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This is the second week of our home quarantine and we are running out of things to do at home. I thought we’d drive each other crazy by now since we live in a small space. I’m settling into my work-from-home routine while helping my husband take care of our toddler. We limit our trips outside of the house to grocery runs so it’s been hard for a non-homebody like me.
Everything we need is at home but we miss worshiping at the chapel, going to the beach, and seeing our friends in person. With an active toddler, we have to keep things interesting or he’ll be stuck watching TV all day. Here are 10 fun things to do when stuck at home:
Self-Care
One of the best things to do when stuck at home is to take this time to take care of your health. Get enough sleep, eat nourishing meals, and do what makes you happy. We’ve been catching up on our favorite shows on Netflix and Hulu but we make sure not to stay up all night binge watching. Any Crazy Landing On You or Hi Bye Mama! fans?
We’ve used facemasks, got a deep tissue massage gun, and made dalgona coffee. I also try to make sure that we incorporate a lot of fruits and veggies in our diet even though my son hates it. Self-care for you could include facetiming old friends, DIY foot spa, exercise, or reading a good book from the library. Do what makes your heart happy.
Pray and Practice Gratitude
In this uncertain time of anxiety and worry, it’s important to pray and look to God for comfort and peace. Check out this video from incmedia.org: Turning to the Bible During Uncertain Times. You could also have a family prayer or connect with fellow church members online.
In addition, you should practice gratitude and be thankful for what you have and experienced. I know this is really hard to do during difficult times, but practicing gratitude is not about ignoring the bad things that you are feeling or experiencing. It is about focusing on the good things in your life instead of the bad.
Actively practicing gratitude when times are tough will help you see the bigger picture of your situation and give hope that things will get better. More importantly, it will help you change your mindset so you can survive, find solutions, and take control of your situation.
Clean Out Your Closets
Use this time to do some spring cleaning! Go through your closet and pick out which clothes you don’t use or have outgrown. You can figure out which items to toss, donate, or give to a friend.
A lot of donation centers are closed due to COVID-19 but you can organize and store them until they’re open. We’ve recently cleaned up the second bedroom that we’ve used as storage. We’ve shredded old paperwork, sorted items to send to our parents, and organized our son’s old clothes to sell at Rhea Lana.
Limited Time Outside
You can still go outside even under home quarantine. Each city has different regulations for going outside so do your best to follow them. Our city allows us to go outside to exercise but we must practice social distancing. You can run around the park or go swim at the beach. You just can’t hang out there.
At home, we have a small covered outdoor space. Once a day, we’d go outside with our son so he can run around. This is his favorite time of the day. If you work from home and have a laptop, take your work outdoors sometimes and sit in the sun while responding to emails.
Start a Small Garden
Even if you don’t have a green thumb (like me!), you can try growing a small garden. It’s a fun activity to do when stuck at home. Most importantly, it will save you some money because you’ll have fresh herbs and vegetables at home.
Use whatever outdoor space you have available like a balcony or window sill. You can also a couple of air-purifying plants to bring more oxygen and life into your home. These are good because they are resilient and easy to care for. My husband has saved the stalks of green onions and bok choy from our recent recipes to grow them from cuttings. We are also planning to grow some eggplant and herbs in our small outdoor space.
Donate Blood
I know this means going out of the house but many people still need blood. If you are healthy, haven’t been in contact with any sick person, and can give blood, please do. The staff take great care to provide a clean and safe environment for you to donate blood.
My husband and I just recently donated blood at Blood Bank Hawaii. We had an hour gap between our appointments so we could go home and take turns watching our son at home. Make at appointment at this link.
Try Something New
If there is something you’ve been meaning to try, now is the time to do it at home You could learn a new language, take up a new hobby, or learn a new skill. My husband has made homemade bread and tres leche cake while I’ve been learning and improving my blog.
Try your hand at sewing face masks for your family and friends. Sewing is a great skill to learn to save money on clothes. You could make new clothes or fix broken ones. You could even earn money from this.
Complete a Challenge
I’ve seen a lot of quarantine challenges on social media lately. You could complete one of those tiktok dance challenges with your friends or set up your own exercise challenge like 30 days to 100 bur-pees. There are even simple ones where you share your favorite bible verse or an old picture of you as a couple.
As a family, try to challenge yourselves to come up with creative dishes using only what you have in your pantry or using only canned goods. You never know how much fun and creativity will come out of these challenges.
Do a Virtual Tour
See if your favorite museum, zoo, or park offers virtual tours, online exhibits, or live cams. Google Arts & Culture has an online exhibit on Harry Potter by the British Library. San Diego Zoo has several live cams of penguins, elephants, and tigers.
Maybe you’re thinking of visiting a new place. Why not check it out online? Walt Disney World Resort has a virtual tour to help you plan your trip. You never know what new things you can learn about a place especially in the comfort of your own home.
Send a Surprise Gift
If you still need ideas on what to do at home, you could really make someone’s day by sending a surprise gift. Use a delivery service like Uber Eats to send a friend their favorite milk tea or their favorite sushi. Send your parents or grandparents a board subscription box through CrateJoy to keep them busy for the next couple of months. If you are thinking of making face masks, you could make a bunch to send to a local hospital.
It’s not the amount or type of gift that matters. It’s the thought that counts.
What fun things have you done while stuck at home during this quarantine? Share them below!
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This is such a great list of things to do while quarantined! I love it!
I have actually done some of these already. I hosted a 4 week declutter challenge in April, so cleaned out closets and so much more (if you like to see my post you can find it here: https://livedreamcreate-d.com/2020/03/30/4-week-declutter-challenge/) Also I did some self care days which was so nice to be able to do this type of thing.
What I do want to do this year is start to actually write about my gratitude or at least take a few minutes each day to reflect on this.
D, xo | From Live Dream Create – D
Thank you D! I read the post. I really should do that declutter challenge. Our second bedroom is a mess!
What a great list of activities to do while we’re stuck at home. I appreciate the variety! We’ve been spending a ton of time outside in the yard, and done more family read aloud.
Wow! I wish we had a yard for my active toddler to run around more. We have a very small outdoor space but at least we can grow a small garden.
This is a lovely list, some bigger ideas and some really easy to achieve smaller ideas. Thank you for this 😀
Thank you for pointing that out! 🙂 I didn’t realize that when I wrote it.
That’s so thoughtful of you to give blood while under quarantine! How amazing! We’ve been trying a lot of these ideas down in Australia. I love how you’re making the best out of the situation. I’ve enjoyed seeing the animals at the zoo on the webcams lately.
Thank you Renee! 🙂