With the recent push to stay at home because of the coronavirus, many of us have been searching for things to do around the house. Occasional boredom has transformed into a constant restlessness, and I’ve been scrambling for things to do. So, in order to help myself and others keep busy, I’ve compiled a list of activities and resources on things to do when you’re stuck in the house.
1) Organize your belongings One thing I’ve done since I’ve been at home has been going through all of my things and organizing them. First, I went through all of my stuff and sorted it into keep, donate, and throw-away piles. I ended up having seven bags of clothes to donate. Not only can donating clothes help people who might need them more than you do, but it freed up a significant amount of room in my closet and dresser drawers. From there, I reorganized my room and bathroom at home in order to accommodate my current living situation. I’m living at my parents’ house until summer, and then I’ll move into my summer housing for summer classes, if those resume on campus. In order to make the move out process easier, I organize my stuff in such a way that I know exactly where my things I will bring to school are, but in a way where my current living situation still feels like a home. I also made sure to organize my closet and drawers so that the clothes I’ll be bringing to school with me are together, in order to prevent sorting and confusion later. If you have any extra organizational materials like plastic containers, bags, etc. lying around the house or being used inefficiently, repurpose them or reorganize them. When I reorganized my things, I went as far as organizing things even further within containers so I won’t have to sort through things when I’m moving in for the summer. Obviously many of these organizational ideas may not be applicable if your things are already organized, but if they aren’t, it’s a way to pass the time and also will make moving and unpacking a lot less stressful.
2) Try out new recipes This one gives you something to do while also fulfilling a basic necessity– eating! If you don’t know how to cook, this is the perfect time to learn. If you already know how to cook, this is the perfect time to learn new, fun recipes. If you only have certain foods in your kitchen because you haven’t been able to go to the grocery store, there are several websites that can help you find recipes to make based on what you already have. The two best ones I found were SuperCook and MyFridgeFood. For both of them, you check off the ingredients that you have and it’ll give you a list of recipes that you can make using those ingredients. It’s super inconvenient when you’re stumped on what to cook or if you want to try new things. Another way that I find cool recipes is through the app TikTok. TikTok is known for its dances and other silly videos, but I’ve found it very useful for finding unique, new recipes in a short amount of time. TikToks can only be one minute long, so these videos are also short so you don’t have to sit through a long video or read a boring blog. Some suggestions of mine for cooking TikTokers are @cookingwithshereen, @nishcooks, and @iamtabithabrown.
3) Learn TikTok Dances I know you’re probably already judging me for mentioning TikTok in the last paragraph, but hear me out! TikTok may seem super cringy and many compare it to Vine, although they are two different things, but it’s a pretty cool app that allows people to create and learn new things. One of the most fun pastimes I’ve had in the past few weeks has been learning TikTok dances and taking videos of them. Not only is dancing something out of my comfort zone and different, it gives me something physical to do instead of sitting around the house all day. TikTok dances are usually fairly simple, and many creators make tutorials or slowed down versions in order to help you learn faster. If you’re looking for a way to get moving a little bit without leaving the house, I would definitely recommend going on TikTok and watching dances or doing the same on YouTube.
Throughout all of this remember why you’re staying at home and how important it is, though. Being bored is a good thing under these circumstances. I know it has been difficult for many people to find things to do during this time, but I hope that some of these activities and resources help curb the inevitable jitters. Have fun and stay safe!