Yes, I know. One of the best part of winter is sitting in front of your fireplace with a roaring fire blazing away, in your favorite p.j.’s, wrapped up in a cozy blanket with a cup of hot tea, a good book or a great movie on Netflix or Lifetime.

But after a while even that can get old and you may feel like the walls are closing in. That’s called ‘cabin fever’ and I have a cure.

The cure is projects! Because the best time to do inside home projects is when you are trapped indoors. The outside world isn’t calling you out nearly as much as in the summertime.

You may already have a list made of much-needed projects in your head or on a list. But, either way, get some paper and pen and begin walking around your home, listing everything you’d like to get accomplished.

1. Does your project involve cleaning, decorating, organizing or a complete re-model? These categories are important because each one takes a different type of skill base and may need a professional to come in.
   
   • Cleaning your home is something you and your family (everyone should pitch in!) can do. You will need to organize your supplies and decide which rooms should be done first. And really clean! Pull back the sofa and beds to get behind with your vacuum; wash your shower curtains/window curtains/pillows/bedspreads/floor rugs; scrub all the crevices in the bathrooms and kitchens. Yes, this sounds like ‘Spring Cleaning’ but I have more time in the dead of winter to get some of these tasks done.
     
   • Decorating your home may need a professional to help you with ideas, color/fabric samples, etc.  Or you may just need to update sofa pillows, bedroom linens, new towels or drapes. And remember, painting a room is the best and cheapest way to decorate your home.
     
   • Organizing your home is a project that will reap great rewards! When you organize and get rid of clutter, you will feel a sense of relief or even a weight off your shoulders. Literally go in each room, each bathroom, each closet, each drawer, the pantry, the refrigerator, etc. If this is too overwhelming, just start with one drawer whether it is a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen drawer. Organizing is simply taking everything out, throwing away what you don’t want or need, and putting it back neatly!
     
   • Re-modeling your home is a gigantic project and may take time to save your money as well as find a professional to tackle it. Examples of rooms that are usually re-modeled would be the kitchen, master bathroom, changing out the floors to hard-wood or new carpet, creating a home office or even putting in a new floor and cabinets for your garage. Some of you may already know how to do this kind of work but for myself, I had to hire a professional to re-do my kitchen. But I planned it to be done in the winter when I knew I had more time indoors to pack up the kitchen and then to move items back into the completed kitchen.
     
2. Very large organizing projects such as the attic and basement are best done in the winter because these areas take a large amount of time, are usually in a mess, and can really help your ‘cabin fever’! I have a walk-in attic where I’m able to store all my holiday decorations. So, each year after Christmas (the best time for me) and before I put all my decorations back in the attic, I do a sweep through the whole attic getting rid of anything I don’t want any more. Attic’s and basements seem to become the ‘catch all’ of stuff!
   
   Use the same method if you have a basement. During the winter months put a block of time on your calendar when you will be able to work on de-cluttering and organizing it.  The best way I have found to clean and organize a basement is to take everything from one end, move to the opposite end, and then clean/sweep the open floor. Next, go through each item you will be moving back into the clean area and get rid of everything you don’t want or need anymore. Repeat with the second half of the basement.
   
   The garage is another great project but cleaning it out is best done on a mild weather day. I live in Texas so I can clean out my garage during our mild winters. The reason you need a mild day is because the best way to tackle this project is to take everything out, sweep or wash down the floor, and then put back only the items you still want and need. Remember, there are many ways to organize stuff: add shelves, plastic bins, hooks for hanging sport equipment or yard tools, large cabinets for storage – these are great for sport equipment, and even racks you can buy that hang from the ceiling for storage.

I am sure some of this information can be overwhelming! That’s why, before you tackle any type of home project, put what you want in writing. Once you actually see it on paper, you can then add ideas, costs, and information. Make sure to discuss these ideas with your husband/children. They can all help and will add some great ideas.

I’ve lived in my home for 20 years and each year we implement another project that we have already put on a list. Having what I want (a new bathroom!) on a list helps me feel that hopefully one day I can get this dream accomplished. And I hope that these ideas will help you get some much-needed projects accomplished while you are having cabin fever this winter.