Things to do while you are "stuck" at home

There is a worldwide pandemic going on right now.  I never thought  I would say those words. No one wants to get sick and folks are trying hard to avoid others so that they don't.

 Here in Kentucky, we are supposed to be at home, not having any gatherings and basically taking care of the people that live in our house.  I have seen people, probably due to the nice weather, hanging out with others and getting too close at the store (I wanted to order online, but you can't get mixed paint online). I am not a fan of the "B" word (bored", because I think there is always something that you can do, always.  So I put together a little list of things you can do at home so that maybe you could save a life.

Things to do:

1.  Work on that "honey-do' project you have wanted to do for some time and never had time to accomplish.  Maybe you have wanted to clean out the garage, maybe you needed to hand mop the bathroom floor, maybe the mailbox needs to be painted, why not use this time to mark things off that home improvement list?

2. Work on a large puzzle, you know you have been wanting to tackle one and see if it was relaxing as your friends say it is; well, now is the perfect time to try.   I have seen so many neat ones on Amazon that you could order and have at the house in a couple of days. 

3.  Why not bake a cake or pie from scratch?  You have all those groceries there at the house, why not learn a new skill and bake something without using a mix. Celebrate being together with your family.  Together with no obligations!! No soccer practice, no meetings, just the family.  What a cool thing to celebrate. 

4.  Repair dangling buttons,  ripped seams and loose hems on your garments. Maybe your jacket has a ripped lining and you never remember it needs repairing until you put it on your body and you have to be out of the house in 5 minutes.  Go through your wardrobe and pull out anything that needs repairing, get your supplies and sit down in front of the TV and get this done.

5.  If you have some paint at home, google "painting tutorials", there are so many fun ones out there that will teach you basic techniques. I have started filling up a notebook with paintings I am doing.  The website I am using Step by Step Painting has all types of fun projects.  I am putting all of mine in a 6x8 spiral notebook so I can have a keepsake when finished.

6.  While the weather is nice, go outside your house and work on some things. Look for holes in the siding and repair, look for issues with the window screens, wash the windows (inside and out), trim the landscaping, clean up litter from the yard, clean out the gutters, or even decorate the porch, this list could go on and on.

7.  How about playing a board game with your kids?  My son and I used to do this when trapped inside for a snowstorm.  He now thinks he is too big for this, but I am ready for a mean game of Connect 4 at a moment's notice.

8.  It is a great time to do that Bible journaling that you have wanted to try.  Find some verses that make you feel good and lift you up, especially during this pandemic.  Decorate those verses with all kinds of fun things.  If you did this on paper, go to the garage and find a frame, paint it black and frame this verse. You can hang it somewhere that you walk by every day so you can have that good feeling that made you choose the verse in a struggling time and you will always feel comforted. 

9.  Do some of that spring cleaning that you really need to do.  Clean out from under the sink, clean out your closet, go through the kid's toys and box up what they don't use, or maybe clean the hair out of the bathtub drain.  This time at home is a perfect time to stop putting off those things you know need to be done. My motto is, you know you need to do it, just get it done and then you have more time to play.

10.  Find that project or activity that you keep putting off because you "don't have time".  Maybe it is using your public library site to learn a new language.  Maybe you would love to learn to embroidery, but never took a moment to try it, now is the time.  What if you wanted to paint a mural in your daughter's room, but never tried, now you can. Maybe you saw a drawing class online and could not do it because you just had no time, now is the time!  How about that dream to write a book or start a blog? Be creative and think about that one thing that you said "I am going to do that when I have more time", you may never have a chance like this again, seize it.   Do it now!

11.  You knew I was going to add this one...READ A BOOK!  There are tons of resources for free (online) books you can use.  I can help you use your library card to use Overdrive, Hoopla, and a couple of other resources.  There is also a site called, Internet Archive that has TONS of older materials you can borrow for free. I am enjoying reading some "trade paperbacks" on celebrities from the 60s and 70s and I listen to old radio shows like Suspense or Lights Out!  This is one of the best sites out there,  in my opinion.

12.  Ok, you hate to read, I get that, but how about doing an audiobook?  There are so many great ones out there.  If you love Harry Potter, listen to those, the narrator, Stephen Fry, is exceptional!  What about Tom Hanks, who doesn't love Tom Hanks?  The Dutch House is my favorite (book by Ann Patchett), but he has done more, including the book he wrote,  Uncommon Type.  How about Me by Elton John?  Elton will read this to you and I will tell you this is one of my favorite celeb memoirs ever.  I have not done the audio, but I am on the waitlist for it.  One more author's books I would like to recommend, Sarah Vowell.  She has two that I really love, Lafayette in these Somewhat United States and Assassination Vacation.  They are both read by celebrities and are just fascinating!  Assassination Vacation is my favorite of the two.

13.  Binge-watch a classic old TV show...I am not talking about Friends or Seinfeld (even though I love that one), I am talking about something older and maybe more obscure.  Maybe some of the shows on the classic tv station, or (if you can find these) Homicide Life on the Streets, the original Dallas, The Facts of Life, Our Miss Brooks, what about Buzzer TV and some old gameshows? I personally am watching classic Jeopardy episodes, just for the practice. 

14.  Clean out or detail your car.  Yes, this thing is nasty.  There is a french fry under the driver's seat, there are shoe marks on the back of the passenger seat, the steering wheel needs to be disinfected. Spend about 2 hours and clean the inside and outside.

15.  DEEP CLEANING.  Get into things you neglect!   Washing the walls, doing all the windows and mirrors, washing the curtains, touching up any nicked walls or trim, re-chaulking the bathtub, really cleaning the ceiling fans, dusting every book on the shelf and frames on the walls, flipping the mattress or one I like to do, hand mop all those hard surface floors. I like to do this a couple times a year, you can really get into the edges and make that floor super clean.  I usually do one hour at most because the knees don't like rolling around on the floor like they used to.  It is time-consuming but worth it. 



If you do have to go out please stay away from others.  Do not have a little meet up at Wal-mart because you miss your friends.  Try to stay home and do something you have dreamed of doing when you had more time. Be safe, be careful and take care of each other.