Let’s be honest, when faced with the idea of productive things to do at home versus relaxing on the lounge at home, there’s going to be a clear winner most of the time. But at some point, you’re going to have to push past the desire to binge watch every series of Brooklyn Nine Nine and get your butt out there to do something a little more productive than pressing ‘still watching’ every hour.
There are going to be some times in our lives when you can’t leave the house. Whether it’s because of illness, bad weather, sick kids, needy kids, newborn kids, kids in general, or you know… a world wide p*ndemic, there’s going to come a time when you’re just stuck at home.
So what do you do?
Binge watching Netflix can only get you through a short time before you start to go a little cray, and while it might seem like a good idea to bunker down and watch ten series in a row, you’re probably not going to feel too great for it.
Instead, why not try one of these productive things you can do at home, without having to leave the house, that don’t (all) require a huge amount of effort, but will leave you feeling so much better and so much more productive.
1 – Declutter
If you’ve been around here for more than a minute you’ll know I’m a huge fan of decluttering – I love it! I swear, if there is only one thing you do from this list, make it this one (closely followed by #3).
Not only does decluttering have a ton of health benefits, it also makes you feel better, helps you have a clearer mind, makes you home look and feel better, and can earn you some extra money too (see #6).
If you’re not sure where to start when it comes to decluttering you can check out the top ten areas of your home to quickly declutter which will help you feel like you’re smashing out the decluttering process with ease!
2 – Deep Clean
Okay, I know this is not exactly among the top things you want to be doing, but I promise the benefits are great. And before you go scrolling on to the next point, or swiping back to run away from such a ludicrous suggestion, hear me out.
The idea of deep cleaning our home seems like such a mammoth task, one we often shove into the ‘one day’ list of things we need to do. However there’s evidence to suggest that a clean home not only makes you happier but can also reduce the risk of heart disease!
With that in mind, don’t overcomplicate the task. Pick an area of the home for each day of the week and simply do that one area. It’s a lot easier to tackle a deep clean in one hour a day than it is to spend 7 hours straight cleaning.
3 – Self Care
“I spent too much time looking after myself” said no one ever.
We all know we should spend more time looking after ourselves, taking time to do the things we love and explore our curiosities, but we often follow that knowledge up with ‘but I don’t have the time’.
Well guess what? Now you do. And yes, self care does count as being productive.
Whether you sit and drink your coffee (while it’s hot) and read a book, paint your toe nails and listen to your favourite music, or eat popcorn and watch Netflix, taking time for yourself is important!
4 – Start a Side Hustle
What better time to start a side hustle than when you’re at home looking for something to do!
There are so many ways for you to make some extra money, whether it’s using the skills you have, teaching others, contracting out, writing, creating – there is no limit! If you need some ideas check out these side hustles you can start.
It’s always a good idea to diversify your income and if you can do that with a side hustle that also allows you to be creative and do what you love, then that is a massive bonus too.
There are so many tutorials online for you to learn how to do just about anything you need. My best advice is to pick one thing and focus on it rather than trying to spread yourself too thin.
5 – Connect With Your Husband
What a great excuse to spend some quality time connecting with your husband! When you’re forced to stay home, for whatever reason, the change in your routine can be just what you need to shake things up and reconnect.
Even if your relationship is absolutely amazing, the change in dynamic of staying home when you usually would be out, can give you a chance to spend time with each other that you wouldn’t normally have.
Create your own breakfast or lunch time dates, stay in bed and watch movies (give the kids devices to watch movies in their beds too and have a movies in bed day), talk about your goals and aspirations, ask each other fun questions, learn new skills together, cook together, play games and have fun…
Stepping outside of the norm can be a great way to reconnect and might be something you didn’t even realise you needed
6 – Earn Extra Money Selling Unwanted Items
Remember all of those things you decluttered from point #1 in this post? Some of them could be worth a bit of extra coin for you!
A few years ago I dedicated a whole month to decluttering and selling off items I no longer wanted and I made a bunch of money from it.
Check out your local buy, swap, and sell groups on Facebook to see what is selling and what isn’t and you might find yourself with a good chunk of change for what you thought was junk.
Some items that often sell well are home decor and storage items, Tupperware and vintage food storage pieces, anything unique, and indoor plants (you might even be able to propagate and sell a few yourself!).
7 – Journal
Journaling is such a great way to get all of that mental clutter out of your mind and onto paper. It doesn’t even need to make any sense. One of my most favourite forms of journaling is free writing, where you literally just start writing words on a page and see what comes out.
If you’re not quite sure where to start you can use journaling prompts like we have in the Hot Mess Academy – or simply start your sentences with, ‘If I could teach the world just one lesson it would be…’ or ‘When I look back on how far I’ve come, I’m most proud of…’ as just some ideas.
Journaling is also a great way to get to know yourself, to figure out what you want in life, to destress and process your emotions, as well as create better writing skills (if that is of interest to you).
The best part is, there is no ‘right’ way to journal. You literally make it up as you go! Winning!
Whether you choose to declutter or journal, start a side hustle or focus on self care, be sure to understand that being productive for the sake of productivity isn’t what this is about. You don’t have to be productive all the time, in fact, I encourage you to not be productive all the time.
However, if you’re feeling like you need to find something productive to do at home, and you’re not quite sure what to do or where to start, then this list will surely help you along.
