Brrrrr…it’s cold outside! While it’d be nice to be somewhere warm with palm trees and sandy beaches, there’s something comforting about hunkering down inside your own home during a true Canadian winter. People talk about their love of rainy days where they curl up inside with a good book, blanket and warm drink. We feel that way about winter, and we bet many of you do too!
There are many easy ways to cozy up home cozy for winter, including these 6 ideas:
1. Peppermint
Peppermint reminds many of winter – probably because of candy canes. Either way, it’s a soothing scent and it’s fresh. By purchasing inexpensive diffusers and peppermint oil, you can have your whole home smelling like the North Pole.
Peppermint also adds a fresh taste to food. When you bake, consider using either mint or peppermint (both are green leaves and you can buy them in larger grocery stores), or peppermint oil. We love making meringues with peppermint oil. They are light, fluffy, and deliciously fresh.
2. Greenery
In the winter, windows remain closed which can make homes feel stale and blah. Plants can fix this. They improve air quality indoors and having a lot of indoor plants during the winter is also a nice contrast to the bleak outside (which is white and bare). We really like variations in indoor plants - different colours, different textures, and different heights. This can help you feel like you have an indoor garden, which is a nice reminder of warmer summer weather.
A cool idea for adding greenery is to group plants together on a shelf to create a solid block of greenspace inside. Another fun trick to try is to grow grass indoors! It’s easy - fill a large shallow container with earth, sprinkle grass seed, and keep moist. In no time at all, you’ll have beautiful shoots of green grass. How’s that for making it feel like summer inside? And if you want, you can even clip it with scissors!
3. Rugs
The cold winter air makes floors chilly. While reading socks are a great way to keep your feet cozy and warm, consider getting some rugs. There are so many different sizes, colours and styles available at all different price points. Rugs will help warm up the floor (and your toes too), and they can also add coziness and warmth to an entire room. How? With their colour and texture. Remember to buy some drawer paper (the foam type), to put under the rugs. This will help secure them to the floor and help prevent slips and falls.
4. Blankets & Throws
This one seems like a no-brainer…right? Blankets are just to inviting, that when you see one, you want to go and curl up in it. Adding blankets and throws around your home brings about that ultimate feeling of winter coziness. We like to think that in the winter, there can never be too many blankets. We especially love getting blankets in pop colours or in different textures and draping them over furniture. It allows us to bring our personality into our everyday living spaces.
5. Warm Light
Fires and winter go hand in hand. Add in hot chocolate and you have a winter hat trick! Not everyone has a real fireplace, so how can you create that warm and cozy feeling? The easiest and most inexpensive way is to use candles. When it comes to candles, there are so many options that you’ll be sure to find something you like. If you are concerned about safety (and fires), choose battery powered candles. Scented candles are a favourite of ours. The combination of light and aroma can really transform a room in a cozy, warm space. If you’re feeling creative, have space, and have the DYI itch, you can create a faux fireplace in your home. Just the appearance of a fireplace can help make your home cozy in the winter. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest and online that you’ll be sure to get inspired. A nice effect for faux fireplaces is to place candles in front of it. Use different shapes and sizes and put each candle in their own individual glass holders. This creates a cozy glow when they’re lit, and looks beautiful too.
If you have a wood-burning fireplace, make sure you get the chimney examined and cleaned annually, ideally before winter, to make sure it’s safe. You don’t want to go to light the first fire and find there’s smoke coming into your house. Also, by ordering a cord of wood in advance of winter and stacking it somewhere it can dry out, you’ll have wood ready for and waiting for chilly evening.
6. Winter Foods
When it’s cold outside, it’s great to have some warm beverages on hand. Create a winter drink tray or basket for your kitchen. Along with some mugs in warm colours, include a variety of teas and instant hot chocolates and ciders. Sampler packs are a great way to get a variety of individually winter-style drinks. Don’t forget to include cinnamon sticks, marsh-mellows, and leftover candy canes (we know you still have some too).
We hope these ideas have inspired you to make your home cozy for winter. We’re definitely going to be spending lots of time at home this winter So, if you find yourself feeling less cozy and more cramped at home this winter, consider renting a small storage unit. It can help you instantly get more space. With flexible contracts you can rent for as little or as long as you like.
If you have questions about renting self-storage, do contact us! If you’d like to know what our Milton self storage or Woodstock self storage locations or individual self-storage units for rent look like, visit our YouTube channel and take an online tour. If you are ready to rent, you can rent a self-storage unit right from our website - it's that easy!
And be sure to like or follow us on Instagram & Facebook. We have a great sense of humour and make renting self storage fast, easy & fun! We also love to share lots of great tips and advice too.
If you have any more tips for how to create a cozy home, we hope you’ll share them!
Your friend in self-storage,
Storage Solutions
