36 / matters magazine / spring 2026 Hibernation Season is Over Time to thaw out and get it together BY ALEX KOENIG Local Lowdown Curated local life, by Matters Magazine T here comes a point every year when winter starts to feel less cozy and more like a personal attack. The oversized scarves, boots and puffer coats have lost their charm, the dry skin situa tion is fully out of hand and suddenly everyone is craving the same thing: a reset. We’re not talking about a full personality transplant or a punishing self-improvement spiral, just a few well-timed changes that make life feel a little lighter, easier and more functional heading into spring. Maybe that means getting your home in or der so your brain can stop short-circuiting every time you walk past the kitchen counter. Maybe it means reconnecting with your body, your energy or a movement routine that does not make you dread showing up. Maybe it means simply doing one thing that makes you feel better, a ‘treat-your self moment’ if you will. That is what makes spring refreshes so appeal ing in the first place. They are usually less about reinvention and more about relief and a little bit of pampering. People are carrying a lot right now. Clutter has multiplied indoors while no one was looking, rou tines have gotten a little loose around the edges, our bodies feel stiff, tired or generally unimpressed with the last few months. Even if everything is technically fine, there is often that low-grade sense that things could be working better. For some people, the reset starts at home. Not because they are chasing perfection, but because the state of a space can have a very real effect on how a day feels. When the surfaces are overflowing, the storage is not working and every room has at least one corner that seems to collect random life debris at an aggressive pace, it creates a kind of background noise. Not dramatic enough to qualify as a crisis Before and after results of a closet Curated Spaces reworked to prioritize access and function for the homeowner. Curated Spaces specializes in small organizational shifts with an immediate payoff. L to R: Betsy Cahn and Linda Thibodeau of Curated Spaces; Gwen Vigorito and Mindy Catron of Align Wellness Studio and Dr. L. Dawn Christian of Village Dental Group.
View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.