We’re sure you love seeing everything bloom in the springtime as much as we do, so what better time to plant your own garden at home?  Having a home garden can benefit your life mentally, physically, and financially. 

It’s proven that gardening can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and depression.  Plus, it always feels nice to give a little something back to the environment, right?  Here are just a few of the ways having a garden can bring some serious good into your home.

Benefits for Your Overall Health

There have been multiple studies conducted on the benefits gardening can have on your physical and mental health.  Gardening itself, is a physical activity, so in doing so, you’re getting some exercise. 

Now, this doesn’t mean just watering your plants (however, that is part of it).  This is referring to the weeding, digging, planting, and everything else that goes into creating your full, at-home garden. You can actually burn 150-300 calories gardening for just 30-45 minutes a day.  Not to mention, it helps strengthen your bones, muscles, and joints.

Even just looking at a garden can help stimulate a healthy and positive mental state.  There’s a reason why gardening is described as being “good for the body and soul.”  You can tweak an at-home garden to cater to your own emotional needs.  There are different gardening styles and techniques to help stimulate calmness, tranquility, focus, happiness, and creativity.

Benefits for Your Wallet

There’s the obvious way that having an at-home garden can benefit your wallet.  Yep, growing your own fruits and vegetables means that you don’t have to buy them.  And, it’s honestly pretty rewarding to be self-sustaining. There’s also another way having an at-home garden can benefit your wallet.

Gardening can help raise the property value of your home, too.  Investing your time in your at-home garden, is really an investment into your home.  Think “curb-appeal.”  When you drive past a home with a well-kept and gardened outside, the house itself automatically looks that much more welcoming.

Benefits for Mother Nature

We’re always hearing about the negative effects our actions have on the environment, so it feels good to turn that around and do something nice for Mother Nature for a change. Plants and mulch help to hold soil in place, which reduces erosion.

Plants help cleanse our air of carbon dioxide and other various air pollutants. You can give back to the planet while giving a little something to yourself, when you plant an at-home garden.

Starting an at-home garden is pretty simple, and it can benefit your health, happiness, and home.  So if you’re feeling inspired by all these spring flowers, go grab some of your own and get that garden started. 

Spring has officially sprung, and with warmer weather finally within reach, we’re ready to get outside.  It’s so easy to get stuck in your daily work routine, but you need some Vitamin D, too.  And, scheduling some much deserved outside time into your routine can be pretty easy.  We know everyone already has their favorite things to do outside, but here’s a couple more to add to your list this spring.

1. Have a Picnic

Yes, it’s old school and maybe even a little cliché, but when is the last time you actually packed up, sat down, and had a real picnic?  Probably a while.  This is a great alternative to going out to eat because it’s a small way you can get outside and get active. 

You can get together with a group of friends and each bring a dish or side from your favorite local deli, or make that new recipe you’ve been dying to try.  By putting together a little picnic potluck you can help all your friends get together and get outside to welcome the spring. 

Or, after a long week, take a day for yourself, pack a lunch, grab a blanket and a good book and go have a personal picnic.  Pick your favorite park and just relax.  Clichés are clichés for a reason, and a picnic is definitely a classic outdoor activity for a reason.  It’s an easy way to set aside an hour of your day to enjoy the outdoors.  

2. Go for a Jog

Another pretty classic activity: jogging.  This spring, ditch the treadmill and hit the streets.  You’ve been cooped up all winter, and it’s finally nice out so why spend all that time in the gym when you could be running around outside. 

You don’t have to go for long, and it honestly doesn’t even really have to be a “jog.”  Pick your own pace.  Even just going for a short stroll around the block is something.  It’s another easy way to get outside and enjoy some springtime, even just for a few minutes.  

3. Play a Team Sport

Another great way to get outside and get all your friends together at the same time.  Join an organized softball league, or put together your own.  Pick a day of the week, head to the park, and play a pickup game of soccer. 

