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Over the past three months of staying home, you may have decluttered your home, started a garden, or picked up a new hobby. You can read our first Keeping Busy at Home article here. In case you’ve started running out of things to do, or want to change up your routine, here are some additional activities you can consider while staying safe at home.
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Stay Connected through Technology
- Continue to use technology to stay connected with family and friends.
- Use this time to learn and or continue practicing using technology, in the event of future Safer at Home orders. For assistance using Zoom or to help others get familiar with the platform, visit these links on the Keiro website:
- For those who have been using technology, get creative! The usual Zoom meetings or virtual family dinners can get repetitive. Change things up by doing a virtual scavenger hunt with grandkids (adults can participate too!) or cook together over Zoom.
- In addition to using Zoom or FaceTime, joining different social media platforms can keep you connected with others. To learn more about social media, read this Factsheet.
Clean Forgotten Places
- In the last three months, you may have cleaned out your garage and organized your closet. However, there may be a few overlooked places that need attention too. If you need some supplies, online shopping from websites, or scheduling a product pickup time at local stores are alternatives to shopping in a store.
- Replace your shelf paper
- Clean the window blinds
- Clean your electronics (remote controls, keyboards, etc.)
Organize Old Photos
- Now is a great time to go through those stacks of old photos, organize them, or put them into photo albums. It’s an easy way to get organized and relive old memories.
- If you have an overwhelming number of photos, start by breaking down the photos into the years they were taken. Go through each pile and get rid of any duplicate photos or photos you no longer want to keep.
- If you are feeling extra creative or have a few photos you want to highlight, consider putting your pictures into a scrapbook. You can arrange the pictures however you want and add fun embellishments and accessories.
Document Your Family History
- Take some time to research and document your family history. This can be done in many different ways.
- Ask relatives if they have any memories or information on your family history. Try scheduling a family meeting over Zoom for different relatives to share their stories.
- Make a family tree to visually see how your family maps out and where all your relatives came from.
- Write mini biographies on a relative to share with the rest of your family. This can include information from their upbringing to what their family structure was like, all the way to their career and hobbies.
- Use other resources, such as Densho, which is a nonprofit organization that documents oral histories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II.
Start a DIY Project
- Do It Yourself, or DIY projects are a fun way to get creative and stay busy at home. Find one that interests you from the endless DIY projects available online. If you are not sure where to find DIY projects, searching on the internet, YouTube or Pinterest are great ways to find inspiration and helpful tutorials. DIY projects can be done with others over Zoom or you can mail your craft to a friend to stay connected.
- Here are some examples of DIY projects:
- DIY cards – This is a simple and practical project that can range from greeting cards, blank cards, or holiday cards.
- DIY paper flowers – If you aren’t able to go out and buy flowers, make your own using materials like construction paper, tissue paper, or even cupcake liners.
- DIY mug – Take the time to liven up an old mug! You can add small elements or your favorite quote to decorate a blank mug using an oil-based marker.
Start a Recipe Exchange
- Share your favorite recipe with all of your friends through email.
- In the email chain, choose the next person you want to share their recipe with the group.
- Continue sharing the recipes until everyone has shared and by the end, you will have some new recipes to try out.
- Take some time to organize your various cookbooks and recipes.
- Consider donating old or duplicate cookbooks you have.
- Store loose printouts of recipes in a binder so you can have them all in one place.
- Rather than keeping a whole cookbook where you only use a few of the recipes in it, consider photocopying the recipe or rewriting it on a piece of paper. This way you can keep the few recipes you like and save space by getting rid of the cookbook.
- Find new recipes online to get more inspiration
- There are a variety of YouTube videos that show quick cooking tutorials, as well as cooking blogs that share recipes.
- Consider downloading food and recipe apps.
- Food Network has a mobile app that shares thousands of recipes as well as helpful photos and videos.
- Cookpad is a mobile app that makes recipe sharing easy. You can save different recipes too.
Learn Something New
- There are many different free or reduced-fee classes online for adults, including fun and educational classes. Topics include beginner drawing, computer basics, the history of Rock, and researching your family tree.
- Many of these courses are self-paced so you can take as much time as you want to go through the course materials.
- Some examples of these online classes or platforms include:
- Duolingo is a website and mobile app where you can learn a new language.
- AARP offers different lifelong learning courses as well as online libraries that cover various topics such as technology, cooking, and literature.
- Future Learn offers a free course on genealogy and tracing your family roots.
- YouTube is also a great way to learn things. Channels such as TED Talks post online presentations covering a wide variety of topics. Some online classes are also taught through YouTube video series.
While staying home may not be ideal, it is the best way for us to ensure our safety and wellbeing. The list of activities here is not all-inclusive, but hopefully it provides you with some ideas to stay busy at home. You can also ask friends and family what they are doing to stay busy. Please share with us how you are staying connected. Email a picture or description to [email protected] .
Published 7/15/2020