Now that uni is over for the semester, I've been spending a lot more time at home and only today have I actually questioned the stigma about staying at home all day. As a teenager, I'm expected to be out every second, every day and every night, rebelling against authority figures and yet here I am at home, catching up on old shows and playing video games. And honestly, I don't see a problem with that, so why is it so frowned upon? If you tell people that you've spent the last few days at home without a "good" reason such as being ill, or caring for another who was ill, they'll either think that you're lazy, or boring, or unemployed and not trying to change that.
Don't get the wrong idea! I
do have friends whom I talk to everyday and hang out with as frequently as I can and yet when I'm home all day, one of the main things weighing on my mind was the question about why hadn't I organised doing
something. Even if it was calling up an old friend, going out and exercising, or just hanging around the shopping centre (despite the fact that I am trying to save money.) While somebody often plan days where they can just relax at home, I am not one of those people and want to get out and make the most of my days.
Staying at home does have its benefits though. If you've been putting off doing something, such as cleaning your room, or organising your wardrobe and getting rid of all the clothes you don't wear anymore. Today however, I did neither of those things, but most of the time when I
am home all day, I try to achieve something. Often it's experimenting with different hairstyles - like I was doing before I sat down to write this.
So I complied a list of things you can do when you're at home instead of sleeping all day, or sitting in front of a computer or TV on the internet or playing games for the entire day. Some of the lists that I have seen on the internet often feature fun websites you can spend time on, but the point of this is to step
away from the laptop.
Note: Image not mine
- Reorganise your room - or clean it at least. You never know what you will find or what you'll realise that you should probably throw/give away. Even change your sheets, your room will look all clean and refreshed!
- Try on all of your clothes. Place all of the clothes that no longer fit you, you no longer like, or simply never wear into a pile to sell or give away (because throwing away perfectly good clothes is a waste!) A trick I learned a while ago was to turn all of your hangers in your wardrobe one way (in my case, I turned it so that it hooked around the back, making it more difficult to remove) and as you wear an item of clothing, reverse the hanger to face the other direction when you put it back. This way you can see which clothes you do and don't wear and next time you get a whole day off a few months later you can sell/give away all of the clothes with the hanger still in its original position. Of course if it's been summer and you've been saving your coats for winter then well, maybe not.
- Play with your hair! This is mainly for girls since I've noticed that 99% of guys just wear their hair how it naturally falls (or with some gel, but it's not as diverse and some of the hairstyles females wear.) Yes, if you want to, go online (you have my permission) and go on YouTube or Pinterest, or other tutorial sites and learn how to perfect that hairstyle you saw on that celebrity that one time. Don't get distracted though! Remember, we're trying to not spend the day staring at a screen!
- READ READ READ! Try to do this with a physical book, not on your kindle, or iPad, or similar device. Find a cosy nook for yourself, have some soft music playing in the background and healthy food ready for snacking and just read away. Watch the hours go by.
- Be helpful. Clean and vacuum the house. If you live with your parents or with a roommate, they'll definitely appreciate it and once you've finished the job, you will too.
- DANCE! If you haven't blasted music in your room and just danced, you haven't lived. Play some of your favourite tunes and if you can, find and play your old favourites. You'll be surprised by how much you still remember every single lyric and beat.
- Practice putting on makeup. Learn how to apply eyeliner or blend eyeshadow. Once again, I've giving you permission to look up tutorials online but you'll find your own method of doing something soon enough.
- Pamper yourself. Whip out a face mask (or make some of your own - there's some great homemade ones online), run a bath and light some candles and just close your eyes and relax. Time flies faster than you'd think.
- Paint your nails. Wow, this list is accumulating quite a few "beauty" points. One of my favourite things to do when I have free time is to paint my nails. Even if they're already painted, I'll apply another coat if some bits have chipped off, or I'll try out new colours or new designs (such as half-tones.) Don't forget your toes!
- Wash your car or water your garden. Pretty self-explanatory here.
- Organise your garage. Similar to organising your room, but to a larger scale. Open up all the garage doors and let the sunlight and fresh air in. Make sure if you have any pets that have a habit of running away (like mine do) that they stay inside or cannot leave.
- Clean out your pantry/fridge. Yep, this is just cleaning and beauty I guess. I've cleaned out my pantry a few times and have been both amazed (and disgusted) and some of the food in there and how long ago it expired. Straight into the bin for those.
- Learn a new skill. Got some knitting needles lying around? Put them to work! Found a recipe book? Go experiment and add something to your dinner menu.
- GO OUTSIDE! Unless of course it's bad weather. Just head up to your local park if you have one nearby, or down to the beach if you live on the coast like me. Of course if you live in a more urbanised setting, go out and breathe in the city. Try to walk or ride your bike if you can and ditch the car. It'll be cheaper and healthier for you.
- Rearrange things. Your bookshelf, your pantry, your stack of magazines, your DVDs, anything!
- Call people. Who knows, you might get an offer to see them, or make plans to hang out.
- Puzzles! If you have a crossword or puzzle book lying around, get to it!
If you guys can think of anything else, leave a comment below and let me know if you actually have done/will do any of these.
Stay happy and take care of yourselves! And have a great day in! xx
