30 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU'RE BORED AT HOME IN LOCKDOWN | QUARANTINE IDEAS IN SELF ISOLATION

Hi guys, welcome back to my channel. Welcome back to a brand new video. Today I am going to give you some ideas, suggestions on things you can do at home. Obviously with the majority of us in lockdown for who knows how long, at least a few more weeks probably, I thought I would just compile a list of the things that I've been loving doing. It's kind of like a spring favorites combined with ideas of things to do whilst at home. So make sure that you're set and ready with your favorite drink of choice, whether it be a cocktail, glass of champagne or a coffee. Subscribe if you haven't already and I'll leave both my Instagram accounts, my fashion and my homeware ones down below if you were interested in more daily regular updates from me. I sat down yesterday, took out my notebook. This one is from HomeSense. I love the little like kind of gold marbling pattern on it. Sort of categorize them into five different categories. We've got craft, productivity, learn, social and then relax slash reward. And I'd say there's probably like 20 to 30 things in total. So if like me, you love doing lists and writing things down, then make sure you've got pen and paper at the ready. So starting with category number one, which is craft. Number one within this category is something you've probably seen on my videos before and it is bullet journaling. I do actually have a highlight on my homeware account called bullet journal, which has like a snapshot of every page within my bullet journal. Essentially bullet journaling is taking a dotted notebook or whatever your preference may be, whether it's squared, lined, whatever, plain, but usually it is dotted and you essentially create and design your very own journal. So I wanted to keep mine fun. I included like a Netflix page, books I want to read, highlights of the day, habit trackers, that kind of thing. So it just allows you to be a little more creative and design your very own journal essentially. I'll link the bullet journal below that I got from Amazon along with the pens that I use as well. Another thing that I personally haven't taken to, but probably will one day because it's the sort of thing that I like to do and that's knitting, knitting, sewing, crochet, that kind of thing. Just something that kind of occupies your time without needing too much mental stimulation. It's actually the reverse. It's quite relaxing, therapeutic, that kind of thing. So there's that or something that I do on the odd occasion is like an adult coloring book. So I actually got sent one recently, which was personalized, but you can get them from anywhere. Most supermarkets have them like within the magazine or the books aisle. Poundland also have them as well. Again, you can buy them online. It's probably quite a good fun activity if you do have kids and they're sat with you doing their coloring and drawing and arts and crafts for you to alongside them, sit down and do your own version. Another thing that I thought I would mention is to make a bucket list. So this could be within your bullet journal by jotting down everything that you think you would like to achieve either in your lifetime or maybe 50 things to do before you're 50 or maybe a 2020 bucket list and just keep it compact into what you'd like to achieve this year. That might be run a 10k. It might be learn something new. That is definitely one for the list makers. And second for the list makers is by creating your own lists. So I have a couple of ideas and suggestions that I'm going to put to you, but obviously the lists are endless. These are five suggestions of lists you could create. So number one, list what you're grateful for today. That's always a great little gratitude one to do at the end of every day. List number two, list the best choices you've made in your life so far. And I thought this one was a really good one. I actually was talking to Tom about this last night when I was doing this list. Another list. Number three, list the things that made you happy as a child. Nice little throwback to childhood that one. Number four, list the ways a loved one would describe you. Because sometimes it's quite hard to sort of pick out the positives in yourself. I've list every color you can think of and what mood you associate it with. So you can do something fun and creative like that. You can get coloring as well. The next thing I wanted to mention was to write a reflective letter. So it's a letter to your future self. Maybe you could write a letter to what you would say to your younger self. Some kind of reflective letter now more so than ever with everything that's going on. A lot of people's emotions are all over the place right now. So it's quite nice to put it down in writing, put it away, throw it in the back of a cupboard or a drawer somewhere that you probably won't see it for years. And then when you come to find it, it'd be quite a nice little thing to reflect on how you've changed, where you've come, how you've grown. The next thing is a vision board. So it'd be quite a fun idea to create your own vision board either in person as in printing out pictures, quotes, things that you want to achieve and manifest in your life. If you're someone that likes The Secret, I know they have a Netflix show if you're not into reading the book version. It's all about manifesting positivity and projecting your future and what you want for it. You can totally achieve it. I personally like to use Pinterest as a form of vision board. I