We hear it all over, but what does it really mean to practice self-care? As a newer mom, small business owner and homemaker, this might be one of the more interesting questions for me to answer…
While it looks like many different things to many different people...For me, self care has meant things like taking the time to wash my face in the morning so I can feel renewed and energized to take on another busy day chasing the little lady around the house, cleaning and managing our business.
It can also look like homemade decaf lattes, cooking a healthy meal, doing my hair, fresh laundry, remembering to drink plenty of water each day, going for evening walks, reaching out to a friend, asking for a hug from my husband, journaling, letting the dishwasher do most of the work, a soak in the tub, or even getting up early to spend some time in the word.
Some of you said aroma therapy baths, reading a good book, cup of tea, time in nature, champagne and music, and learning to relax. Regardless of how this might look differently to us all, taking a little time from the day to give myself some attention really helps me to put my best foot forward. If I don’t do this, I really feel it and it becomes a weight that I carry throughout my day.
I think most of us want to perform well in life, to do the best we can at any given task. From experience I have learned that to not give myself some attention can lead to unnecessary stress, exhaustion, and sometimes even bitterness. These are weighty words, however I do believe that focusing on our mental, physical and emotional health is more crucial now than ever.
It is so important to find resources for yourself to get the care you need. Whether that is reaching out to a friend, family member, spending some time in quiet, journaling whatever you need to do. While I can’t offer up solutions for all of these aspects, I can help you find useful items to help with your every day routine self care needs, which are just as important!
When you look at our shop, you see a wide range of products. All of these items share one thing in common; they were hand selected by me. We don’t have a team of people buying and planning, as fun as that sounds. Each item is thoughtfully considered and selected for the overall values and goals that we hold as a small family owned company.
First and foremost all things if not found objects, come from local artisans, Fair Trade merchants, and small batch makers. Resourcing items to share with our customer can be one of the more fun aspects of this job, but it can also be challenging. Because we care about how / where these items are being made, it limits where we can source our products. Thankfully with a lot of countless hours researching, we have put together a pretty fun shopping experience (in my humble opinion) thus far.
Other values we hold are minimal waste, longevity of product, aesthetic appeal, and quality. While I didn’t intend for this to be a post all about our backbone, I did want to include a bit about that, because I think it’s important to know that when you shop here, you can feel good about it. It is what I like to say “guilt free” shopping. Knowing that your items come from safe working conditions, livable wages, and even supporting many other small businesses and makers is really a feel good situation. Personally I love supporting these businesses as the buyer for The Maple House Collective.
So, I believe that this ties into Self-Care in that it contributes to our emotional and mental health by considering and caring for others as well. I hope that you feel this, experience it when scrolling our shop, and really get a sense that this is a special place that cares about the people from making to receiving.
Images by @PinehousePhoto https://www.facebook.com/pinehousephoto/
We have put together a little “Self Care” guide in contribution to our Gift Guides leading up to the Holidays. Of course, you can use this guide to assist you in shopping for loved ones this Season as well! Happy shopping, take care!
The Maple House Collective offers several "buy now pay later" solutions for shoppers. Pay for your order in easy payments, interest-free for on time payments. See listings or checkout for more information. Happy shopping!