Useful Home Quarantine Activities: 55 Cozy Domestic Tasks

Make the Kitchen More Convenient

Create a list of everything that irritates you in the kitchen: grains spill, pots are hard to reach, spices are scattered, there's not enough light, chairs bump into the cabinet and refrigerator? With this list, you'll understand where to start and what to prepare more thoroughly. Our tips will simplify the process.

Design: Olesya Shlyakhtina

Organize Everything on Shelves

Finally, you have the motivation to decorate open shelves: here you're only limited by your imagination, and therefore not limited at all. Hundreds of examples from Inmyroom, Pinterest, and Instagram are at your disposal.

And Put Them in Jars

Finally, you can do what you've always lacked time for: put grains in jars and label them. There's plenty of time to create labels, you can use glass paint, sticky tape, or print your own design.

Spice Jars – from Children's Food Containers

The lids were repainted. The entire kitchen renovation cost 60 thousand rubles

Learn a Graphics Program

Download a convenient app and become a graphic designer for at least one day while creating labels for grains. If you get into it, it can become another hobby.

Wash Curtains

When, if not now? Your curtains have absorbed all the winter soot. There's enough time now to dry and iron them one by one.

Design: JUICY FLAT

Let More Light In

Now that you've taken down the curtains, it might turn out you don't even need them. Move the dining area to the window and enjoy sunny breakfasts. With such lighting, you can take professional Instagram photos.

Become a Micro-Blogger

Create an account dedicated to your home. Share every idea you've managed to implement. Use hashtags, and your audience will find you on its own.

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Start a Green Friendship

This is the perfect time to think about ecology and healthy lifestyle. Begin with the kitchen: green plants make a perfect pair with sunlight. You can buy inexpensive plants on 'Avito' or grow something yourself: right now, throw a bulb into a bottle with water, and by the end of quarantine, you'll see what happened.

Clean Windows After Winter

Thousands of our readers, inspired by this article, have successfully cleaned their windows in the apartment. You have enough time to do it this year without extra energy costs or stress. We'll guide you on how.

Re-sew Curtains

Now that you've washed the windows and ironed the curtains, it's time to hem them. Admit it, you've long been annoyed by how they sweep the floor. This is the perfect time to change that.

Organize the Attic

Yes, you didn't know how to approach this task before, but now you're into it. Sort through the clutter, throw away anything you haven't used for a long time, collect and wash clothes that can be donated to charity. Add winter shoes and coats from this season: you'll likely want something new next winter, while homeless and low-income people need warm second-hand clothes.

Sort Broken Electronics

How many broken phones, chargers, and adapters that don't fit anything do you have? A vintage record player, a cracked mixer, and a juicer that doesn't squeeze anything? Add the automatic vacuum and a burned-out hairdryer, and you'll have a whole cart of items to dispose of. Take them to a special collection point for obsolete electronics, and you'll be happy. Don't forget to wear a protective mask and gloves and bring a hand sanitizer. Or just send a courier.

Sort Books

Sort books into thick, thin, those you've read and don't, old, new, children's, adult, and by genre. Wipe each book with a damp cloth, wash the shelves. The apartment will immediately feel more breathable. During the cleaning process, select the most interesting books at the moment and place them by your bed. Forced home quarantine is a perfect time to change habits: no to anxious phones, yes to wonderful old (and new!) literary friends.

Design: Olesya Shlyakhtina

Learn a Foreign Language

To learn a language at least at the beginner level, you'll need: an app, online translator, YouTube lectures with grammar, a book, and a radio station (or TV show) in a foreign language, and a film in the original language with subtitles. Devoting at least half an hour a day to the language, by the end of quarantine you'll be able to discuss the coronavirus with Italians in Italy.

Create Playlists

Since school days, you never had time to sort out music that you occasionally listen to, versus the one you need every evening, say, before bedtime. Now, with home quarantine slightly slowing down life's pace, there's time to meditate on the content of your music collection: make playlists for driving, romantic evenings and night, running, meetings with friends, drawing, relaxation, playing with children, taking baths, celebrating family dates, noisy parties, and cycling trips. You'll need all this soon.

Start Watching Lectures

Don't know how long the virus can survive outside the organism? Forgot what discoveries have already been made in the field of genetics? Want to know more about professional burnout psychology or the potential of the 'sixth sense' technology? It's time to listen to lectures by professionals in various fields. Since you didn't have time for it before due to lack of time.

