Last March, when lockdown measures were instituted due to the pandemic, the first thing I did was go to the basement and pull out several strands of clear Christmas lights and solar seed lights that I had saved. I immediately added them to the decor around my house, both inside and on some of the trees outside. I knew that if I were going to be spending weeks or more in my house, that I would require space that was both organized and cozy. I will devote some time to writing about eliminating chaos later, but today I want to focus on cozy.
Cozy is a word that describes a feeling of safety, warmth, and comfort. For me, lighting can either hinder that feeling or help create an atmosphere, that is not only cozy but allows my soul to experience calm, as my senses respond favorably to my environment. Apparently I am not the only one who responds this way; here is a link to a study about cozy lighting improving the mood of the elderly. (Though I would not consider myself to be “elderly” yet, my guess is that when I am, I will still like pretty lights.)
For people with very sensitive eyes, bright sunlight, florescent light, and blue light can cause discomfort ranging from headaches to anxiety and irritability. Warm, white light has the opposite effect. When I use strings of warm, white lights to decorate, it creates an ambience similar to candlelight. I appreciate this because though I sometimes enjoy candles, the combination of my attention deficit disorder and my two cats increases the probability that if I were to light a candle, the house may burn down.
Adding lighting to calm your soul is not too difficult or expensive to do. As I first mentioned I used some old clear Christmas lights on both green and white chord, depending on where I placed them. These I added to the rice lights (also called seed or teeny lights, similar to fairy lights) on brown chord that I already had strong in my kitchen. Inside, I either wrap the strands around lamps, tuck them between knick knacks or plant, and stick them in jars or vases. All of my indoor lights require an outlet, but many of these kinds of lights are also available in a battery operated style. I also put some solar rice lights outside some of my windows. To purchase the strands of lights runs between $7 and $16, depending on the length.
This year after Christmas, I kept some of the curtain lights that I had in my living room window up. I will likely take them down and some of the others added to my sunroom this winter down, once the days grow longer and the house doesn’t feel so dark so early. What is nice is that using lights to help calm your soul allows for much variation and creativity.
If your soul is struggling, whether due to the pandemic or for any other reason, plugging in some pretty, string lights will not solve all of your problems or pain, but it can be one tiny act of self-care. If string lights aren’t your thing, pretty candles are still nice, or even flameless candles, wax warmers, or a night light. The thing that is important is finding a way for you to take control of your sense of cozy in a way that best calms you.