Just like having a real picnic, when is the last time you actually played a team sport?  Probably a while.  By designating one day a week, or joining an organized league, you can make a team activity part of your routine, and hence, setting aside some more time for the outside. 

4. Plant a Garden

Spring is the perfect time to start a garden. If you plan accordingly, then by gardening earlier in the season you can actually grow more.  It is important to be a little more cautious when you begin gardening in the spring, because there can still be some frost and colder weather. Cover up seedlings in a plastic cover on nights it is supposed to be especially cold, or if you feel more comfortable, just cover them every night. 

You also don’t necessarily have to begin planting in the spring, but you could just start planning and plotting a small area.  Choose where you want to make your garden in the summer, and start weeding and preparing that area.  Gardening is another activity that really doesn’t take up much time in your day, but it gets you to spend just a little more time outside enjoying yourself.

So, these are just a few of our favorite things to do outside.  And whether you choose something from our list, or something from your own, give yourself that much deserved spring sunshine time.  The best way to welcome these warmer months is by taking advantage of them and getting outside, even just a little. 

Even though a little change is always a good thing, adjusting to it is not necessarily the most fun.  It’s easy to say to ourselves, “what do you mean, I love change, the only constant in life is change", however when it comes down to it, we all know some changes are a lot easier to love than others. 

Maybe you recently got a promotion at work, or you’re currently redecorating your home, these are typically pretty exciting changes.  But, sometimes, we all also have to go through those changes that have been inflicted on us and aren’t exactly what we would describe as enjoyable.  It’s important to remember that both types of change, good and bad, can bring stress to your life, but you can also take little steps to cope, and combat this stress before it sets in. 

Even changes for the better bring extra stress to our lives.  Adapting to something new asks a lot of us as a person.  Even though we may not think so, we are all creatures of habit, at least to some extent.  Here are a couple pointers on little things you can do when life takes a little bit of a twist.

Address the problem more than your feelings

This doesn’t mean not to talk about your feelings.  Addressing your feelings is totally okay, however, by only talking about your feelings rather than focusing on the problem itself, it’s easier to get stuck simply dwelling on the negativity rather than thinking about potential solutions to the actual problem at hand. 

By only talking about our feelings of fear, anger, or anxiety towards a situation, then we cause a sort of loop that keeps us stuck in those feelings. Whereas if we talk about the problem itself, we are able to actually seek out potential advice and solutions to actually solve it.  We can’t necessarily change our feelings, and we shouldn’t have to, instead though we can change how we chose to solve a problem.

Stop stressing about being stressed

We put so much pressure on ourselves to not feel stressed, that we actually stress ourselves out even more.  Stress isn’t a bad thing.  It’s how we approach it that really matters.  A little bit of stress can actually be a good thing. 

Think about why you’re stressed, this comes back to addressing the actual problem at hand rather than just the feeling.  Your stress is really just there to help you properly prepare for whatever the problem at hand is.  So, harness it, use it to your advantage.

Look at each change as an opportunity

Every change, good or bad, leaves room for growth.  It is usually a lot easier to see opportunity from positive changes, however it is a result of negative changes as well.  Change forces you to adapt, and by changing your path, you leave room to learn things about yourself and certain situations that you may have never learned should things have just remained the same. 

By approaching all types of change with this outlook, you can help yourself accept it, and the good it is going to bring you, even if it’s not in the most conventional way. 

Don’t sweat the small stuff

Remember, you control your attitude.  Don’t let change get you down.  We know, this is one of those things that is easier said than done, but it’s also nice to remember.  No matter how good or bad something may seem, the attitude you approach it with makes all the difference. 

And, as we all know, change really is the only constant in life, so don’t get yourself crazy over every little thing.  It’s all part of life, and sometimes you just need to remind yourself that everything’s OK. 

While you’re obviously not going to approach each new change in your life with a huge smile on your face, it is important to remind yourself that you can handle anything thrown your way.  These pointers unfortunately can’t prevent you from ever being stressed again, but they can help you deal with the stress of change in a more productive and inspiring fashion.