You can count on living through lots of smoggy days in January, February and sometimes even March in Utah. There are very few solutions that don’t include difficult mass behavior changes for the entire population of our state.

Just when it seems you have no choice but to suck it in and take it, GoAdventureMom.com is here with a few simple suggestions to help you snub the smog.

1. Upgrade your air filter. This isn’t the time of year to go cheap on your furnace filter. Your furnace draws outside air in to run your heater. Spend the extra cash to get the nicest one available so you’re not breathing toxic air inside your home.

2. Get high. Guess what, during an inversion, high elevations have fresh air. We always hit the resorts during the inversion. If you’ve never been up the canyon during an inversion…this is what it looks like on the soupiest of inversion days in the valley. Crystal clear skies and sunshine. Not to mention, it’s WARM at the resorts on inversion days. You can almost ski without your coat. If you don’t ski, it’s never too late to learn or there’s no shame is just going for the food. They have some great eats up there.

You can also just try sledding. There are lots of great sledding destinations up the canyon and out of the inversion.

3. Hit Park City. Shopping, dining, and frequenting Main Street art galleries are some of my favorite things to do in Park City during the inversion. It’s like being on a clean-air vacation. Don’t forget the Sundance Film Fest which runs for half the month in January. There’s always lots to do in Park City even if you don’t go to ski.

4. Adopt a tropical plant. This is actually the best time of year to grow an INDOOR tropical plant, especially if you have a sunny south-facing window. This is my favorite winter pet purchased locally at Cactus and Tropicals.

This flowering Hibiscus lives in my office south facing window. I can always count on having at least one or two BIG blooms to brighten every day during the winter months.

5. Live like you’re on the island. When it gets really smoggy outside, nothing makes me feel better than pretending I’m not here. I bust out my tie-dye shirts, use a little spray tanner on my face and listen to my favorite Maui, HI radio station KPOA over the internet. Nothing beats having a little island glow in the dreariest of winters.

Author End Note: Kristin Sokol authors TheVocalSokol.com, a blog dedicated to helping women stay happy mostly by doing fun things.

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Kristin Sokol

I’m an early thirties mother of two and wife to a husband who is pretty much the wind beneath my wings (and the money behind my debit card). I enjoy writing and laughing at the things I write. After graduating from Weber State University I pursued a joint career in full-time mothering and part-time writing. I discovered a passion for learning and writing about community and women’s issues. Besides writing, I enjoy doing things I’m not sure I can do. Some things I’ve failed at. Others I have accomplished. Other interesting things about me…I’m very short. I survived being sprayed by a skunk. I love my pet hibiscus flowering plant almost as much as my human children. I stalk celebrities, but not for a living. I swim surprisingly fast.

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