Plan a Reminder System

You always forget to meditate on time, water the plants, take a pill, or do facial massage? You're ready to bet that you've downloaded dozens of apps just to make life better. Simply set notifications for each one: now you'll definitely remember when it's time for the next workout, yoga practice, or English lesson.

Review Videos on Our Website TV

Not everyone has time to watch YouTube for hours, but now, with an abundance of time, you should definitely subscribe to our channel. There's a wealth of ideas for design and renovation there, and you'll enjoy spending time with them.

Sort Out Movies

Now, when you have plenty of time, you want to watch a movie, but which one? Sort all your downloads into: old and new, what you've watched and what you haven't, by genre or director. Now, in a melancholic mood, you'll quickly find the right romantic drama, and when you suddenly need to occupy children, you'll quickly pull out a film about friendship between humans and dolphins.

Start Listening to Vinyl Records

Evenings spent listening to vinyl records through a crackling turntable with classic albums are priceless. This is the most cozy thing you can imagine. Records are played at half volume to not interrupt intimate conversations. The Beatles, Miles Davis, Nina Simone — melodious classic of the 20th century on vinyl — this is what you should truly collect.

Design: Nina Ivanenko

Organize the Balcony

While walks and trips are severely limited, create a window to Paris on your own balcony: dismantle all the clutter, remove old structures, paint the fence, change the floor covering. Set up a French café on the balcony and bake fresh baguettes! What to do, we'll just have to wait for flights to resume. But waiting in a pleasant environment.

Arrange Donations

There's a lot of people who need help in the world: sick children and adults, lonely elderly, homeless, political prisoners, and people just in a difficult life situation, women who have experienced domestic violence, independent charitable and human rights organizations, animal shelters, help centers, volunteer groups. By setting up a subscription to donations of at least 10 rubles to each organization, you'll develop a good habit of helping those who need it.

Hang Picture Frames

Do you have empty walls in the kitchen? Wall picture frames are back in style, surely you have too many beautiful ones to hide in the cabinet.

Get Into Pottery

Going to classes is too early, but you can make a list of the best studios and choose one near your home now. In good studios, there's usually a queue, but if you sign up now, you'll be able to go after the quarantine.

Optimize Kitchen Storage

There's always a lot of small things, accessories, and kitchen utensils on the kitchen that can be hard to organize. Here's how we explained how to organize storage systems and simplify life with simple tricks.

Repaint the Walls

Finally, there's time to do it: order several paint samples and make color swatches on manila paper. Apply them to the wall you were thinking about repainting, and finally make a choice.

Repaint Furniture

We've written many times about how to repaint furniture, including IKEA and even lacquered. Now it's just the right time to try it out, and get rid of that annoying wardrobe and unattractive stools.

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Give Children Full Freedom

By allowing them to repaint shelves, chairs, and even part of a wall, you'll solve the home quiet problem for a long time and get the chance to work with pleasure.

Organize Wardrobes

You've always wanted to try the KonMari method but never had time? Now is the perfect time to learn how to fold clothes like tubes and come up with organizers for clothes and shoes.

Create Travel Maps

Now, when quarantine is in full swing and all borders are closed, you want to travel more than ever. Tuscany, Switzerland, London? Create a list of places you're especially sorry about right now: this list will come in handy later, during the painful deliberations about where to go on vacation.

Learn Online Planners

You probably planned to renovate your dacha or update your urban apartment this year. Online space planners are here to help you: they allow creating an interior without a designer.

Generally, Learn Programs

This will come in handy! In music programs, you can organize a real karaoke and spend a Saturday evening. In video editing software, you can edit videos and add audio to them, in Illustrator — create posters to decorate your home. Organizers are useful to keep track of everything and financial planners will help you save more and spend less.

Make Bird Feeders

First, they're also having a hard time now, and second, it's an excellent way to keep children busy and free up time for quiet activities.

Learn to Make Bouquets

Didn't you always think that anyone could become a florist? Try it. First, you need to read the basics on the Internet, then order flower delivery and try mixing them. If it works out, you can decorate your home yourself without spending money on expensive bouquets or even open your own Instagram business. Pay attention to dried flowers: they can decorate spaces for a long time. At minimum, this activity will bring you a lot of pleasure.

Make Tablecloths and Napkins

You surely have extra fabric, but if not, you can order linen or cotton online. A handmade tablecloth will help create a country or Provence-style interior in the dining room. Combined with homemade bouquets, such a tablecloth will make the space much cozier.

Create Additional Zones

Using a rug and a table lamp, you can set aside space for reading, and with a countertop, an additional place by the window for breakfasts or drawing. We've written how to make a table at the windowsill. And about how to reupholster an old armchair you'll love spending time with a book in, too.

