22 WAYS TO PRACTISE SELF-CARE

A list of self-care for you (and myself) for when we need a moment to breathe. 

1. Take a hot shower or bath. Wash your hair. Shave your legs. Exfoliate. Start the day over if you need to at 4pm. 
2. Apply a face mask. Or properly apply your 'skincare routine'.
3. Self-tan. Wake up tomorrow morning with moisturized and glowing limbs. 
4. Watch your favourite TV show or film. Something that always takes you to a soft, cosy place. 
5. Paint your nails. Hands, feet, or both. 
6. Listen to your favourite playlist or album for a dance and singalong. (Mine is currently Staying at Tamara's by George Ezra. I haven't stopped listening to it since it was released!)
7. Have a hot drink. Tea. Coffee. Hot Chocolate. Bonus points if you can enjoy it cuddled under a blanket on a rainy day.
8. Make your bed. Put the fancy throw and cute cushions back on the bed. Even if the rest of your life feels like a mess, at least your safe space will be tidy and be looking cute.
9. Have a big drink of water. Hydrate yourself from the inside out. 
10. Go outside. You might not feel capable of this. But if you can move, even just walking around the street, you'll get some fresh air into your lungs.
11. Open a window. If going outside is physically too much, open the window to let the fresh air come to you.
12. Eat something fresh. If you can have a bowl of fresh food, great! But if all you can manage is boiling some pasta, that's fine too. Nourish your body. Keep thinking of the basics we need to survive. Food, Water & Oxygen.
13. Read a book/magazine/blog. Something to help you escape in a safe silence. 
14. Message a friend or family member. This is something I never do when I'm in a low mood, but it's something I need to learn to do. And to remember that I can reach out to friends, in the same way, they reach out to me.
15. If you go out, buy yourself some fresh flowers or a new plant. 
16. If you don't go out, water the plants you already have and throw away and dead flowers.
17. Yoga and/or meditate. I've never come out of a yoga or meditation session and regretted it. 
18. Put on some clean clothes or pyjamas.
19. Take a long, deep breath.
20. Have a mini declutter. Maybe your desk needs a tidy, or your bookshelf is a little messy. Something small and achievable that you can easily tidy in 10 minutes or less. 
21. Is your room all tidy? Light your favourite candle, turn on your fairy lights, make it extra hygge.
22. The following day: Wake up at the right time, make yourself a proper breakfast, shower, get dressed, write your to-do list, and take on life again with both feet firmly on the ground and ready for what life throws at you!

What are your favourite self-care rituals to do?

xx