7 things to keep you sane in isolation

Living

4 min read

Social distancing has become the norm which largely entails being stuck in the house. Even those who can work from home will inevitably have more time on their hands as there is no commute and while binge-watching old reruns of “Friends “and “SATC” will burn away the hours, you might feel a little bored and sluggish! Here are a few ideas that are a productive use of our days and brighter evenings…

1. Redecorate and Upcycle Furniture

Dedicate this time to all the redecorating you have dreamed of with a lick of paint brightening up your house in the process. Reclaim an old piece of furniture and upcycle it by sanding it down and vamping it up. House Beautiful have a great article on upcycling for beginners.

2. Spring Cleaning

Spring cleans are most likely happening on a daily basis across many households but why not go that step further and declutter! There is no better time to regain some control and sort that spare room or go through all the junk in the attic.

Clutter can stress us out and the only way to combat it is by focusing on one room at a time and donate clothes, toys, books that are left unused and organise everything else into drawers and cabinets. If you struggle with space, sometimes you can find it in the most unlikely of places – like using storage boxes and putting them under your bed.

Obviously, a trip to the shop is out of the question in the present circumstances but you can still order online and receive deliveries.

3. Gardening

They say gardening is the new therapy as it can help ground you in stressful times so turn isolation into a positive by working in your garden especially during the lovely weather. Ideas include: 

• Mowing the lawn
• Removing weeds
• Sowing seeds
• Planting a container display
• Making a bird feeder
• Cleaning the greenhouse
• Building a raised bed
• Painting your fences
• Creating a vegetable patch
• Hosing down the patio

Read More: The Gardening Essentials 

4. Reading

Create your own library in your house and reduce screen time. Why not immerse yourself in a thriller, a romance or something non-fictional – whatever your interest, there will definitely be a book that suits you.

As J.K Rowling once quoted “I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book”.

Waterstones have reported a significant uplift in the sale of classical books with more people attempting “The Bucket List” novels like Great Gatsby or The Bell Jar. But you could use this chance to get through a series of books such as Harry Potter or Game of Thrones. 

Lockdown has also created digital reading groups around the UK where people can discuss their latest read. You can check out the Bestselling books of 2020 here - maybe something will catch your eye.

5. Home Workouts & Exercise

Simply put, exercise helps us stay well whether it be our once daily walk, an online yoga class, a brutal workout in your home gym or a cleaning session around the house – all this helps fight off heart disease, diabetes as well as anxiety and depression.

The main aim is to get some form of exercise into your day. Check out what your local gym is doing – many are streaming live workouts or giving you access to some equipment to rent throughout this isolation phase. Maybe you’ve always wanted to try something new like Yoga or Pilates, now is the time.

6. Home cooking or Baking

Brush up on your cooking skills and experiment. If you’re into cooking adventurous recipes or baking amazing sweet treats, you will find an abundance of inspiration on Instagram or even bake the most popular trend at the moment - Banana Bread!

If you don’t have a whole lot of ingredients, check out these recipes that only need 4 ingredients – simple! It might also be a good time to make some frozen batch food such as homemade soups and lasagne dishes. 

To make evenings a little more exciting why not try Come Dine With Me in your household – each member of the household take a night to cook up something and you all score each other.

7. Put together a bucket list!

We know that the current situation isn’t going to last forever, and many of us might feel that we have taken a lot of things in life for granted!

Now might be as good as time as any to make a list of all the wonderful things you want to accomplish when this is over –  go on that road trip with your friends, take the kids to that theme park they’ve always wanted to go or book that exotic holiday you’ve been talking about for 5 years!

Read More: Family Activities