85 Things to do indoors during Lockdown

We're now into our 6th week of London lockdown. For those of you telling me you're bored, have a look at the list I put together and see how else you can kill some time:

1. Tidy your wardrobe
2. Tidy your shelves/bookcases/cupboards/drawers
3. Tidy your room
4. Tidy your flat/house - moving on to bigger things now! 
5. Shred old documents that you no longer need
6. Admin tasks
7. Vacuum clean
8. Do the laundry
9. Do the washing up
10. Fold up your clothes
11. Clean light switches, door and cupboard handles
12. Learn a new language or pick up an old language
13. Learn a programming language
14. Learn to bake
15. Try out a new recipe - YouTube the recipe or look on the tasty food app
16. Make a smoothie
17. Exercise, got push up grips or weights at home?
18. Create your own home gym
19. Online workouts - we love Catalyst Climbing free live sessions 
20. Yoga - we love Yoga with Adriene
21. Meditation - download headspace/calm apps or YouTube meditation clips
22. Relax
23. Sort out your make up (get rid of old make up, clean your make up brushes)
24. Work on your make up looks - perfect the cat flick or smokey eye look
25. Create a new or work on your skincare routine
26. Give yourself a manicure/pedicure
27. Get your boyfriend/partner/husband to give you a manicure/pedicure - this one is even better than the one above as you can turn it into a spa day (light some candles and lie down)
28. Cut your partner's hair (watch multiple YouTube videos before actually cutting their hair)
29. Start a YouTube channel
30. Start a blog/website
31. Reach out to 5 friends and ask how their day went
32. Use Zoom, Skype, Houseparty, WhatsApp, Messenger to have a catch up with friends and family
33. Create a steam account and learn how to game
34. Do an online course - there are so many free courses out there
35. Download justdance on your phone and visit Just Dance Now to play - useful if you missed out on getting a Nintendo Switch before lockdown!
36. Read a book - bought those books on your kindle and never read them? Time to start...
37. Netflix/watch TV/documentaries/films
38. Listen to music
39. Sing - there are so many YouTube tutorials out there, especially warm up exercises which you can all do!
40. Learn a new instrument or pick up an old instrument! Ukulele? Simple and easy to learn
41. Learn how to knit
42. Learn how to sew
43. Uninstall phone apps you no longer use
44. Clear out your old emails
45. Unsubscribe from mailing lists that no longer interest you
46. Cancel or pause unnecessary subscriptions
47. Back up your phone data and photos
48. Look at your old photos
49. Make a photo album from the photos you download
50. Board games
51. Card games
52. Do a puzzle
53. Do crosswords or Sudoku
54. Origami
55. Water your plants
56. Work on a DIY project
57. Draw
58. Colour in
59. Have a bake off or host your own restaurant night at home
60. Indoor picnic
61. Online tours of museums
62. Virtual gigs
63. Watch musicals online
64. Update your CV - may as well since you have time now
65. Work on your interview skills
66. Make a travel bucket list
67. Write a gratitude list
68. Keep a diary
69. Indoor treasure hunt
70. Take a nap
71. Find a podcast to listen to
72. Start your own podcast
73. Design your dream house
74. Create a vlog 
75. Learn how to video edit
76. Look up the meaning of your dreams
77. Read up on your horoscopes
78. Write a song
79. Write a poem
80. Write a short play
81. Write a novel
82. Plan what outfits you'd wear once we're out of lockdown
83. Plan out your perfect day
84. Read my blog and watch my YouTube covers
85. Do nothing

How to survive lockdown with your partner

During this lockdown, you've either decided to spend it with your partner or without your partner.

Whichever you've decided, there's pros and cons to both...I am spending it with my partner and although it's strengthening our relationship, it also highlights how bizarre these circumstances are since we are seeing each other pretty much 24/7 surrounded by the 4 walls.

Here are some tips which have worked well for us:

1. When working from home, I work in our room and my partner works in the living room. This means we both have our own space during the day and we have lunch and dinner together. For those who are living together in a smaller space, try and separate the room if you can so you both have your own "work area". 
2. Being in the same space as your partner means you notice their idiosyncrasies. If you argue or have disagreements, don't give each other silent treatment! Sit down and have a calm conversation stating what you didn't like what the other did, apologise and talk about ways to resolve it so that it doesn't happen again in the future. Silent treatment isn't useful in the long term as you never solve the problem in the first place. 
3. Split chores! Since you'll be at home a lot, the amount of chores will naturally increase, from the washing up to the laundry! Best thing to do is to split chores, if one cooks, the other should wash up. If one loads the laundry, the other should hang the clothes to dry. 
4. Yoga or stretching. There is something really relaxing about this, we do this either in the morning before work or before dinner in the evening. If it's in the morning, we like to draw the blinds up so we get some natural sunlight; we do yoga with Adriene on YouTube.
5. Take a morning walk or evening stroll. We go at these times as less people are out and we'll take the trash out as well then do a quick loop around the block. It helps just to stretch a bit as we're seated for most of the day. Remember to maintain social distancing and wash your hands/shower as soon as you get back! 
6. We game online together. I installed Counter Strike on Steam and we played a round. It helps to destress from the lockdown and instead of arguing, we shoot each other virtually instead. It's also a good laugh, even if I die a good 90% of the time. 

How to save money during lockdown times

It's week 5 of London lockdown. We are slowly getting used to the new normal, finding out the best places to buy fruit and vegetables, household supplies, adapting to working from home and being in the same space with your family, partner, flatmates for extensive periods of time. This is a time of both uncertainty and reflection and many have been affected financially, whether that be being made redundant, furloughed or on a reduced working hours contract which means reduced pay temporarily.

Here are a couple of things which may help you save money and reduce your spending during lockdown times:

1. Pause/cancel unnecessary subscriptions and direct debits - whether that be your contact lenses, apple music, spotify, Netflix - if it's just you watching, have you switched it to the Basic £5.99 plan compared to the Standard £8.99 plan? You'd save £3 a month if you downgrade and that means £36 a year which may not be much but it's still money!
2. Reduce your phone bill - for those of you who are on a pay monthly contract, if you have finished that pay monthly contract, you can usually reduce the price as you've finished paying for the phone! 
3. Commute money - unless you're a key worker, you most likely no longer need to commute on public transport which means you're saving money. Put this money in your emergency savings fund or use this money towards your monthly food shop instead!
4. Check holiday/concert/events/travel refund options - see if you're able to get your money back
5. Before you order from an online retailer, ask yourself - do you actually need that item?
6. Budget - work out how much money you need to use per week and stick to it!