Monday Made It and Giveaway

This Monday Made It is for all of you. It's a Soothe Box so you can take care of yourself. I know it sounds weird but it's so helpful! Did you know you can't give it your all if you're not taking care of yourself? We are caretakers and nurturers by nature. We expend so much energy while working with our students. Its up to us to put back energy into ourselves. I'm here to give you some ideas for your soothing box. 

What in the world is a self soothe box? That was my question last month. Well it's a box that appeals to the 5 senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. I could see this being great for some students as well.

Whenever you are feeling anxious, stressed or down about something you can go to your self-soothing box and mindfully pick up each thing that appeals to your senses. You will focus your attention on what the object looks, tastes, smells, sounds, or feels like instead of your worries. 

When you are mindful with your self-soothing box it really helps to calm you down and make you feel better.

First off, you'll need a box. Anything will do: a shoebox, an old cardboard box, or why not just use a bag. At school my self soothe box is at the bottom of my filing cabinet. At home I have a whole room dedicated to my self- my craft room LOL.

Gather objects that appeal to your senses. Some examples would be:

• Sight: funny photos, baby animals, positive affirmations, seeds of happiness, book, mirror, magazine, sunglasses, old camera with pictures of your favorite memories, some scenes that you think are beautiful, happy pictures that you've drawn, pictures that motivate you.
• Hearing:  your favorite cd, a music box, headphones to use with your phone, an old iPod or music device filled with peaceful music. Soothing sounds app, Pandora or Spotify
• Touch: silk scarf,  stress balls,  feather, lotion, some cool textured yarn or some sandpaper
• Taste: various teas, ginger chews,coffee, hard candies, gum, suckers, chocolate, a favorite snack, some flavored lip gloss
• Smell: peppermint oil, lip balm, scented candles, perfumes, lotions, stick of cinnamon  coffee beans, reed diffusers, even scented deodorants, essential oils such as lavender. 

Here are some ideas that you can't put into a box.

Sight:
Talk a walk outside. Go to the beach or mountains. Look at the nature around you. Go to a museum with beautiful art. Buy some flowers. Sit in a garden.  Light a candle and watch the flame. Watch a travel movie or video. Seeds of Happiness.

HEARING:
Pandora, Nature Sounds app, Listen to beautiful or soothing music. Listen to a baby or a small animal. Sit by a waterfall.  

SMELL:
Bake some bread or baked goodies. Smell breakfast being cooked at home or in a restaurant. Walk in a garden or in the woods and breathe in the smells of nature. Light a scented candle or incense. Find some coffee beans. 

TASTE:
Have a special treat, and eat it slowly... that's the hard part! Have a good meal, Treat yourself to a dessert. Put whipped cream in your coffee. Drink a soothing drink like herbal tea or hot chocolate. CHOCOLATE. I'm really loving black cracked pepper cheese sticks at the moment.

TOUCH:Pedicure, massage, facial!!!! Put on some lotion. Pet your dog or cat. Cuddle with a baby or small child. Put on a silk shirt or scarf. Sink into a really comfortable bed.  Float or swim in a pool. Take a hot shower or bath.

What would you put in your box? Or how do you de-stress from the day? I'd love to get some more ideas. Leave me a comment for your chance to win!

I would love to make a box to send to one lucky winner. 

It will be filled with some awesome products that help me unwind from a long day in the classroom. 

I'm off to check one of my favorite linkys. Thank you Tara for hosting.