I promise I won’t only write about lockdown and coronavirus and all that is going on in the world on every post I publish, but it does take up a lot of my mind currently. I have been trying to look for the silver lining in this awful situation we have all found ourselves in and, as I am lucky to be able to work from home and stay safe here, I have been looking at what I can do around the house to keep myself busy during lockdown, so that I come out of this having been at least semi-productive. If you are thinking of things to do, here is my list.
Declutter and Tidy
I made a start at decluttering a few months ago, at the start of the year, but I never really seemed to finish and now is the perfect time to get stuck in and sort out what we actually need and what is surplus. Before all this started, we were in the process of starting to move, so it will be helpful to have everything tidy and sorted for when we can start this process back up again after all of this is over.
Deep Clean
After sorting, I want to properly deep clean the house. I try and tidy and clean a couple of times a week but, with three kids, I never really seem to have the time to properly get in there and scrub everything until it gleams so I am going to prioritise this in the coming days.
Read Lots
Before everything closed down, I went to the library and picked up as many books as I was allowed to take out for me and for the children so now we have lots of books to read. I have also been reading The Railway Children on camera and uploading this to my work Facebook page to help those who cannot read themselves or just want to hear somebody’s voice other than news reporters whilst in isolation.
Start Learning a Language
I know, I know, everybody seems to be coming up with these wild plans to come out fluent in another language by the end of this thing. I don’t think I will manage that, but I would like to try and make a start at least. I did French and German at secondary school but I can’t really remember anything. The kids are learning French, and I picked up a teaching French book on my trip to the library so I think this might be the best place to start.
Enrol in Online Distance Learning
Talking of learning new skills, I have signed up for a couple of short courses via The Open University for free, as well as a fellow local blogger’s Instagram course, which looks amazing, also offered free at the moment. I love that there are places offering new skills either without charge or at a reduced rate at the moment and hope to learn some new skills whilst we are on lockdown.
Quality Time with the Kids
Obviously it goes without saying that I love being able to spend time with the children whilst we are at home so much. With school, nursery and work, sometimes it feels like we don’t get to actually sit and spend much time together during the week, so this new way of living is actually really nice as it means we have plenty of time to talk, play and just chill together after we have finished our work and home learning for the day.
Do Some Puzzles
I have so far bought one Friends puzzle to get stuck into, but I am sure I will enjoy it and want to get more. Doing puzzles is apparently really good for anxiety, so I am looking forward to making a start this weekend.
Help the Community
I have signed up to be a volunteer for the NHS and am waiting to hear back from them at the moment, and I have also signed up to help in my local community. This is such a weird and scary time we are living through, but it feels good to be able to do something, however small, to make a difference and help.
Get Fit
I have been meaning to exercise more for absolutely ages but kept putting it off and saying I would do it soon. If there is one bonus of this lockdown and the schools closing, it is Joe Wicks going live each morning for PE with Joe. The kids started at the beginning of the week but then slowly gave up and now I am just doing it on my own but I am more motivated than I have been before to keep going and actually find myself looking forward to getting active each morning. It is making me feel better about myself and really helps with my mental wellbeing as well. Ed is also teaching me martial arts (he is trained to do so) again now we have lots of time together at home, so I am hopeful I will come out of this feeling fitter (I just need to step away from all the cake, chocolate and biscuits now)!
Cook New Dishes
I am an ok cook, but I am not that adventurous and often stick to the same few meals over and over again, letting Ed cook more than I do. I want to be able to use this time to think outside of the box a little and try my hand at cooking some different dishes. It is a little challenging without some ingredients available in the shops right now, but I guess that just makes it more interesting?
Start Writing My Book
I have wanted to write a book for so long, ever since I was a child in fact, so I really think I can make a start on it now I am at home all the time with my laptop to hand. I think the thing I find most daunting is the length of a book, but I regularly write blog posts of between 500 and 1000 words, so if I break it down like that it really isn’t that difficult once I have made a start.
Do you have any more suggestions of things that I can keep myself busy with at home?