Staying at Home: Ideas for Quarantine

Below is a list of things we’ve been enjoying doing while at home. We are all in this together and thought it would be nice to share ideas.

“Happy Hours” in the sun – pretending you are at a brewery or winery (even though in reality you are sitting just outside your garage in camping chairs). We recommend going wherever the sun shines – if possible. Feel free to read as well. Aka “Find your Beach”. It’s even better to get dressed up and do this and wear something you would wear outside of the house.
Exploring the neighborhoods surrounding our apartment complex. BIKE PATH WAYYYYYY TOOOOO CROWDED! It’s impossible to socially distance while on it. But we are still able to bike (slash rollerblade), run, and walk around on other routes we hadn’t taken before. It’s nice discovering new architecture, plants, views, etc.
Three walks a day – the most important is the early morning before work. This way we can enjoy time to ourself instead of rolling out of bed and going straight to work. Added benefit is it’s less crowded – Early bird gets the worm, well we get to hear the birds chirp anyways.
Dabbling in YOGA! Zoom, facebook, and DVD. This is a great way to balance staying inside, being mindful and grateful, and getting physical exercise. Our April goal is to do yoga 3 times a week. Helps get rid of the stress of the job.
Found new places to sit around our apartment so we aren’t in the same “office chair” for 40 hours a week. We will sometimes sit on the patio, sometimes in front of the screen door, sometimes at the desk, sometimes at our counter, in the bed, in our bedroom chair, in the papasan, in the camping chairs in the garage, wherever we can switch it up! It is a small adjustment but it does help mute the feeling we are doing the same thing over and over again.
YAHTZEEEEEE. Tim got 3 yahtzees in one game. Kara- “Who does that?”. Tim- “WINNNNNING!”. Full disclosure, we can’t remember the rules so we will either roll the dice once, twice, or three times depending on the round. Its a nice fun quick way to connect and unwind while cooking dinner or enjoying an evening in the sun. We also play other games.
Cooking (see our previous post about That Kitchen Chemistry)
Organizing (see our previous post about being So Fresh and So Clean, Clean)
Netflix and exploring new shows and topics….but really binging two shows at once and then picking two more shows.
Zoom and facetime friends time and game playing together. We organized a virtual yoga and then boozy brunch with friends that was lovely. Did an hour of yoga, and then we all switched gears into preparing food in our own kitchens and eating it together.
Kara is participating in Hollis Co.’s Next 90 Day Challenge. They focus on living with intention and being purposeful and creating healthy habits for yourself while fighting for joy.
Reading – experiencing new worlds and transporting yourself. Kara read a book in a day written by an Italian author that was translated to English so got to pretend she was back in Italy (when Coronavirus wasn’t a thing yet).
Enjoying the little things – like the birds chirping, enjoying the silence from the snow, hearing the wind, walking to the creek and just sitting while the water flows over the rocks, laying in the grass and looking at the budding trees, watching the bugs crawl and the squirrels play.
Exploring real estate options in the area. Fun online searches keeps us apprised of prices and neighborhoods and schematics and other fun things to think about and research.
Creative activities like a wine and paint day. Really just anything you can think of to be creative and make something.
Our friends who have kids have created a designated oasis date spot in their house. It’s a spot the kids don’t have access too and they commit to go there for dinner once a week. They dressed it up with lights and table cloth. Made it a special get away while not being physically away at all.