If you’re anything like me, you’re probably starting to (if you haven’t already) getting a little stir crazy at home! We’ve been quarantining for officially 3 weeks now, and we’re still sticking in there and have been keeping busy with some fun at-home activities. In case you’re needing some inspiration, I thought it’d be fun to share some “out of the box” activities to do during this time of physical distancing.
I know there are so many posts out there right now with WFH tips and things to do in your home, but I wanted to hopefully share a few maybe you haven’t thought of yet! If you have any more, please share them in the comments. I would love any inspiration y’all have, and I’m sure someone will find your suggestions helpful!
Do a cooking challenge
Cost: FREE!
With all of us cooking at home more, it’s easy to find recipes to replicate at home, but I’ve found it to be a lot of fun (and challenging!) to come up with new recipes with only the ingredients in my fridge and pantry. Just yesterday, I did this challenge and came up with a new recipe for peanut butter cookies with just 5 ingredients! They came out divine. Plus it’s a whole lot of fun! Obviously sometimes it can be a bust, but when you stumble across something delicious it’s like a little adventure.
Another fun idea is to find a copycat recipe for some of your favorite foods. Akash & I went to a restaurant during our ski trip to big bear a month ago, and they had the most amazing apple pie a la mode. I tried to recreate it at home, and it was the best thing EVER. Akash’s direct quote was that it’s the best thing I’ve ever baked. (For context, I bake a LOT & Akash has a huge sweet tooth… so obvi he thought it was pretty darn good. Humble brag… ha!) I also tried to recreate the cookies from our fave place in Austin/Houston, Tiny’s. They were BOMB.
I’ve been contemplating sharing some of my favorite recipes, since in the last few months I’ve been on a major cooking kick. If this is something that you’d find helpful or entertaining, let me know and I’d love to write one.
Redecorate your space
Cost: $- $$
‘Tis the season for all the DIY projects! There are so many home reno project options out there, it’s up to you to pick one. A few that I’ve done/have been thinking about doing:
- Photo print dump: every year or so, I’ll go through all of my photos on my phone and print out memories from the past year. I’d love to start a scrapbook one day, but for now it’s just nice to have physical copies of your favorite photos. I used Snapfish for this, since their platform makes it crazy easy to upload photos directly from social media or from your phone.
- Paint! If you’ve never tried watercoloring, now is a great time to try it out. I started it a few months ago when I started working from home, and it was so fun to pick up as a hobby. It’s also really inexpensive, since you don’t need many supplies.
- Learn photography: there are a ton of tutorials on Youtube that you can check out to learn photography! Whether that’s on a camera you already have, or just iPhone photography, there’s a wealth of knowledge available to everyone.
- Rearrange your furniture or decor. Sometimes I get the itch just for a change of scenery within my space. For anyone who’s in the same boat, this could be a fun activity to keep busy. I’m in the process of switching out some of my frames and swapping the ones in my living room with the ones in my dining room. If you have shelves or console tables, maybe you can switch it up and restyle them. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery for a spark of motivation or inspiration.
- Make a mood board / vision board! I haven’t personally done this, but if you have some extra magazines sitting around, this could be a fun activity to do. One of my favorite podcasters Tanya Rad from Scrubbing In does this every NYE. She makes a vision board of her goals and dreams for the year, and makes it an intentional project. I love this idea, but haven’t gotten around to doing it before.
Get your finances together
Cost: FREE!
Okay, so this one’s obviously not as sexy or fun as the others. But it’s arguably way more important. If you’re not as financially savvy as you maybe should be, this time is a really great opportunity to get things in check. If you realize you have some extra money sitting around that you don’t need at the moment, maybe it’s a good time to invest.
Especially with staying at home, it’s a good time to try and save as much $$$ as possible. Something I’m trying to do is resisting the urge to online shop for frivolous things that I don’t need. I know it’s tempting, and having new fun things arriving in the mail is exciting, but I think this is a great time to save cash while you don’t have the chance to eat out or spend money unnecessarily.
I’m obviously not a financial advisor, so do your own research, but if you’ve been needing a sign to push you to get your financial shit together, this is it. You got it, girlfriend!
Do a skin detox
Cost: FREE!
I’m definitely guilty of trying new skincare products all the time, who’s with me? I realized that I haven’t worn makeup in over a month (since our trip to Europe!) and my skin’s never looked better. If you’ve been wanting to do a skin detox, this is the time. You’re not seeing anyone anyway, so it’s a great time to lay low on the makeup and just let your skin breathe.
Start that business you’ve been thinking about doing
If you’ve been having a lot of “what if?”s about business ideas you can start from home, now is an amazing time to try it out! I get questions on the daily about how to start a blog, and if that’s something you’ve been wanting to try out but there’s never enough time, now’s your chance! Nowadays you can get a website up and running within a matter of moments, and you can hit the ground running so quickly. Want to start a boutique? Do it! Want to start freelancing? Do it! The world is your oyster, friend. 🙂
Was this helpful? This time can feel a little lonely, so it’s the time that all of us need to come together to keep each other sane. If you try any of these ho