Hi it's miley7311 back with yet another issue of "Surviving Winter"! This week is all about saving money on winter clothes and how to survive the winter blues. I have made a list below showing what my mom spends on my winter clothes each year:
* Pants - about $400
* Shirts - about $300
* Jackets and sweatshirts - about $150
* Glove, mittens, and scarves - about $50
* Shoes, boots - about $120
But now you can lower those expenses by smart shopping and learning to make some of these things, instead of buying them. You can make things like sleds, snowshoes, and scarves. Those will be listed next week! Before we move into how to survive the winter blues I want to list some great places to get really good heavy-duty jackets, sweatshirts, gloves, pants, etc. for a low price:
1. Wal-Mart; you can visit a local Wal-Mart or visit their website which is http://www.walmart.com/ they have great winter gear for the whole family. Here are some examples of what they have:
Description: Faded Glory Boys' Hooded Reversible Jacket
$15.00 at Wal-Mart
Description: Faded Glory Girls' Quilted Hooded Reversible Jacket
$15.00 at Wal-Mart
2. Second hand stores; if you visit a good second hand store you can buy some good winter gear that someone may have worn just once. Check http://www.yellowpages.com or a phone book to find a good second hand store near you. Editor's Note: I recommend checking out Plato's closet (http://www.platoscloset.com/). You can find some great deals there, and they have really cute clothes!
3. EBay.com; you can have your parents go on eBay (if you're under 13) to look at winter gear. Used or new, you can find some good stuff on eBay. My dad and I have been on eBay and we found scarves for less than 10 big one's!
4. Your family; you may ask your mom or dad or even your brothers and sisters to see if you can have the winter gear that they don't use anymore! You can shrink jackets and sweatshirts, if needed. Who knows?maybe if you look hard enough, you might find something you like.
5. Target; Target is a great place to get some good gloves, sweatshirts and even jackets! Just head down to a local Target near you, or visit their website at http://www.target.com/ here are some examples:
Description: Girls' Cherokee Lightweight Peplum Trench Coat - Beige
$19.99 at Target
Description: Xhilaration Foldover Glove Pink Stripe
$9.99 at Target
Now moving on to the winter blues . . .
According to http://www.doityourself.com/stry/winterblues, one of the top reason people get the winter blues is because they are stuck inside and the weather is horrible! So here are three ways to cure those old winter blues:
1. Make a vision board.
A vision board is a board that you add pictures, magazine clipping etc. and then hang up somewhere. You can add sunshines to remind you of summer or pictures and sayings of what you want for your future. A vision board is what you envision for your future! For example if you wanted to be successful you could put a picture of someone like a celeb who is a big success, or say you had a brother or sister with bipolar disorder (as I do) and you want to find a cure. You could write that on your vision board or cut out the letters or words that are needed from a magazine! What ever you like, there are no rules!
2. Find your scent.
Find some type of perfume or something that smells good! When you are sad, smell it, it will help you feel better. Your scent usually reflects on who you are, for example; if you are out going you would probably like a fruity or tangy scent, if you are kind of shy or very mellow then you would probably like a simple scent like vanilla, or if you are very thoughtful you would probably like a floral type scent. If you're romantic, roses may be the best way for you to go! I'm allergic to most scents so I get perfume packs that you would normally put in something like a purse or shoe to keep it smelling good, these work very well for me, because I don't have to spray it to smell it! I can just sniff it real quick so I won't sneeze! My scent is cherry-vanilla! What's yours?
3. Yoga and others stretches can help you relax. Remember to play soothing music during this time, as it will help soothe you.
4. Have fun indoors.
You may feel sad you can't go outside, but if you find some fun things to do inside, you may even forget that it's raining out there. You can play board games, draw, dance, write, etc. My favorites are dancing and writing! I love it! My favorite board game is Monopoly! It is where you buy fake properties with fake money and then make your way around the board! I interviewed katy912 on what she thinks about Monopoly:
Miley7311: Do you like Monopoly?
Katy912: Yes, very much so.
Miley7311: How long does it take you to play a game of it?
Katy912: 1 to 2 hours
Miley7311: Is it easy for all ages to enjoy?
Katy912: The little one's might have trouble, but otherwise it's suitable for all ages.
Miley7311: On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the most boring game ever and 10 being the most fun game ever, how would you rate it?
Katy912: 7
The game usually costs 20 to 30 dollars depending on where you buy it! Here are a couple pics of monopoly:
-That's all for this week this is miley7311 signing off!
Author's Note: Sources: http://www.aromaweb.com/, myself, my mom.
