Staying home during this COVID-19 time has been challenging for so many people, and everyone has their own reasons, but staying home and protecting lives is at the forefront of what the World is doing now. And at the end of the day, or in a few months, if you’ve done your part, stayed home, then when we come out of this you can say that you contributed to saving our world’s population. We should all be okay with that, even if it isn’t as glamorous as socializing with friends or getting on the next plane to your top destination.
My blog has been mostly about traveling, if you’ve been here before, you’ve known that it’s what we enjoy doing. Not just to other countries, but locally as well. We love traveling around where we live, discovering that next best coffee shop, vintage store, or breathtaking view. But today, marks 4 weeks since I have personally been at home social distancing, and in these 4 weeks I’ve had my ups and downs. Days where I woke up at 6am and had exercised, walked the dogs, showered and eaten breakfast all before 9am. Then I’ve had days, where let’s face it, I didn’t even get out of PJs for over 24 hours. But all in all, it’s been good. I’ve learned to take it as it comes, and have managed to impress myself with what I’ve accomplished these past 4 weeks. Now, this isn’t to shame people who haven’t done much, that’s okay too! This is just to share my own experiences, and hopefully put a smile on your face or help turn on a light-bulb in your head of something you can do as well.
Now let’s get on with it. Here are 7 things you can try at home that will basically cost you nothing. These are all something we’ve actually done in our household. Hope you enjoy!
7 Things To Try At Home That Will Cost Nothing
1. Enjoy Your Garden
Enjoy your backyard, garden, patio, balcony, etc. whatever space you have that lets you get some fresh air and sunshine. Now England has decided to gift us some pretty amazing sunny days over the last month, so we’ve definitely taken full advantage of enjoying our backyard space. Weeding was on the top of the list, not the most chic thing in the world, but hey it had to be done. But other than weeding, here are some things we’ve done to inspire you to get outside at home: re-potted some herbs that were looking a bit sad in too small pots, we re-arranged our outdoor furniture differently than we had it before, we did some DIY stuff with materials we had at home like old paint, old wood, nails, wood glue etc, and we camped! Yes you read that right we camped in our backyard. When I posted this on IG, I had so many people ask me if we had actually camped, and yes we did. We haven’t done much camping since moving to England unfortunately, and the husband wanted to make sure the tent was in OK condition, so he took it out, gave it a good clean, and we set it up and slept in it. It was fun, and I kinda felt like a kid again.
2. Shop At Home
Yes shop in your own home. What I mean by that is re-decorate and re-purpose different stuff in your home. I love decorating and places like antique stores, T.J. Maxx (T.K. Maxx), home improvement stores are my fav! But since we aren’t going to these places at the moment, I’ve taken it upon myself to re-envision and re-arrange so much stuff in my house! To be completely honest, with work and travel, I haven’t had much time to do that before. Some ideas: change location of a rug or mirror, change place settings on your table, move your bed or couches around. Ideas are endless but it’s definitely helped make a kinda drab space look and feel fresh and new.
3. Be A Chef
We all are definitely cooking more at home and I’ve seen people get so fancy and creative with their cooking so I’ve definitely been inspired. We have several recipe books that we’ve accumulated over the years, and re-reading them and getting ideas has been great! The only thing that’s been a little diffucitly is getting creative with missing ingredients since we can’t pop over to the store, but that’s the fun in it! Some things I’ve made that have been new: Frittata, Cabbage Rolls, and Baked Spaghetti. Get creative, get cooking, and eat!
4. Read A Book
Now this in particular isn’t new for me, I love reading. However it’s been a different and wonderful escape than before. With so much free time the first week or so I spent every morning watching the news (horrible news) and then keeping the TV on, just because. But reading helped lessen the anxiety, stress, and uncertainty that the TV or social media news was brining out in me. I’ve started reading more of my books, new ones that I had waiting to be read, and I’ve re-read old favorites. I also started reading blogs more which is a bit different but everyone is creating content and there’s plenty of genres of blogs to read out there.
5. Make Some Habits
Pick up a good habit while you’re at home so much. And I think even better, is to pick up a habit that you can continue on with once we begin to return to a bit more normalcy in our lives. I’ve started making the bed every morning, throw cushions and all. And I think this has been the best idea, it’s the small things people. I’ve also started biking again, which has been amazing, and a good bit of cardio as well. Some habits I’ve been trying to practice these last 4 weeks: Wake up and get dressed immediately even before heading downstairs, washing dishes and putting them away (this one is so hard), following a laundry schedule (this one has been better, but don’t ask me about actually putting it away), and starting an exercise routine.
6. Love Your Pets
Some of us are home more now, and I think Arley and Troy are loving the change. They get to go out whenever they want now, I’m in the garden more so they are sun bathing all the time, treats more often, lots more cuddles and hugs, and more love all around.
7. Take Pictures
Yes, pictures. Document what you’re doing at home, whether you be alone or with other people. Take pictures of stuff you’re doing, of yourself, a pretty flower or tree you saw on your walk, or of what you’re eating or drinking. It’s good to photographically log moments in our lives, and especially in these moments that many of us have never experiences in our lifetime. Whether they be memories you look back on in a few months or years from now, hopefully you can see the strength and resiliency you had during difficult times.
Well that’s it my friends! Stay home, stay safe, save lives & thank you to all the health care workers.
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