Staying in your house might have you feeling bored, uninspired, or looking for fresh ideas. These practical tips can help you find purposeful and productive things to do at home.
At our house, we are constantly adding to a “mental list” of things to fix, do, or try for when we have extra time at home. However, when we actually get that time, no one can seem to remember what those things were to begin with.
So, I’m sharing a few of the activities my family is doing to keep the ball moving forward while we are spending time at home.
This post may include affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure policy HERE.
Sort and Edit Photos
Most of us have tons of photos on our various devices. Now is the PERFECT time for editing and sorting them.
I like to do all of my digital photo editing in PicMonkey because of how simple it is to resize pics and add all sorts of graphics, texts, and effects. And in just a few clicks you can download or share to just about anywhere you like.
I use PicMonkey on mobile AND desktop pc.
Got boxes of actual photos? Pull them out and sort, label, or put them in albums so you can enjoy them!
Hang Pictures or Artwork
Use this time to personalize your home by creating a decorative gallery wall or updating family photos in existing frames.
Things to frame and display:
- family heirlooms
- family portraits
- kids’ or your own artwork
- dried flowers and other natural elements
- art prints or paintings
- artistic photographs
I find that Amazon has great prices and selection for picture frames. Some styles come in value packs, which is great if you need a bunch of the same design.
And if you don’t love the thought of putting nails in the wall, these command strips are the thing. Just be sure to get the right ones for the weight of your frames and they will hold perfectly!
Practice a Fitness Routine
We all know that exercise is important for our minds and our bodies. But, if we’re accustomed to organized classes or fancy gym equipment, it can be hard to motivate ourselves to get moving at home.
Thankfully, there are at-home exercise options that are cheap or free. YouTube has tons of free content like walk-in-place routines, arm workouts, pilates, yoga, the list is endless. Yoga with Adrienne is one of our faves!
Other totally free activities include jumping rope, throwing and catching a ball, walking, and house/yard work.
(disclaimer: please check with your own doctor before beginning any exercise routine or using fitness equipment)
Try New Exercise Equipment
My family has REALLY been enjoying this mini-trampoline (rebounder).
Rebounding is supposed to help with building bone mass, burning calories, and lymph drainage among other things, but mostly it is just fun and gives you a great, energizing workout.
A few other things I use on the regular are my yoga mat (this one), yoga block (this one) and these hand weights.
Some other ideas:
- punching bag (we’re going to try this one)
- weight bench (ours is too old to link, but you can find a selection here)
- treadmill (again, mine is no longer available, but you can look here for a great selection and reviews!)
- yoga ball
Organize Your Closet
I did a full-on KonMari style closet clean out a few years ago. It felt so good to get rid of clothing that wasn’t serving me. But lately I’ve noticed that it’s starting to get crowded in there again.
So I’ve been going through and pulling out things that I no longer wear, or pieces that make me feel “blah” when I put them on. I’m putting them aside to donate.
At the same time, I’ve moved some seasonal clothing around and reorganized some things to make them more accessible.
Catch Up On Home Maintenance
Keeping up with maintaining our homes is important for our family’s health and safety. And it can help save money.
Start by doing a walk-through, and make a list of things that need attention in your house.
A few suggestions:
- the dryer – clean the vent hose where it connects to the wall and where it enters the machine using a dryer vent brush to get into the hard to reach spaces. This is supposed to be done yearly. It’s a fire hazard!
- replace HVAC filters. About every 3-4 months is the recommendation, but we change ours every 2-3. We find these to be the best at filtering without putting a strain on our HVAC system. Be sure to order the size that fits your return.
- clean refrigerator coils – using a vacuum cleaner and a coil brush (which also doubles as a dryer vent brush). This saves on energy and extends the life of your fridge.
- check smoke alarms and CO detectors
Do Some Deep Cleaning
Things can get REALLY cruddy when you’re busy and don’t have time to clean them. So when you’re hanging out at home, it’s a good time to catch up on the deep cleaning. Here are some ideas to get you started.
- ceiling fans
- baseboards
- windows and window sills
- vacuum the air vents
- under the beds
- refrigerator
- high shelves, tops of cabinets
Have a big mess and don’t know where to start? Read: How To Clean a Really Messy House When You Are Overwhelmed By The Mess
PAINT SOMETHING
Could the paint in (or on) your house use a freshen-up? If the answer is yes, this could be a very good use of your time at home. Around here there are baseboards and walls to be touched up, two bathrooms that need a complete painting, and a kitchen island that I would love to transform. That’s not even HALF of the list.
DIY CLEANING PRODUCTS
Try making your own home cleaning products. There are tons of recipes online and you might have the ingredients for most of them already. A quick recipe to try for glass cleaner is 1 part white distilled vinegar and 1 part water. It’s easy, non-toxic, and cheap!
DIY LAUNDRY DETERGENT
I was excited to find this laundry detergent recipe from CarolineVencil.com. It saves serious money, is SO EASY to make, and it works great!
MEAL PREP
You will thank yourself when meal time rolls around and half of the work is already done. Cutting up veggies is my favorite do-ahead task and it takes just a few minutes.
Other things you can do to meal prep include browning ground beef, cooking rice ( I do mine in the InstantPot), making dressings and sauces etc.
Try my free meal planning tool here: Simple Master Family Meal List with Printable
Catch Up On Reading
Have a stack of books just waiting to be read? Take some time for yourself and enjoy catching up on them. It’s good for the soul!
And, if you’re looking for some new reads, then you might want to check out Kindle Unlimited for their great selection of e-books. They are constantly adding new titles in fiction, self-help, business etc. With Kindle Unlimited, you will NEVER run out of things to read!
Also, you can check with your local library to see if you can check out e-books and audible books for free! Our local library uses several apps to provide this service and gives instructions on how to access them on their website.
Bonus Idea!
Start a blog! Blogging is incredibly popular and the free resources for HOW to start a blog are unlimited! It is a great way to share your passion with the world and make money while doing it.
The first step is to purchase your own domain and hosting. You can take care of both of these steps at Namehero.com.
I have been with several hosts and have settled on Namehero.com based on the advice of a highly respected tech service provider.
Namehero.com is reasonably priced and has the best customer service that I have experienced with a host, which is really important to me as a non-techy person.
For a FREE course and TONS of up-to-date tutorials on how to start a profitable blog, I recommend that you check out Suzi at startamomblog.com (you don’t have to be a mom to get the benefit of Suzi’s experience and expertise!)
Don’t forget to enjoy your time at home. And, don’t feel like you ALWAYS have to be productive. We all need to wind down and have fun once in awhile.
Also read: 5 Simple Habits for a Cleaner Home
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