QOL: Tea

I love tea, especially green tea, which is good for you and doesn't need sweeteners or cream. In Western culture, we tend to focus on food when we gather together in large or small groups. We can't seem to socialize without a large caloric intake. Why not try serving a really good, satisfying tea instead, when company comes to visit? At our house we always have coffee going in the winter, but year round when somebody comes by after noon, the first thing I (usually) do is put the kettle on.

My green tea brewing habits have been pretty slapdash in the past, often not even waiting for the boiled water to cool for five minutes before infusing (I know, I'm barbarian), but after discovering the Chan Tea site via a tweet by Tula Teas, I think I may have to change my ways. I can already smell the perfume of properly brewed green tea!

QOL*: fleece sheets

This may seem like a small thing, but if you're looking for a way to raise the comfort level of your sleeping situation exponentially during the cold season, this is a win-win deal. Polarfleece or micro-fleece sheets. It's like sleeping in a pile of silk velvet. It also raised the R-value of our bedding to the point where we had to remove the duvet (down comforter).

We heat our little house with a wood stove. The fire usually goes out at some point in the night, so the ambient temperature drops a bit. We still don't need the comforter anymore. Fleece sheets, a plush fleece blanket, and a thin cotton coverlet (to keep the cat hairs & general grubbiness off of everything else). No electric blanket needed, and the average room temperature in our bedroom at night hovers between 60-65F.

Bonus: No need to break your budget to switch from cotton flannel or percale, either! You can pick up a complete set (queen fitted, flat, & pillowcases) at outlets like Ross or TJ Maxx for $20 (vs. $40+ on sale at the dept. store). That's what I did a week ago when I noticed that our cotton flannel sheets were so threadbare that they were developing large holes. I personally prefer the cool percale pillowcases under my head, and relegated the fleecy one to the pillow I put under my knees so my back doesn't hurt. Perfect.

These sheets are so cozy I don't want to get out of bed in the morning. OK, that's nothing new. More importantly, I'm actually going to bed earlier because I can't wait to crawl into that fluffy softness, and that's a real improvement for me.

Oh, the cats like it, too. Much kneading and puring goes on at bed time these days.

*QOL="quality of life". I just made up this abbreviation and I'm sticking to it.