How to Survive Cabin Fever

• Written on January 11, 2018 By Stanley Martin Homes

If you don't have a plan to curb Cabin Fever before it hits your home, don't worry because we can help. We've come up with a fun way to get those much-needed chores done while also leaving time to enjoy some of your favorite hobbies or activities. It's called Chore and Reward, and it's a pretty simple concept: Do a chore, then reward yourself! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Chore
Clean out that hot mess of a walk-in closet (we know there may be many closets to choose from, but just pick one for now).

Reward
Buy a "beach read" novel, crank up The Beach Boys, snuggle up by the fireplace with some hot chocolate or herb tea, and live vicariously through the lives of fictional characters for a while.

Chore
Organize the space under your sinks in the kitchen and all your bathrooms. Pinterest has great ideas to declutter your cabinet space.

Reward
While you're on Pinterest, look at your boards and pick one of the projects you pinned throughout the year, go to the store to buy necessary supplies, come home and get it done! Will you choose to put up your salon wall, decorate your Man Cave, or work on that photo album project you pinned last summer? Or, will you find a new winter activity today as you scroll through your Pinterest feed?

Chore
Create an organized play space for your children (or grandchildren).

Reward
Buy that new kitchen gadget you've been wanting-a spiralizer, smoothie machine, or a countertop grill-and let your creative juices flow!

Here are some other quick ideas for chores and rewards:

Chores
Clean out your medicine cabinets, sweep the dust bunnies out from underneath the beds, organize your kids' Lego boxes, wash curtains, get rid of old clothes and take them to Goodwill, sanitize your computer keyboards...the list seems endless, doesn't it?

Rewards
Write your novel, knit some socks, take a long nap, enroll in an online yoga class, join a book club, go out with a friend, plan a winter getaway, bake a cake, work on your hobbies, play your piano, pop popcorn and watch old movies, start a journal, research your ancestry, and so much more!

Feel free to mix and match the chores or rewards and come up with a few of your own! But most of all, don't let Cabin Fever take hold.

• in Washington DC Metro