21 Ways to Enjoy Staying at Home (even in lockdown)

If you know me, you’ll know that I always look on the bright side of life. I will look for the best in a situation and help others do the same, which links into one of my values; inspiring others to shine. We have had wonderfully sunny days here in the UK. It was making lockdown easier as we were able to enjoy time in the garden and out and about on our daily exercise. Then the weather turned and we saw cloud and rain again. I saw Instagram posts from people concerned about their mental health and that they would start to feel miserable in the house. Well my helpful nature kicked in and I wanted to help.

I set myself the challenge to see how many ways I could list to make staying home enjoyable. As always, life is what you make it. Each day you have a choice on how you live your day and how you choose to view your day. This starts with your mindset and being willing to open up to new possibilities. So I got creative last night and here is the result; 21 ways to enjoy staying at home, yes even in lockdown.

1. Create an Inspiring Morning Routine

How you start your day is how you live your day. Do you want to feel rushed and frantic or calm and intentional; choose wisely. You can read more here

 

2. Dress up for Dinner

Dress up for dinner. Make a thing of dinner, like you might if you were in holiday. How far you take this is up to you. If you want to go all in, you could dress up, have menus, play appropriate music…the list goes on.

 

3. Have Themed Nights In

Have themed nights. A friend of mine is doing this with her family and it looks like so much fun! What you choose is completely up to you. For them last Friday was FRIENDS, this week is Cluedo and later in the May is Gavin and Stacey!

 

4. Catch up with Friends

Catch up with friends online. Social interaction is important and forms part of self-care. We are social beings by nature so its important to keep this going through lockdown.

 

5. Limit the News Coverage

Only watch the news once a day. It important to keep up to date what is happening in the world but listening to too much can be draining. Listen to enough to stay informed then switch it off and go and do something fun.

 

6. Start a New Hobby

Start a new hobby, either something you’ve always wanted to or something brand new. There’s quite a lot going around social media, that people must have more time on their hands. That is not the case for everyone. However if you are lucky enough to have some free time, why not start a new hobby.

 

7. Be a Bookworm

Read a book you’ve been meaning to start. If you are anything like me, there’s a few on your bookshelf. If that isn’t the case, there’s all sort of sales at the moment on Amazon. Keep yourself accountable and add to the fun, by getting involved in the Simply Shine Reading Challenge

8. Create a Relaxing Evening Routine

How you finish your day is just as important as how you start your day. Read about my evening routine here.

 

9. Remain Consistent with Routine

You are a creature of habit and although the temptation is strong to stay in your PJs every day, its just not that good for your mental health. Stick to a schedule, including getting dressed every day and leave the PJ day for an occasional Sunday.

Want to keep track of all those balls you’re trying to juggle? Download the Day Tracker and get in control of your day, rather than the other way round. 

 

10. Have a Change Around

Move your furniture around. Spending more at home you may realise your current set up is just not working. This is your time to try something new.

 

11. Get Cosy

Create a cosy atmosphere with candles and a blanket. If the weather is less than inviting, make sure your home makes up for it and you have a cosy place to settle in.

 

12. Buy Fresh Flowers

(When you shop for your essentials) but yourself some fresh flowers ? They really brighten up a home and there’s so many varieties at this time of year.

 

13. Change your Mindset

Change your mindset about the situation; think of it as staying safe, rather than being stuck at home

 

14. “10 Things I Love about You”

Write a list of the things you love about your home. This will help reinforce those positive warm feelings about your environment.

15. Have a Declutter

You might struggle to relax and enjoy your home if there’s stuff everywhere. Turn up the tunes and have a sort through. Why not tackle one area per week

 

16. Create a Work Space

If you work from home, have a dedicated area as your work sanctuary. That means you can get into work mode more easily and also switch back to home mode.

 

17. Personalise It

Another way to enjoy being at home, is to inject more of your personality into it. You could use a service like Photobox to get some beautiful images ordered

 

18. Be a Tourist at Home

Create a list of places you want to visit…perhaps start researching what you’d like to do there and where to eat too.

 

19. Fancy a Coffee?

Have a frothy coffee ☕ in the mornings and pretend you’re in a coffee shop. You could also listen to cafe sounds from YouTube or an app if you like!

 

20. Dear Diary…

These are are unusual times and hopefully we won’t see anything like it again. Keep a diary so you can reflect back. Maybe even pass it down a generation

 

21. Create an Ideas Jar

REALLY stuck for what to do, create an ideas jar, this is particularly good if you have young children. You can find loads of ideas here.

 

So there you have it, I managed to get to 21 ideas. I hope this gives you some inspiration on how to spend your time and enjoy being at home. I would love to see what you’re up to. How about posting on Instagram and tagging me tina_simplyshine