Sarah W.Self-care is one of the most important types of “care” there is. While caring for others is important, if we don’t take the time to take care of and prioritize ourselves, then we are surely going to be in some trouble. While your social media feed may be inundated with the expensive and often ridiculous personal care products and routines, that doesn’t mean your routine needs to cost an arm and a leg to be effective. In fact, I will share a secret: my self-care routine is essentially free. Here are some simple things you can incorporate into your self-care routine without spending a dime!
Stay Hydrated
Chances are, you need to drink more water. According to the National Council on Aging, somewhere around 75% of Americans are consistently not getting enough water. Dehydration can really take a toll on both your physical and mental health. Even mild dehydration can negatively impact your memory and make it more difficult to concentrate, which is why it is important to get enough liquid H20 in your diet.
While the amount of water we need to drink each day depends on a lot of factors, like our height, gender, and how much we weigh, there are some simple guidelines you can follow to help get you on the right track. According to the Mayo Clinic, we should drink anywhere from 11.5-15.5 cups per day, with the lower recommendation for women and the higher for men. If we are hitting those numbers, chances are we are sticking close to our hydration goals for the day.
Start Journaling
Journaling, which is when you write down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a journal or notebook, is actually a great inclusion to any self-care routine. Best of all, apart from the cost of a pen and some paper, it is essentially free to get into. Writing down the obstacles and challenges you are facing, for example, can help put what you are facing into perspective. Once you lay out the details of your problems, they seem more manageable, and you can really think about how to break them down and address them. You can also focus on your feelings, or any experience you have had recently, and commit those thoughts to paper; this allows you to address them later, or to give greater perspective to how you are feeling in the moment.
Be Creative — Make Something!
There are few things more satisfying than making something with your hands. Whether it’s painting a canvas, putting together a nice, wooden or acrylic table, or crocheting a beautifully patterned sweater, creative hobbies are something all of us should include in our lives. The best apart about them is how rewarding they are: once you have completed a project (yes, I understand that these hobbies also often mean having lots of incomplete projects around the house as well) you can display or use it.
Strike a Pose
If you are looking to make your self-care routine just a bit more flexible, then yoga is definitely the right choice for you. Yoga can help you lose weight, improve your range of motion, and even make it easier to fall asleep at night. Best of all, it can be done inside or outside, depending on the weather and your mood. While you can pay to participate in yoga classes, you can also follow free courses online (there are tons of these on YouTube, for example). This way, when you are just starting out and seeing if yoga is for you, you can dip your toes into it for free!
Conclusion
Self-care does not have to be expensive. There are plenty of components you can add to your self-care routine to make it truly shine without breaking the bank. From yoga to creative hobbies, there is bound to be something for you. Best of all, you can try all of these without having to shell out cash to do so: think of it as a trial-free period that could benefit both your mental and physical health. If you are interested in other lifestyle, wellness, or mindfulness articles, make sure to check out our blog for more!
