We’re seeing something our generation has never seen before. The swift entrance of COVID-19 has almost felt like a movie. Information is spreading like wildfire, events are getting canceled left and right, and we’ve been introduced to a new concept called “social distancing.”
Social distancing is a request that urges citizens to take precautionary measures to avoid large crowds. Basically, the intent of all of these closures and delays is to limit contact. We don’t have all the answers, it’s certainly not within our wheelhouse to present you data that we could barely understand ourselves — but we do know a thing or two about the home and how to have a good time!
So that’s the part we’ll play in this! We have the utmost privilege to connect with our readers without having physical contact with them, and while many times that does feel like a constraint — today it allows us to follow the intent of these precautionary measures while sending along some of our own tips and tricks for how you can make the most of this situation.
To respect the requests of officials and authorities this weekend, maybe going out isn’t in the cards. But that doesn’t mean you have to make it feel like you’re an un-fun hermit! So here are 14 things to do while you’re social distancing!
1. Take Inventory of Your Needs
We can not stress this enough! DO NOT PANIC. People are flocking to stores to empty shelve of things like toilet paper, cat litter, bottled water, and hand sanitizer. Trust the people in place to make sure needs are met. It will happen. You can order things online! You can head to a grocery store in the morning! Do not panic and feel the need to bulk buy.
But before you go, set a game plan for what do you need to stock up on! Be prepared for things like baby diapers, your favorite string cheese, butter, frozen foods and veggies (pro-tip: if you do get fresh veggies, think about popping them in the freezer for longevity!) a new nail polish color, some magazines — but we’ll get into this more in the following bullet points :)
2. Spa Weekend
Self-care has never been more appealing! Part of boosting your immune system is boosting your general morale, so take advantage of this time at home to really treat yo’ self. FINALLY try a face mask you’ve been eying but have never “had time for.” Give yourself an at home mani! Complete with shaping your nails, addressing your cuticles, applying top AND bottom coats and actually let the whole thing dry!
Take some time to take care of you! Pamper yourself, take a loooooong bubble bath, plop yourself down in your fluffiest robe and soak in the me time.
3. Try Out Some Home Work Outs
Another form of taking care of yourself is to get yourself active. Even during social distancing, you can get a good sweat in! There are SO many apps (obe fitness, Tone It Up, Sweat, Peloton) that have apps that allow you to seriously get a good sweat at home while still giving you the “instructor” feel. You’ve got time, why not try them all? Find your favorite instructors! Get your hiit workout in and THEN do Yoga! You many not normally have time for back-to-back workouts like that, but now is your chance!
4. Try Out a New Hobby
How many times have you watched a new hobby come and go, and you meant to try it but never got around to it? Now’s your time! Try your hand at needlepoint! Give crochet a chance, learn to sow! Pillows are a great place to start your sowing career and can be really fun to liven up your living room. Try out at water coloring! There are so many things you can dabble in that you’ve never had time for before, and who knows — you might fall in love with it and keep going!
5. Learn A New Recipe
How many times have you looked at a recipe and gone “oh that’s going to take forever.” Well, guess what, while you’re socially distancing yourself, you have time! There are so many amazing recipe resources that take you step by step and break down what seems impossible to make.
Maybe this weekend is the perfect time to FINALLY make a cheesecake! Take a nod from the French and learn the 5 sauces of french cuisine! What about short braised ribs? Or better yet, homemade cinnamon rolls! Or maybe you’re feeling super ambitious and want to tackle the three-day homemade croissant process. Anticipation is the best part of cooking at home, so really savor the process and take it on by the horns.
6. Tackle A Home Project
Have you been staring at a project that you’re halfway through but have never completed? Or, do you have a pesky carpet stain that just WON’T go away and needs some special attention? While you’re at home, take care of your home! Maybe you can even try re-arranging furniture in your living room to find a new feng shui! Mabye your dining room chairs could use a little paint job or re-covering. With your newly discovered sewing hobby, you can now do both!
This time of isolation is kind of a blessing in disguise coming this time of year that allows us to really pause and take the time to take care of the things at home that need our attention.
7. Get A Head Start On Your Spring Cleaning
This could probably go without saying, but this is a really good time to deep clean your home. Get you some good anti-bacterial cleaning supplies and go.to.town. Make your kitchen sparkly clean! Deep scrub the bathroom! Get in to every nook and cranny of your home and give it a good scrub down.
We would actually recommend doing this first before anything else because nothing makes being at home more enjoyable than being in a clean home.
8. Board Games!
A seriously under-looked past time, board games are just fun. Try out some new ones! Go all out! From “Pretty Pretty Princess” to “Catan,” you can find all levels of strategy and difficulty depending on what your family needs. You can make a whole evening of it! Make it a marathon event. It’s mentally stimulating, makes time fly and allows you to positively interact with your family.
9. Pick Up A Good Book (Or Audio Book!)
Do you have a TBR (to be read) pile a mile high? Do you enviously look at people who somehow manage to read a book a week and think “where do they have the time?!” Well, now YOU have the time! Pick up a good read and allow yourself the guilt-free pleasure giving this time for the expansion of your mind. And if you don’t have a physical book on hand, take a look at purchasing books online, listening to them on audible or checking out Amazon for good books.
10. Organize Your Closet
One of the most dreaded tasks in all of the home is going through your closet. Sorting through clothes with sentimental value, someday value and actual monetary value that you can’t get rid of is something that takes time. And, as you’re probably picking up the theme of this article — you now have time! Plans, planes, and trips are canceled…. so dive into your closet and make it work for you.
11. Spend Time With Your Family
This kind of seems like a given, but think about it: how many times are you all FORCED to stay in the same place all together without any plans to disrupt the quality time? With all the craziness going around, cherish this time. Take advantage of it and really soak it in. This is hopefully a once in a lifetime experience, and while social distancing is such a weird concept, it allows us to narrow in on the people within our own walls.
12. Dive Into Some Good Music
While a movie marathon is the easiest choice for a time killer in this context (we’ll get to that in a second :) we also really want to encourage being present and connected while social distancing to make it feel a lot less like isolation. A great way to have some background liveliness to a situation is to have good music. Do you want to like jazz but feel like you’ve never been able to give it a chance? Have you been wanting to craft the PERFECT playlist but haven’t been able to sit down to accumulate it all?
Take this time to appreciate all that music has to offer. And heck, if you’ve got instruments laying around (lucky) learn to play them!
13. Watch All The Disney Classics
Like we mentioned above, a movie marathon is probably one of the most obvious ways to kill some time this weekend. But instead of killing time, why not savor it? Go a little nostalgic with your movie choices and watch the classics! The definition of “classic” is dependent on the person. For some, it’s the princess movies (duh) for others it’s all the sports movies, and then don’t get us started on the Disney Channel Originals (hello, Cadet Kelly!)
Whatever your movie choice is, make it fun! Build a fort if you want to, make some homemade popcorn or a batch of brownies and enjoy the nostalgia.
14. Learn How To Make A New Cocktail
Gin and Tonics are never wrong, but why not branch out a bit and become your own bartender? We can help you there. Learn a new, fun cocktail that can become your signature go-to drink when hosting future dinner parties! It’s a skill that will come in very, very handy.
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If we think of more fun, we’ll keep you posted!
At the end of the day, while these measures might seem extreme, it’s always better to be proactive than reactive, and we should respect the authorities that have the people’s safety at heart. And while you might not be at risk, think of those who are and know that any efforts you make to keep yourself healthy gives the virus one more dead end to hit.
Stay safe out there, friends!
Photo: Hudson Interior Design
