We all know you’re tired of spending your quarantine days laying around the corners of your house, binge watching shows on Netflix, eating all the food you can see in the refrigerator and spending your hours on different social media platforms.
Since us, Palaweños, are forced to stay at our homes since the start of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), the Palawan Daily news team has come up with a list of things to pass your time and make it more productive while still sheltering at home amidst this global pandemic.
1.) Gardening/Vegetable Farming
If you got an extra space around the house, why not try gardening or vegetable farming? You can start from cleaning your yard and starting out your “mini-garden” or by tending your existing plants at your lawn or back yard. Gardening has a lot of health benefits too, from burning calories, lowering blood pressure, relieving stress, and it adds extra exercise. By growing your own food, it means you’ll also get a chance to switch into a healthy diet as well.
2) Read
Looking for an antidote for all the gloom and doom news you’ve been reading lately? (We hope its not from ours lol) and since we’re not allowed to go out and visit the library and check out book sales (and I bet they’re also closed), why not read old books you kept in your storage area at home? From your teen magazines, your mom’s recipe books, your dad’s Readers Digests, self-help books, even famous classic novels and interesting ebooks you can find in the internet, Whatpadd, or other reading inspired websites. Reading has also been proven to build vocabulary skill, also reduce stress, alleviates depression and anxiety, and strengthens the brain.
3) Declutter and donate old stuff (It’s about time!)
Decluttering can not only help you clean up your room, it also gives you extra space for new stuff to keep. Sorting out old clothes, bags and shoes and putting them on auction or online sale to help out struggling families in your community who have been greatly affected with the entire lockdown doesn’t sound bad after all. If you’re able to surrender your old stuff and gather some money and use it to help out others in need, what does that make you? A hero. You can also avoid the hassle of posting each of its online for selling, you can just hastily repack it and give them out for selected members of your community who you think needs them the most. I mean, it may not be as much as the repacked relief goods given by your local government unit but it still helps. A reminder though, we’re not saying you should sell or donate all your old stuff, some things should also be intended for keeping based on their personal value. Your call.
4) Try new recipes
We have been busy in different versions of the corporate world before ECQ and I know parents who have been struggling to squeeze some time to cook a good meal after a long day of work before the corona virus took its turn. Well now’s your chance. Finding time to prepare a special home-cooked meal has been difficult and your kids might be getting bored and has been requesting to eat something new aside from the common fried chicken and Filipino spaghetti so why not try some new recipes while you got time? Exploring other recipes than the usual ones can also give you an opportunity to be exposed to new taste profiles, expand your options, improve nutrition, and discover new tips to improve your cooking skills.
5) Start writing a journal
You probably didn’t notice but you’re actually living in a major historical event that people will learn and discuss for generations after this is all over (and we do hope soon!). Writing a journal is something you can benefit of years from now, and it does not only help you preserve your memories but will also help you process your thoughts and feelings at this terrifying and immensely boring era.
6) Watch some DIY videos on Youtube (and try them out!)
“DIY” or do it yourself is a manner of building, modifying, and repairing things without the direct aid of experts and professionals. DIY covers a wide range of skill sets and there are hundreds or probably thousands of DIY videos that are availble on Youtube (thanks to creators). From braiding your own hair, cleaning your dirty white rubber shoes and making them “like new” again, up to making your own version of your favorite frappe or honey mask. It’s all there! By not hiring experts, you will obviously save money, learn a valuable skill, helps you exercise, increase your home equity and you can also make money. Now instead of focusing on the list of what you can’t do during the pandemic, here are things that you and your family might discover to love while doing home quarantine. Let us not also forget to remember and check out on our distant loved ones and relatives by giving them a call. Social distancing and shelter-at home measures continue throughout the world but we must keep our spirits up