Winter Planning, 1906

taking a productive rest

Feb 17, 2026

Winter is nature and the farmer's season of rest, but while the body rests the brain may be actively planning for the coming season's work, which cannot fail to be the more successful because of the great thought devoted to it. Send for such catalogs as are required, procure books upon the subject and draw out the experience of others upon the special work intended, and thus be prepared as far as possible to insure success. Plan for Success. -1906

“Winter is nature’s…season of rest.” Shouldn’t housewives do the same?

Happily for those of us in the US, the madcap merriment of three major back-to-back holidays are followed by the deep winter months. Energy levels and outside expectations are low. Everyone is recovering from it all so no sane soul plans elaborate events. We need a rest and reset.

People complain that January lasts 726+ days and February lasts even longer. However, more than one woman has declared it her favorite homemaking season, myself included. The slow days are a perfect way to start a new year.

Homemaking Seasons

Our culture doesn’t encourages slow seasons. Even tucked away in our own homes away from the eyes of the busy world, we don’t let ourselves slow down. But we can’t always be doing and doing it well; nothing in nature operates that way. In the winter, trees are dormant, flowers aren’t blooming, my hens become hormonal freeloaders.

Winter is the season for hibernating. “Busy” may be our modern default setting, but you can deliberately mark out and protect pockets of time to intentionally lessen distractions for a month or two in the heart of winter. Yes, it can and should involve slow-paced novels, long movies, baths, warm drinks, and cozy blankets.

It’s also the ideal time for thinking rather than doing. Education instead of action. Planning instead of implementing. Give yourself the time to think. It will make you more focused when you resume our routines. Theoretically, of course. We can all get derailed by just about anything if we want to be.

Winter Planning and Preparation

Evaluate. Think of winter as a gentler season for setting resolutions or goals instead of trying to revamp your life smack in the middle of the holiday mayhem. It’s a chance to step back and look at the year finished and the one ahead.

Read. I’m drawn to longer, older novels during the winter. My focus is better. I keep the light reads and cozy mysteries for the seasons when my concentration isn’t so good and I’m being pulled in more directions.

But beyond fiction, mark canning recipes that you want to try when your garden starts producing. You don’t have the time to peruse for interesting recipes when you’re drowning in produce. The same goes for cookbooks. Don’t feel like you have to make all the recipes and test the techniques right now, but scope out some menus to add variety to your routine.

Study. Want to refresh or remodel a room? Or your whole house? Check out stacks of decorating books from the library and start a Pinterest board. Learn new organization strategies that will make all the difference in your home. Take a deep dive into a time period in history that intrigues you or the intricacies of plant propagation.

Plan. Your garden, next year’s homeschool curriculum, a cleaning schedule that better fits your lifestyle, your handmade Christmas gift projects, and day trips that you never make time for. Life will go sideways at some point, but a goal that’s sort of met is better than not having a goal at all.

Take notes. Think about your reading goals and compile your books-to-be-read list. Make a list of half-done projects you want to complete this year. Make a thrift shopping list—you can’t keep that all in your head. Are there any new skills that you want to learn this year?

And most importantly, write all your thoughts down. In the rush of spring and summer work, you’ll forget your wonderful ideas. Maybe even write down more than you think you can accomplish. Who knows what the year will bring? It might be a calm, uneventful one where you complete everything on your list, or a crazy, exhausting year where you are thrilled to accomplish the bare minimum of daily tasks. Either way, or likely something in between, if your list of ideas is handy, you won't waste time deciding what to do next.

Doing all these things may sound overwhelming and exhausting, which isn’t the point. Choose the thought trails that will make the most impact on your household. Feel free to dream, assess what’s most important, and be happy and content with that.

I’m the co-author of A Housewife Writes and author of Two Years as an Amish Schoolteacher, available on Amazon. (affiliate link) I love history and learning about the lives of our grandmothers who loved their families and managed their households. I share their stories and wisdom that are still meaningful for us today.