You may find yourself being stuck at home for many reasons such as: Self-isolation, quarantine, Spring and Summer break, holidays, or snow days. Depending on why you are are trapped at home, you may feel super excited for the first little while. No school, no work, yay! But, after a while being stuck in the same environment doing the same things over and over again can really drive you crazy. When stuck at home people tend to live a more sedentary lifestyle. Being inactive and bored has a huge negative impact on your mental health and wellbeing.
Be creative and resourceful by creating tasks and activities that you can do at home. Take this time to be productive around the house. Get tasks that you have been prolonging or never had the time for, finally finished! There are many fun and efficient things you can do during your time at home (other than binge watching Netflix). I hope these ideas below inspire you to stay active, stay busy and most importantly, stay healthy.
Paint Night
If you have never been to a paint night, I strongly suggest going. Paint nights are instructed painting classes that are hosted at restaurants and pubs. The instructors are so comical and make for a really amazing time. People usually drink, quite a bit, and have snacks while they have fun painting. No talent is needed to enjoy this event. One of my past instructors who had me laughing all night long said “when you mess up its called a “Oh Shit” and those are always welcome and easy to fix, but if you get five “Oh Shits” in a row its called a “Oh F*ck” and that is what we don’t want”. The goal of this activity is not to create a masterpiece, but if you do thats a bonus!
Why not recreate this fun activity at home? Youtube has many painting videos that you can follow along too and create a paint night right in the comfort of your own home. Prepare some snacks such as cheese, meat, cracker, fruit, and veggie platters. Have some drinks such as a few glasses of wine and get artsy. Talented with arts and crafts or not, this is extremely fun to challenge yourself and you may be surprised with the outcome, if not you will have a good laugh.
Experiment In The Kitchen
Growing up I was always helping my mom in the kitchen, baking and cooking. I loved growing up around homemade delicious food and desserts. As an adult, cooking meals from scratch is something I still find very important and would love to practice. Unfortunately, when trying to balance school life, work life, as well as my friendships and relationship, I tend to not always have a lot of time left over to spend in the kitchen. Therefore, I tend to stick to the same basic meals that I am comfortable with like chicken, potatoes, and veggies. I just lack the energy to try to attempt a new meal. But when stuck at home, with more time on my hands, I have been able to explore and attempt new recipes in the kitchen.
When stuck at home, take this time as an opportunity to experiment in the kitchen. Try making recipes you have never tried before, or require more work than others. Try to master that recipe that just didn’t go so well in the past. Start saving your favourite baking and cooking recipes in a recipe book. You can handwrite these new recipes or print them off of an online website. You can collect these recipes over the years and pass on this book to your children and their children, so that family favourite recipes are kept in the family over generations to come.
Cleaning And Decluttering
Use this extra time around the house as an opportunity to be productive by cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. Having a well kept environment contributes to your mental heath and well being. When coopted up in the same environment everyday you want it to be an environment that is uncluttered and clean, and overall pleasant to be in. Designate an area of the house to clean and organize each day to feel productive, and feed your boredom. Although, it may seem like a huge task, it will feel really good once the job is done. Play some music, or have Youtube or Netflix on in the background and try to have fun with this activity.
There is always lots to do around the house. For a change in scenery and environment, rearrange furniture around the house. Draw up a blueprint of the different rooms in your house that you want to change up. Reposition the living room and bedroom furniture. In the kitchen, wash out all the drawers and cupboards and reorganize where the silver wear, dishes, and cups go. Wash out and organize the fridge and freezer. Throw away expired or freezer burnt food. Tidy the pantry into categories; pasta, baking, canned goods, breakfast, drinks, and snacks. Toss old food out and collect food for charity/donations. Wash baseboards, sweep and mop the floors. Catch up on laundry, and go through your shoe collection to see what you can donate. Get your children to go through their toys, and get them to donate unused toys, books, games, and clothes. In the garage pressure wash the floor. Organize tools, camping equipment, seasonal gear into bins. Give your vehicles a good cleaning, clean rugs, leather, seats, hard surfaces, and nooks and crannies.
Workout
Stay active by developing at home workout routines. Youtube and many Apps have free at home work out routines. You can also create routines of your own. Incorporate Yoga, Pilates, skip rope, jumping jacks, stairs, pushups, and much more into your workout routine. Try to schedule these routines to insure you make time for this activity. Scheduling helps keep you accountable. Create a makeshift gym in a spare room or the living room in your house. Use foam matts or yoga matts on the ground to create a work space. When stuck at home, it is essential to find ways to keep active. Activity supports a healthy mind and body. You can keep an activity log so you can keep track of your activity, and so you can look back on your progress and achievements. Create an encouraging and energetic playlist to help support, and motivate your active lifestyle.
Game Night
Game nights always make for super fun and interactive nights. Play your favourite games with family and friends for an entertaining night. My family’s favourite games are Settlers of Catan and Flinch. I highly recommend learning these two games, my family has been playing these two games my whole life. Blow the thick layer of dust, that has been collecting over the years, on old board games that are tucked away. Old games are new games. Bring out old fan favourites like Monopoly, Sorry, and The Game of Life. Explore new games like Qwirkle, Mastermind and Mexican Train. Learn new card games such as Honeymoon Whist and Rummy.
I hope these at home activities motivate you to stay active and be productive when stuck at home. Make the most out of your new found time and freedom by getting tasks done that you have been prolonging, but also have an enjoyable and relaxing time. Stay healthy, stay safe, and stay home.
Comment Below And Share Your Ideas On How To Stay Busy When Stuck At Home!