contact with nature, even in a big city. From going to the beach, to the closes park or nature path around the city.
Nature walking gets to the next level when we practice mindfulness. I like to take a daily walk, breathe fresh air, and enjoy my surroundings.
I take this time to practice one of my favorite activities, taking pictures of the beauty of mother earth. Thanks to being present while I walk allows me to capture amazing things with the lens of my camera, like a maple leave with fresh drops from rainfall, a bunny jumping in the middle of the path, a bee on top of a flower, a butterfly on a flower or a new flower that just bloomed. Enjoy every moment in life.
5. Exercise
There are so many benefits that come from exercising. From maintaining a healthy body to a healthy mind. This can be implemented in many ways, from Zumba, pilates, to yoga, just to mention a few.
In my case, I like to do yoga to improve my energy, flexibility, strength, and muscle tone. Yoga works with your breathing, so it also helps me to keep calm.
I try to include at least 20 minutes of exercise daily, which I do at home before work. We know that there will be days that we won’t be able to follow our exercise routine and that it is ok. We need to be patient with ourselves while including new routines in our life. You will know which ones are the ones that will be more beneficial for you.
6. Create
Creativity is a form of self-expression. It opens the window to our imagination and brings us to a place of relaxation.
There are many ways we can create, from music, drawing, dance, writing, and crafts, to mention a few. Creating can even mean gardening or writing a post! Your imagination is your limit.
When we create, we focus on something that we are making with our hands or our bodies (in the case of dance). Our to-do list disappears for a few minutes, and our mind goes to a stage of creation, relaxation, and imagination.
I love making eco-friendly crafts like the Jute Wall Decor shown in the picture above. This is just an example of what we can make with a little imagination.
7. Eating healthy
Sometimes we forget to add this to our list. As our day goes on, sometimes we add processed food as a snack or quick lunch. This affects not only my body but also my mind.
I have added this as part of my self-care routine; I know when I eat fresh, healthy food, I feel more energy and improve my immune and digestive systems.
I like to prepare my food from scratch:
Here are some of my favorite recipes:
These are just a few examples of simple routines we can introduce to our date-to-date life and don’t require a significant investment. Tell us in the comments below if you have tried any of these ideas!