am on Pinterest all the time. I could spend hours on it just pinning things that I like into different categories and then creating your own vision board. Maybe make it private. It's just for you, for your eyes only and just save things to it. And then why not print out and design a version that if you have a home office, you can maybe frame it and just use it to keep looking back on and remembering what you're trying to achieve, what projections you have for the future and yeah, vision boards. Second to that is mood boards. So again, using Pinterest, it's a great tool. I like to use it for any kind of DIY projects. When we buy a house, I am going to be living on Pinterest for ideas of how to style shelves, what colors to paint the walls. So that is everything within the craft category. Now moving on to the second category, which is productivity. I think it's quite nice to use this time wisely and do something productive so you get that sense of accomplishment and achievement. So the first thing is exercise. If you can get out once a day on your daily walk, that fresh air for me mentally is the best thing ever as well as physically, obviously, because you're getting in your exercise. Sometimes I might break into a little jog, but that's as far as I go. And if you can't get out and about, there may be at home workouts on YouTube that are plenty to choose from. I personally like to do yoga on YouTube at home. I really enjoyed that. And the next thing is kind of a form of exercise for your mind, and that is meditation. Meditation is one of those words that a lot of people think, oh, spiritual, like don't get it, oh, don't understand. I find meditation as a form of just relaxation more than anything. It's not anything too deep. It is literally just a couple of breathing exercises. Even if it's just to take five minutes from your day, even if it's just 10 breaths to just switch off, try and erase your mind of anything that you've been stressing about or worrying about. And you literally feel such a difference after doing it that I think it's one of the most important things for our brains and for our mental health. So if you struggle to get into the whole meditation thing, there is an app called Calm, which is really useful, or again, YouTube videos. There's so many out there. The next thing for productivity is to declutter or organize a space. I have been doing lots of decluttering. I've done a whole spring clean series with decluttering my wardrobe, my beauty, makeup clear out. I've been spritzing and cleaning the house. Again, for your mind, because if you have a clear and tidy space, you have a clear and tidy mind. Another productive thing is to sell your clothes online. So once you have a declutter of your wardrobe, for instance, I like to use Depop, eBay, Facebook Marketplace. There's plenty of ways to sell your clothes online. I make a little bit of money doing so. And the last thing within the productivity section is, especially for those people who are working from home currently and are struggling to get into the routine, is to set some form of a weekly schedule. It could be a daily, it could be a monthly schedule, but some kind of schedule to help keep you on track is the best way to stay motivated, in my opinion. Take it from someone who works from home anyway, regardless of this situation that's currently going on around the world. It's the easiest way to avoid being lazy and unproductive. Okay, the third category is learn. So perhaps you've had something in your mind that you've wanted to learn, and you've just always kind of put it off because you haven't got the time, then maybe now is the time to do so. Whether that be learn a new instrument, which is me, that's what I've been doing. I've not really been learning a new instrument, but I have picked up on an old instrument that I used to learn, piano. And I've really been enjoying going on YouTube and following tutorials, because I always remember in school when I used to learn piano, it became a little bit of a chore. I only got to grade two, but it was one of those things I was like, ugh, piano, because you're playing pieces that were like from a book and having to do the exam pieces. Whereas now I can be far more creative because there's no pressure, and I can actually learn songs that I want to play. So like I've been learning Billie Eilish, Ocean Eyes. Or if instruments aren't really your thing, maybe you want to pick up on a new language. Or lastly, perhaps some kind of like mini little physical challenge, like you've never been able to do a pushup before or a pull-up or something like that. There's also loads of platforms you can use to learn online courses. Like I think there's Skillshare, whether it be photography or interior design, whatever it may be, learn something new that way. Or cooking and baking, if you want to get more into cooking. Personally in our household, I have no interest in cooking whatsoever, but Tom really enjoys it, so I leave that to him. However, I do really enjoy baking. The only problem with baking is you've got to eat it. And usually baking doesn't produce the healthiest snacks. Every once in a while, I will bake something new, find a new recipe. I've learned to bake these peanut butter cookies, which I found on Pinterest. If you search simple cookie recipe or something, it was one of the first ones that came up, soft and chewy peanut butter cookies. And I was like, I'm going to try that. But yeah, some kind of baking or cooking recipe, maybe you want to learn something new. Another thing, why not start a blog or a YouTube