What’s Saving My Life? – 2022 Edition

Tomorrow, February 2, is the halfway point of winter. I for one am READY for winter to be over. This winter in Iowa has been especially cold. We have had numerous late-start school days due to below-zero temps. I don’t mind a bit of snow and cold, but I feel like this year has been a bit colder for more days than recent winters. But, of course, at the moment, it always feels worse, right?

All of us have little ways to get through the long days of winter and so today I’m sharing a few of them with you. I’ll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy tomorrow where you can see how others are getting through the winter blues and maybe take a few tips to survive until Spring. Check out the post about the reason why Anne Bogel started sharing What’s Saving My Life? and why others, like myself, have joined her the last several years.

As I made a list of all the items that were saving my life over the past five winters, I realized that many of those things I shared are items I still use and appreciate as I am trying to get through these long, cold, winter days and nights. But, I do have a few new things to share. Feel free to leave a comment with something that is saving YOUR life this winter.

The items listed below could include affiliate links. If you choose to purchase from the below links, I may receive a small commission without you paying a cent more for your purchase.

What’s Saving My Life

My Canada Weather Gear Quilted Puffer Coat is keeping me super warm this winter. I found this coat on sale on Zulily for $59.99 in October and took a chance on it. It is so warm! I LOVE IT! Now, I have been made fun of a few times wearing it, with friends asking me if it is cold outside or something. But, I don’t care, because when I wear this coat, I am warm!

I couldn’t live without my Unhide Lil Marsh Extra Soft Blanket. I have one in my reading room and one on our bed. They are my favorite blankets and keep me warm in the house. They are soft and just the right heaviness. I also love gifting them if I can find them on a good sale.

I have always loved word games, so it is no surprise that I have joined the Wordle bandwagon. The cool thing is that my husband and daughter have joined too. We love sharing our scores and discussing the word each day. I also play Words with Friends every day with several friends and family. I look forward to playing both games every day.

If I love word puzzles, it’s no surprise that I also love Jigsaw Puzzles. During the winter months I always have a puzzle going. I have a stack of several in my closet waiting for me to complete. My cousin and I swap our puzzles whenever we see each other so I always have a new-to-me puzzle waiting in the wings. Speaking of my cousin, she has created her second puzzle, this one, called Minnesota Hot Dishes, was made especially for the Walker General Store in Walker, Minnesota. Her first puzzle was Minnesota 101 Trivia. Both puzzles can be purchased, HERE.

My new Puzzle Board is making putting together puzzles so much easier. After not starting puzzles because I didn’t want to leave them on our dining room table all the time, my husband finally got me this puzzle board after a few not-so-subtle hints. The one linked above is for 1,500 piece puzzles. I typically only do 1,000 piece or smaller puzzles, but you need to get the 1,500 piece size because the 1,000 piece board will not fit a 1,000 piece puzzle. As I was putting one together I realized it wouldn’t fit, so I measured the board and then looked at the dimensions on the boxes of all my 1,000 piece puzzles and sure enough, none of them would fit. Dumb right? So, thankfully, I have a handy husband who extended my board without any trouble. But, if I would buy another one, I would get the 1,500 piece sized board.

Making laundry easier saves my life any time of year. This iDesign Tripod Drying Rack helps with the numerous items I have to hang dry every week. Between my clothes and our teen daughter’s that equates to probably 60% of our laundry. I needed a better system that just my regular drying rack for pants. This one works and doesn’t take up a lot of space when not in use.

I finally joined the Amazon Alexa craze with an Echo Show. I have it plugged in so it sits in the window above my kitchen sink. So, while I am getting my coffee I can start my morning routine with Alexa as she reads me the news, weather, and good news story for the day. Then while emptying/loading the dishwasher or making dinner I can watch my current Amazon Prime show, The Durrells in Corfu. I’m only a few episodes in because I watch them in about 20 minutes spurts, but I’m loving the show and the ease of the device. I can also use it as just a Bluetooth speaker which saves me from moving my bathroom speaker around all the time when I am listening to an audiobook.

I’ve shared my love of the Libby app before and I still LOVE it. I almost exclusively use it for audiobooks, but I have gotten an eBook or two for myself or my daughter to use for school. This year, my Reading Challenge for 2022 was to read at least 22 books off of my own reading shelves. I decided to do that by dual reading books, as in listening on audio and physically reading them. I get through them so much faster. See my Instagram reel, HERE. So far, I’ve read 4 books by also listening to them on audio through the Libby app. That’s 4 less books on my shelves waiting to be read. I only add a book to my Libby holds if it is on my physical to-read shelf. Then I just let my holds dictate what I read/listen to when it comes in. It’s been life-changing.

If you’d like to see my previous years’ What’s Saving My Life posts, click HERE to see them all.

Please let me know below what is saving YOUR life right now!