10 Things to Do at Home During Coronavirus – Making the Most of Lockdown

10 Things to Do at Home During Coronavirus – Making the Most of Lockdown

I’m jumping on the bandwagon a bit here with a ‘things to do at home during Coronavirus lockdown’ post, but the more ideas out there the better in my opinion! I’ve written a couple of other posts about coping during the Coronavirus pandemic, and the theme has been positivity. It’s a horrible time and I’m by no means ignoring the severity of the situation, but I want to keep reminding you that it’s ok to focus on your own wellbeing.

In the current climate, staying home is the best thing that you can do for the health of the country (unless of course you are a key worker, thank you guys for keeping the country running!). So why not shift that mindset from ‘I’m not allowed outside’ to ‘I get to stay home with a nice cup of tea’ and make the most of your time? Try to see it as a positive: not only are you pretty much saving the world just by staying at home, but you have so much time to do things you might not usually have the chance to do!

On that note, I’ve created this list with a mixture of things that will bring some positivity, things that will help you to make the most of your extra time, and things that are just purely for fun!

If you’d like some more help with social distancing and staying home, scroll down to the bottom for links to some more lockdown content.

10 Things to Do at Home During Coronavirus

Start a virtual book group

I’ve heard lots of people say that they’re going to make the most of lockdown by reading more, and this is definitely one of the things that I want to do at home during the Coronavirus pandemic. However I seem to be lacking a bit of motivation! So, why not start a book group? Text all your friends to see who wants to get involved, start a Whatsapp group, make a list of books you’ve always wanted to read and share a few titles at a time for the group to vote on.

Set a date for a virtual book group meeting to discuss the book using whichever video calling app suits you (Whatsapp, FaceTime, Skype, Zoom and Google Hangouts are just a few examples). All grab some wine and snacks, and spend some time chatting about the book or just chatting general nonsense!

things to do at home during coronavirus: a book with a glass of red wine next to it

Have a spa day

It can be hard to relax with everything that’s going on at the moment, but a spa day could be just what you need. Dedicate some time to pampering and mindfulness: run a bath, apply a face mask if you have one (or make your own – there are loads of recipes out there using things like oats and honey), and indulge in a body scrub (again you can make your own using sea salt and coconut oil).

Light some candles, listen to some spa music, do some breathing exercises, listen to a guided meditation. My favourite breathing exercises are 4-7-8 breathing (inhale through your nose for a count of 4, hold your breath for a count of 7 and exhale through your mouth for a count of 8) and Nadi Shodhana breathing (plugging one nostril at a time to alternate which one you breathe through and feeling your breath travel up each side of your body).

things to do at home during coronavirus: a person lying down with cucumber on their eyes

If you’re lucky enough to have the ingredients, make yourself a super juice! Drinks loads of water, eat as much fruit and vegetables as you can (I know it’s not easy to get the fresh ingredients you’d like right now) and keep that phone out of sight.

Get artistic

My sister has inspired this one, as she’s just started a mega paint-by-numbers! She’s taking pictures of her progress and creating a stop motion video when she’s done. If you have paint you could paint a picture or even do some finger painting like you used to at primary school. How about egg painting? Draw something (persuade your partner that you’re taking up life drawing and need a model!) or do some colouring in.

things to do at home during coronavirus: colourful painted eggs surrounded by pots of glitter and paint

Maybe your art will take a different form? Maybe you could write a poem or a song. I’ve been trying to persuade my boyfriend to make up a dance routine with me for the last few days (it’s not working). My sister’s boyfriend has been practising his DJ skills as his art form, and recorded a 50 minute mix for the family!

Have a cooking competition

You might be lacking some of your favourite ingredients, so why not have a competition with the person you live with (or others via video call!) of who can create the most inventive meal using what you have. Marmite risotto? Mushy peas pasta bake? Bacon curry? Breakfast nachos?

You could even film it and make a cooking show to send to friends and family for some light entertainment! In the name of not wasting food (always important but even more so in the current climate), it must be edible and you’ll need to eat it afterwards. If you can make it nutritious then even better!