channel or a TikTok? I mean, I've been getting into TikTok and even Tom has. He's like, do you want to just have a browse on TikTok? I'm like, what? Letting you like watch over my shoulder. And the last thing I wanted to include within this category is to read. I have been starting to read more ever since joining a book club last year. So with that being said, I thought I'd just mention the last books that we have read. The Family Upstairs, I read that in South Africa. These are all books that I've read this year. That wasn't a book club book. That was just one that I wanted to read and it was really, really good. The one we've just read is called Runaway by Harlan Coben. He's the author who wrote A Stranger, which is now a Netflix series. Also Safe, which is also on Netflix. And I think Runaway is going to be coming to Netflix as well. So that would be really good having already read it. So now's a really good time to read that one. Another one we read was called The Perfect Wife by J.P. Delaney. And that was a bit more sci-fi, a bit more Stepford House-wise. It was okay. It wasn't my favorite. Another one we read is called Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes. That was a good one. And then the one that we're currently reading is called Night Music by Jojo Moyes. She was the one that wrote Me Before You. This is a separate book altogether, but it's called Night Music. I'm yet to start it. I've just downloaded it last night. So I'll probably start that. I like to listen to it on my long one walk a day. But if you have any book recommendations so that I can suggest them to our book club and also just for me to read that are particularly good that you have read, then do put them in the comments down below and let me know. Okay. The fourth category is social. So despite what is going on, we can still be social. In fact, if anything, I feel like we've been more sociable than ever before. We've been joining a Zoom and house party, chatting to friends and family and doing more video calls and fun little pub quizzes. I asked on Instagram if you guys would be interested in seeing the pub quiz that we hosted last week. So what I'm going to do is just insert on screen the questions that we did for our pub quiz and the different rounds, the different categories. If any of you are interested in taking part yourself or maybe using it for a pub quiz for you and your family and friends, then just message me on Instagram and what I'll do is I'll send you the answers. And of course, there are so many other games and fun little quizzes that you can do online, on your phone, on apps. I've been doing a fun little quiz on Facebook with my mom. I know a lot of people have downloaded The Sims because that was a bit of a throwback to childhood, Animal Farm as well. So that is the social category. It's just so important to keep socializing regardless of what's going on. So the fifth and final category is some kind of relax reward. If you have been finding yourself putting your feet up, watching Netflix and doing absolutely nothing and using this time to just switch off, then you do that because probably never will we get this opportunity again, especially if you've been furloughed or if you are finding yourself sat at home with nothing to do, to actually just do nothing and to actually just watch TV or do something you enjoy and just relax. I love a Netflix day whereby I'm in pajamas, I have no makeup, my hair's in a big pineapple bun on the top of my head and we have a load of comfort food and we sit and we just binge watch Netflix. One of my favorite things to do, but I couldn't do it every day. So speaking of Netflix and Amazon Prime and YouTubers, I just want to share a couple of my personal faves and then feel free to leave any recommendations in the comments below. So on YouTube, if you like me into true crime, I love watching Eleanor Neal's crime. She does like solved murder crimes, true stories. Obviously Lydia Tomlinson, who's like a really good friend, love watching her videos. Lydia Millen as well. I love her house. It's just like the dreamiest. So I love watching her videos. Gemma Miles, Amy Rose Walker, again, all people that do sort of similar content to me because I always like to produce videos that I like to watch myself. I have to include Super Cooper Sundays. If you've never heard of Super Cooper Sunday and you're a puppy lover, like I'm obsessed with dogs, especially Golden Retrievers, then you'll love watching Super Cooper Sundays. He's actually a gamer called Trev and his girlfriend Chelsea, and they create fun little videos every Sunday, including their two dogs and one cat. So it's just a really fun, very quick watch that I like to do every Sunday. And then on Amazon Prime, I also downloaded Stars Play recently as like an add on subscription, which we watched The Act. That was really good. And then I've also downloaded Hey You for the Kardashians, and I pretty much only downloaded it for the Kardashians, but they have loads of different reality TVs and easy binge watch series, like all the housewives, and it's only 3.99 a month. And you do get a free trial on that as well. And then on Netflix, I'm just going to look at my list here. Tiger King was obsessed with that. I'm so jealous of anyone who's not seen it. I can't believe there's some people that aren't into it because for me, I actually used to watch Joe Exotic's videos on Discovery Channel when I was younger. So I actually remember him from that. He also did a documentary with Louis Theroux. So if you like his documentaries, search for that. I