20 things to do while you are stuck at home | STAYCATION

With everything going on around the world right now due to the current health issues writing about it seems inevitable. I was avoiding it for a long time and I still do not intend to write any advice, information or tips on how to stay healthy, because I am far from being a doctor and I strongly believe everybody should listen to the official advice their countries are giving out to their citizens. However, I might have something I can contribute to this whole situation. It is of course connected to travelling and holidays, but instead of an usual post about what you can see and do somewhere, this one is all about how to spend holidays at your home.

Obviously we are not the only ones affected by the situation and many people all over the world had to cancel, postpone or change travel plans. Many of us are even in a quarantine situation as we speak and are spending most of their time at home. Alone, with their kids, with their partners or families. Here, I made a list of suggestions about what all you can do while stuck at home and how to have that holiday feeling even if you are actually not flying away.

1. A NETFLIX MARATHON

The best thing about being stuck at home? You can watch movies and series all day long and not feel bad about it. You might just have a TV (we don´t) or a computer / laptop with Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Sky or something else. And if you don´t – most of them offer a free month trial that you can sign up to. Just don´t forget to cancel it later. Anyhow, there is SO much to watch out there, from documentaries, to movies and series.

2. BREAKFAST IN BED

Lots of yummy food. In the bed. Possibly with your kids, husband or boyfriend. Is there something better? You can easily combine this with my number 1 suggestion too. This is definitely something we don´t do often, especially when we have to get up early for work, so guys, take advantage of it!

3. PICNIC IN THE LIVING ROOM, BALCONY OR GARDEN

In Europe, Spring is waking up and the sunny days can be quite warm already. Why not use your garden and make a picnic? It´s raining and you don´t have a garden anyway? Well, there´s always your living room. Put some colorful pillows and blankets on the floor and you´re all set. And of course, in this current situation, it would be just for household members, not for the whole neihghbourhood.

4. ARRANGE YOUR TRAVEL PHOTOS

Done lots of travelling and holidays in the last years but never really had the time to actually make photo albums? Now is your chance. Not only will you revive memories from those trips, you also end up with a nice album with no worries of your pictures being deleted.

5. NATURE WALKS

I know many of you/us are advised to stay inside and avoid physical contact. But if you happen to live close by a forest, a hill or mountains, I don´t see why not go for a walk. Fresh air can´t hurt.

6. SPA DAY

Never have the time to take a long bath? Your nails look terrible? Want to change the colour of your hair? Maybe now is the time. Besides, if you end up looking horrible, nobody will see you while you are stuck at home. You can really experiment. So go on, put on those cucumbers & face masks and relax for a while.

7. START A NEW CREATIVE HOBBY

There are soooo many tutorials online about pretty much anything. Do you have an old sewing machine you don´t know how to use? Always wanted to learn how to do macrame? Knitting? Maybe you have a pile of old clothes you can up-cycle them? There are so many options – and it is easy to look it up online. Also, this might sound ridiculous but here we go, you can actually make hand made gifts for the next Christmas and save yourselves from thinking what to buy in just 8 months.

8. SPRING CLEANING

Not everything can be fun haha, so you can also use this time at home to do some cleaning. Sort out old clothes, kids toys or books, clean the garage or finally put on some paintings on the wall. I´m sure everybody has a messy corner somewhere.

9. COOK SOMETHING EXOTIC

I am strongly convinced food and music always takes us places. So, don´t only buy toilet paper and flour at the shop. Buy something you usually don´t buy and cook something different and exciting. Why not treat yourself and your loved ones with a Thai shrimp curry, a spicy masala dosa, Mexican tacos, cheese fondue, paella, sushi rolls and and and. So many delicious recipes online and with today´s technology and videos it is so much easier to follow the steps and cook something tasty. If you have kids, let them help, I´m sure they will love it.

10. COUNTRY THEME DAYS

This can be a fun thing to do for every travel obsessed individual. Might be more fun if you are a couple or have kids, but you can also try it on your own, why not. Pick one country and learn something new about it. Look on the map where it is, find interesting facts about it, cook a traditional dish, listen to the local music, find a movie to watch.

11. RENOVATE

I know people who constantly want to reorganise their home. I`m more in the group „I like the things the way they are”, but I have to say, changes are sometimes good. So why not move the bed to another corner for example. Turn the eating table in the opposite direction. Paint the kitchen walls in green or whatever.

12. DO SOME GARDENING

The days are getting warmer and if you have a garden this is the perfect time to get your hands dirty. ´Build yourself a raised vegetable bed, plant seeds or make a compost bed for example.

13. SLEEP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

Guys, this is a tricky one haha. I know some people who can sleep for 12hrs a day. I´m most certainly not one of them. If I get 5hrs without waking up I´m utterly happy about it. Regardless to your sleeping abilities, use your time at home to sleep longer in the morning, turn off the alarm clocks for once and take a nap in the afternoon.

14. READ TRAVEL BLOGS

Okay people, obviously my traffic on this site has gone down so much I could cry (and believe me, I´m not the only one). I can understand many of you cannot / don´t want to travel right now, but you can always daydream. And there is no better inspiration than reading travel blogs & watching vlogs online. So please, do yourselves a favour (and all of us bloggers also hha) and click through sites like this one for some inspiration.

15. TREASURE HUNT

Obviously this one is a hit with the kids, but you can try it out with your partners too. You can hide little goodies like chocolates or love notes or whatever you like and write clues on how to find it. This takes a bit more time and preparation but it can be a fun thing to do.

16. MAKE A BBQ FEAST

We´re at food again, but I have to include this one. For me, the smell of charcoal always screams summer holidays, or at least weekend. So, why not cook outside on a bbq instead of the kitchen once or twice.

17. ENROLL IN ONLINE COURSES

Ever wanted to learn a new language or know how to design web pages? Well, all you need is your computer / phone, an internet connection and some money to pay for the course. There are also quite some free courses you can take part at. You can also look into dowloading different leraning apps. It´s a great way to be productive and kill time at the same time.

18. DO YOGA & SPORTS

I know this is not for everybody (myself included), but it´s worth trying. If you know how to do yoga, it is easy to do it at home. If you don´t, well, we´re back at Youtube. Might work, who knows. You can also just do some easier stretching exercises. Summer is coming so getting fit will not hurt.

19. READ BOOKS

I wish I had the time to read on a every day basis, but we all know how it is. And I really love to read, I always have. I´m just more the person who starts and finishes a book in one day, if it´s a good one. And there is never enough time for this. But maybe now. I have some unfinished books collecting dust in the corner.

20. PLAN YOUR NEXT ADVENTURES

I am far from being that happy sunshine person at the moment, especially based on everything that has happened in the past couple of years, BUT I strongly believe that this too shall pass one day and we will soon all be able to go wherever we want again. And I don´t know about you, but planning and daydreaming about places makes me feel better. I feel like I have something to look forward to, a goal of some sorts. So, don´t count with the worst scenarios. Maybe don´t buy the plane tickets just yet, but don´t stop dreaming about all the places you want to see.

I hope you got some ideas and do not go crazy while stuck between 4 walls. We´ve been kind of doing this for the past weeks anyway, doing our things at home, not going out for dinners and beers, not meeting friends and family (we really don´t have many people to go out with here in Germany anyway) and basically only just going to the post and the shop. We were really just waiting for Lu to have his holidays and we go skiing, which is now obviously not happening. Anyway, what I want to say is – everybody can do this. But at the same time it´s a good test for relationships haha! Good luck to everyone :).

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