Learn something

Ghandi said “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever”.

Henry Ford said “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young”.

L. Frank Baum (author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) said: “No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and that is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire”.

things to do at home during coronavirus: quote saying "no thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge"

Life is so fast paced that we don’t get many chances to learn, other than the learning that we ‘have‘ to do for our careers. Why not use all of this extra time to learn something new? There are a million things you could learn, but here are a few (very random) examples for you:

  • A new language
  • Knitting, sewing, embroidering etc.
  • Photography
  • A musical instrument
  • Psychology
  • Juggling
  • Business management
  • Nutrition
  • Coding
  • Cosmology
  • Maths (apparently Carol Vordeman is going to run some online maths classes for adults)
  • Speed reading
  • NLP / life coaching
  • Public speaking
  • Beer brewing
  • Sign language
  • Gardening
  • Mixology
  • Chicken keeping

Build a den in your bedroom

This is more obvious if you have kids, but it’s just as fun for adults! Build yourself a den using a sheet as the roof and attaching it to the back of your sofa or similar on one side, and using chairs/washing airer/boxes/anything you have on the other side. Put your sofa cushions on the floor, grab blankets or a duvet for added cosiness, and hang up some fairy lights if you have them!

Once your den is complete there’s no end of things you can do in there (don’t be rude now!). Play scrabble, watch a film on your laptop, order a pizza, drink a bottle of wine, read a book, have a nap. I’ve just gotten so excited about this that I’m off to build a den right now! I’ll report back soon.

Create a treasure hunt

Another one that sounds like something you can only do with kids, but again that’s not the case! Create a treasure hunt for your partner or housemate: this could simply be hiding treats around your home for them to find, or creating a series of clues to send them from one place to another within your home.

things to do at home during coronavirus: magnifying glass on a wooden table

If they complete the treasure hunt they could receive a prize which could be anything from a voucher for something fun once all of this is over (like a food tour!), a poem you’ve written for them or just the satisfaction of completing the treasure hunt.

Get virtually kidnapped and work out where you are

My sister (I know I keep mentioning her but she’s a genius when it comes to things to do at home during Coronavirus) just told me about a website called Geoguesser, which will place you anywhere in the world and you have to guess where you are! You can move along the road looking for clues like road signs before making a guess and seeing how far you were from the actual location. It’s so addictive, and great for those missing travel.

If computer games are your thing, The Sims passes hours and might even give you some inspiration for how you’d like to live your own life when things are back to normal!

Clean your home from top to bottom

This seems like a really boring one compared to the others, but it feels so good once you’ve done it! Seeing as we have to stay home, it makes sense to create a space that you want to be in. I keep my home pretty clean and tidy in general, but there are loads of areas that I never get to because I don’t have the time.

Things like: on top of the kitchen cupboards, the skirting boards, behind the sofa, behind the bookshelf, inside your wardrobe, underneath the sink, the tile grout in the bathroom. Turn up your favourite music and have a dance whilst you’re cleaning, then have a sit down and admire your work.

Send appreciation letters to your loved ones

A lovely one to finish on: sending appreciation letters. If you’re not self-isolating you can send an actual letter and post it on your daily exercise outing. If you can’t go outside or are likely to come into contact with others in getting to a post box, these can be emails, text messages, videos or voice messages!

The idea is that you send a message to each of your friends and family members telling them why you think they’re great, and what traits they have that you appreciate. Maybe they’re always putting others first, maybe hearing their voice lifts your mood when you speak to them, maybe they’re great at encouraging people, or maybe they give good advice.

things to do at home during coronavirus: a blank letter and envelope

I’d love to hear what you’ve been getting up to at home during this period of social isolation? What are you favourite things to do at home during Coronavirus?

For more lockdown content have a read of the below:

Nell xx

A list of fun, productive, creative and entertaining  activities / things to do at home during lockdown or quarantine when bored.

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