think it was like America's Craziest Pet Animals or something. He was in that. Really good watch. Don't F with Cats. Again, another like true crime. That is insane. Definitely 18 plus on that one because it's a little bit gory, but really enjoyed that. Cheer was a fun one with the cheerleaders at Navarro. Let me know if you saw that. Three Identical Strangers. I actually paid for that film and then they released it on Netflix. So I was a little bit like, ugh. But it was a good watch. I really enjoyed it. Again, another true story about how three siblings, triplets, came together in adulthood and found each other having all been adopted separately. But the ending and the kind of twist of how the adoptions came about is a story. And then also Making a Murderer. I feel like that was one of the first Netflix series for true crime documentaries. It was insane. I think they did a second and maybe even a third series on it. But the first season of Making a Murderer, if you haven't seen it, watch it. And then on TV, we've been watching Killing Eve. That's just started again on BBC. The Nest was good. That was BBC. Race Across the World is a fun one. There's different couples, whether it be brother and sister, mother and son, that are traveling around the world essentially. It's a bit like Amazing Race. If ever you watch that, the American show, The Amazing Race, it's a little bit like that. Not quite as good, but it's good. The Capture was good. It was all about the CCTV footage and the soldier who potentially murdered someone. Really good. White House Farm, again, I think it was a six part series or maybe four part, I can't remember. But that was on ITV and that was based on the true crime of the family that got murdered in White House Farm. And then last but not least, we just recently watched Quiz, which again is ITV. It was three parts and it was all about the coughing, cheating scandal on who wants to be a millionaire. Okay, next. Puzzles, jigsaws, that kind of thing, I'm obsessed with. I find it really relaxing. It clears my mind. It's a form of meditation almost or mental therapy because you forget any stresses or worries and you keep yourself occupied by focusing on that one task at hand, whether it be a puzzle. So I've got one here that I've started doing on, it's like golden retrievers. They're so cute, little puppies. I actually found that at a charity shop. So I've started doing that one. And also kind of puzzles as opposed to jigsaws, puzzles. So my Mrs. Hinch activity journal, that has so many puzzles in it, like word searches, dot to dots, list making, so many things that I just pick up as and when I fancy. Having a little jot down, usually like in an evening if I just feel like doing something whilst having something on in the TV in the background. So I'll leave a link to her activity journal down below if you want to buy it yourself. Of course, pamper session, why not? Treat yourself, have a pamper day. I actually have a self-care day video coming up very soon. And then last but not least is a little bit of retail therapy. I know this is going to be controversial because as soon as I did, I did a Zara haul recently and what else did I do? A White Company haul. People were messaging me so much saying, get inside, stop shopping. And then when I said I wasn't in shops, it was online. It was like, we shouldn't be online shopping. There's too many pressures for delivery drivers and companies and everything like that. It's 50 50 here with this one because yes, there's that side of the argument. But second to that is you're supporting businesses by online shopping. So you're still continuing to support the businesses and the brands that you love. And I actually asked a courier when he delivered a parcel recently on their opinion and they said, keep on shopping, earning more now so than ever before, that they were self-employed, they wouldn't get furlough if they were to stop. So please keep shopping. That's what I've heard. So that's what I'm doing. I'm not doing it excessively. I've actually saved a lot of money over these last few weeks by not spending too much and not going to the shops. But I have ordered a few things off Amazon recently. So I'm going to do an Amazon haul when they all arrive. But yeah, if you did want to check out my White Company haul and my Zara haul and do a bit of retail therapy yourself, I think go for it. And if brands were struggling to stick to the regulations that are set by the government with the social distancing rules and sanitation, then they can close their factories. They could employ less stuff. I know some companies are just limiting shopping to a certain timeframe, which helps them cope with the reduced number of employees. So as long as companies are not struggling, which if they were, they can change their system themselves, then I think there's no harm in a bit of retail therapy. Don't hate me for saying that. That's enough of that now. I don't want to spark a debate. This is just my opinion. So thank you so much for hearing me out, listening to my list of things that I've been doing and loving. And I hope you guys maybe find a couple of things from this list that you end up doing yourself. I'll leave links to some of the things that I recommended, including like my piano, my Mrs. Hinch activity journal, my bullet journal, and a few other things that I would recommend for throughout this time. And yeah, thank you so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed it. Thumbs up if you did. Stay tuned for more videos and I hope to see you all in my next one. Bye guys.