Design: Arina Troilova

Learn to Make Hot Chocolate and Cocoa with Marshmallows

Yes, the cold season for these warm drinks has passed, but hot chocolate is a year-round concept. And not to mention the rug and armchair, in the end.

Bake Charlotte with Children

We're sure you do it anyway, just this time let the kids handle everything not related to the hot oven. This way, you'll occupy them for an extra hour and give them lots of pleasure. Charlotte is served with ice cream: this should encourage little ones to tidy up the kitchen.

Replant Plants

Early spring is the best time for transplanting and feeding. In quarantine conditions, you can now calmly read everything about it. Here's detailed information on how to make plant life better.

Plant Seedlings

This is also an option. It's unlikely you've ever thought about starting tomatoes, but who knows what might come in handy now.

Learn to Knit Without Needles

It's too early for grandmothers with needles, but learning to knit by hand is fun and simple. By the way, this is how chunky wool blankets with big loops are made that we love so much. The perfect time to gain such a blanket.

Change the Look of Pillows

Now that you have a new blanket, it's time to create a matching set with decorative pillows. You've already learned to sew tablecloths, so why not try the next step: covers, even if not with zippers but with buttons. A good idea: learn fabric painting and create your own print. If you involve a child in this, you might get something artistically abstract.

Design: Arina Troilova

Brush Your Cat

Admit it, how often do you do this? Do you trim the animal's claws? Make it a rule to do it regularly, and start right now. At the same time, you'll say goodbye to scratched table legs and fur on carpets and sofas.

Draw a Portrait of Your Dog

Watch the YouTube course “Sketching from Scratch” and create a cool decor item using your favorite spaniel or Mops as a model (substitute your dog's breed).

Design: Viktoria Skorobohatko

Create a Shopping List...

One day all of this will end, and we'll all go shopping for the long-awaited shopping trip. To not get lost in stores anymore, make a list of desired items in advance. You can include pictures.

... and Online Purchases

Have you always wanted to learn AliExpress, but the long delivery stopped you? Well, now there's no rush at all. Start now! Tip: first gather everything you need in the cart, and then inspect its contents after a few days. You might find that you don't need everything.

Learn to Play Chess

This isn't so difficult, but it develops logic, keeps children occupied, and most importantly, calms the mind. If the chess set is big and beautiful, it looks great in the interior.

Make Food Preparations

Spring vegetables have just arrived: you can learn the deep freezing technology on them. Soon, when fresh berries and fruits appear, this skill will be very useful to create winter stores or just learn how to save money. By the way: the nutritional value of food doesn't decrease if frozen correctly. We've written about this in detail here.

Make Granola Base

How much do you spend in general on muesli or granola in cafes? Stop doing this! Now that you have frozen berries, buy nuts. Mix nuts and dried fruits with berries and oats, add honey, bake in the oven, and scatter into jars. If you buy a yogurt maker and learn to make homemade yogurt, you'll get the healthiest breakfasts in the world.

Start Living a Healthy Lifestyle

With such breakfast, half the job is already done. Now find a five-minute workout on YouTube, download meditation and fitness apps, and set notifications. Dedicate half an hour a day to physical exercises, and by the end of quarantine, you'll see the results in the mirror. Add cold water rinses and dry brush massages, and your supple skin will thank you.

Redesign the Layout

Now that your curtains have been washed and hemmed, chairs and wardrobes repainted, and the armchair reupholstered, you have nothing left to create a spring mood with a small redesign. Get ideas from our website and experiment!

Design: Nina Ivanenko

Remove 'Annoying' Little Things

Has the towel holder in the bathroom been hanging around for a long time? Do you need more hooks in the kitchen? Does the lid keep falling off the pot? The perfect time to find the right hooks, holders, and locks and make micro-repairs on all these constructions.

Wash Tiles in the Bathroom

Really, when else? We've written in detail about how to clean tiles and grout to a shine. Study and act! Your good mood will thank you later.

Organize the Home Medicine Kit

With all these precautions, you probably have more medical supplies at home. To keep it all organized, it's time to set up convenient storage for medications. We've written about how to do this here in detail.

Make a Long-Lasting Antiseptic

The WHO recommended an effective hand antiseptic that can be carried with you and refilled even if the product is not available in stores. These sprays can be distributed to all household members. We provide the recipe here: you'll see for yourself, it's not complicated.

On the Cover: Design by Kati and Egor Vokihin