I know this time right now is full of uncertainties. We are home, most of us homeschooling our children, cooking more than we could have ever imagined, staying indoors, and so much more. A lot of us are not used to being home this much and can become bored, unmotivated, stressed, depressed, and get anxiety. If you are searching for things to do to fill your days or ways to lift your mood I thought I would share some ways to help you take advantage of this time. I hope you are all staying safe and I am thinking of you during this very difficult and uncertain time in our world.
1. Organize: This is the perfect time to make a list of each room in your house and organize every room. Clean out the closet, get rid of things you are not using, go through each drawer, clean out the garage, etc. This is a wonderful opportunity to do this and get rid of things you may not need or want. Just make a list and try to do one a room a day.
2. Read: I love to read and getting lost in a great book is always fun. On my blog if you type "books" into the search bar, you can read reviews of books that I have read and books the kids love too.
3. Learn A New Skill: I always say to myself "I wish I had the time to learn that" and now I have nothing but time. I personally think I am a pretty good cook, but baking is not my strong suit. So with that in mind, I have been practicing. I tried baking a cake last week and yesterday I made chocolate chip muffins. I still have a long way to go, but it makes the kids smile and they love baking with me in the kitchen. So dust off a cookbook and learn to cook or bake or if you have been wanting to learn a second language there is no better time than the present to do it!
4. Practice At Home Beauty: This has become quite funny in our house lately. Since hair salons, nail salons, my esthetician, barbers and so much more are closed right now, we have been watching a lot of tutorials online and trying out some home beauty regimens on our own. Thank God Blake has cut his own hair since he was in junior high and he has cut Carter's hair since he was 6 weeks old. So basically Blake and Carter are still looking sharp. Kennedy could use a haircut, but I am not ready yet for Blake or I to give her a trim, so otherwise Kennedy is still pretty good. Me on the other hand, I am used to getting my nails and toes done, getting my hair dyed and trimmed monthly, and seeing my esthetician every other week. Just last night I tried out Tinkle razors on my face to take off the dead skin, hair, and more. I really liked how it turned out. I was super careful and watched a great tutorial. I am trying not to touch my brows, and I have a feeling I will be letting Blake dye my hair here very soon. But this is the perfect time to watch tutorials and practice some home beauty treatments. You can do it!
5. Stay Active: It is so easy to lounge on the couch all day, but it is so important to get up and move and go outside. We are very fortunate to have a big backyard, so we try to go outside every day and play, ride bikes, scooters, and get some energy out. Plus, a little sunshine always helps the soul.
6. Join Social Media: This is the perfect time if you don't have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Tik Tok to stay in touch with friends and family. I just joined Tik Tok a few weeks ago and the kids and I laugh all day. We watch dance tutorials, make silly videos, and we have so much fun doing it. It is so silly and just like my bio says on Tik Tok, I am just here to dance and embarrass myself for fun! Because during this time if you can't laugh at yourself and be silly, what are you really doing? So get social and keep in touch with friends and family and who knows... maybe you will meet some new friends!
7. Connect With Your Spouse and Kids: This is the perfect opportunity to spend more time with your spouse and kids. Maybe you could start a new hobby together as family, try to play one new board game each night together, or you could make it a rule to eat breakfast, lunch or dinner together where you all sit down at the same time and eat together.
8. Stay Connected With Friends & Family: Since you are supposed to be staying at home and not visiting and seeing friends or extended family, make sure you are picking up the telephone and checking on family and friends. You can even facetime or write an actual letter or send a card. Blake's grandparents are older and one of his grandmas actually lives in an assisted living community, so I make sure the kids color and send letters. I think checking your mail and actually receiving a letter or a funny card is always the best. It just lets someone know you are thinking of them and they are on your mind.