The winter blues are real, so very real. At least they are to me, I’m not sure how you guys feel. If you’re suffering a dose of it right now, or could do with a general ‘pick me up’ then here are some suggestions for what I do to try to beat them back. I’ve written these for budget-conscious folk such as myself – because I can say stuff like “get a massage” or “go out to dinner”, but often that’s just not going to happen.

1. Go for a walk

Get away from your desk. Seriously, step away for at least twenty minutes. That’s doable. Twenty minutes is the minimum movement time that is generally agreed is required in order to raise your serotonin levels.

It takes that long for us to do the morning walk to school, and I’ve noticed ever since getting strict about making that effort the kids are arriving at school readier for the day ahead.

2. Watch a funny video

Anyone who has read Crying in the Car knows I have a very special relationship with YouTube. Being able to trawl through favourite moments from movies and television shows, not to mention those random nuggets of gold you often stumble across, honestly has helped me out in some blacker periods in my life. Especially those videos that make me laugh; they’re a reminder of what humour that can be found in the ordinary and mundane. I’m a big fan of classic episodes of Whose Line is it Anyway?

3. Practise gratitude

There are lots of ways you can do this nowadays: you could keep it old-school by keeping a physical gratitude journal, or you could keep a Pinterest board where you curate important images. (I’m on Pinterest, but I don’t have a gratitude journal, as such. I do have a few boards devoted to my male and female crushes that I feel are especially important, albeit in a different sense…)

On social media, such as Instagram and Facebook, there are simple hashtags you can use (like #gratitude or #grateful) or, if you decide to devote time to the exercise, there are others – #100happydays is quite popular. Use your blog as well, if you’re a blogger. A perfect opportunity.

4. Buy yourself a rose

How often have you bought a discounted bunch of wilted mixed blooms or roses to find they’re dead in days (hours…)? But nice flowers are expensive, so where’s the middle ground?

Well, I bought a narrow vase from Ikea and since then this is what I’ve started to do: I go to my local florist and ask to buy a single stem rose. Fresh. It costs me $4 (you might get it for even less at a market). It lasts for ages and adds just a subtle, cheering touch to the room. Sometimes the florist will add in a big of greenery, no charge (like you see in the white rose above).

5. Create a mood board

Okay, again, if you’ve read Crying in the Car you’ll know I was – am – obsessed with ‘Old Hollywood’. I made scrapbooks as a kid, which I’ve kept today (see above!). I’ve made others for my novels, but it has been a long time since I sat down and made one just for ‘me’. It’s different to Pinterest – there’s something quite organic, and certainly more creative, in sitting down on the floor and going through a pile of magazines with a pair of scissors. The act alone forces you to slow down, review, consider – and I don’t know about you, but the scraping sound of paper being cut can be nice.

Just to be clear: I hate arts and crafts. But somehow, in my book, this isn’t quite the same thing! If you don’t have piles of magazines, local libraries often have swap boxes you can dig through – and second-hand/charity stores will have them for cheap.

What cheap mood-boosters do you use?

Flickr credits where applicable: ben124 & Wikimedia