As you know, the world is in a total madness state now. From political madness (like Brexit, China-US “trade war” etc.) to the new serious health pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus that basically closed borders and quarantined countries across the globe. Today, we don’t want to freak you out even more (looking at you media!!) we just want to help you get over this rough period for humanity as we share with you our ideas of what you can do with your life during the Covid-19 quarantine.
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But first: Why we went MIA for so long.
Before we get to the goodies, let’s have a little recap of our situation, because we’ve been MIA for quite some time now, and we feel like you deserve an explanation, lovely dreamer.
In the month of October 2019, Andy and I, being Maya, decided we wanted to come back to Transylvania for a while, and basically take a breather from the madness that has become our lives (being stuck in dead-end menial jobs when we are capable of so much more, paying rent so high for an apartment so old, outdated and small, being tired and depressed all the time, maybe finally get married… all that).
So we basically packed up our lives, bought a van, played Tetris for 3 days trying to make all of our boxes fit in the van, and drove off from our heart’s home, Perth, Scotland, so our “real” home, in Oradea, Transylvania, Romania. We were supposed to stay here for a while, get the apartment refurbished, and eventually go back to our heart’s home, in Scotland.
But then. the planet started going mad.
From Brexit to our own problems (like trying to readjust to the life here, and getting the apartment done), we simply said – let’s postpone going for a bit, finish our online courses, get the skills and the certificates we need, and go back after.
Well, fate had something else in mind, I guess.
When the Covid-19 hit, we knew. This was going to be our home now, at least for the foreseeable future. So we got on with it, room by room, day by day, and now, we-re 90% done with everything, and damn, our living room is so cozy!
With all the books in place, and almost all our GeekGear collectibles and all the others out, it’s starting to feel like home, a real home. Enjoying a nice cup of tea in this corner and reading something is quite an awesome repay for all the stress and the hard work we’ve done these past few months.
What do you think?
But enough with the chit-chatting! Let’s get to it!
What to do with your life during the Covid-19 quarantine
Even if you’re in quarantine because you decided to keep yourself safe from others. or others from you, I hope you know that this is not the end of the world like mass media makes it look. It’s just a rough patch, and we need to adapt to it, even if it takes some time to do so.
Here are just a few of our tips and tricks that make our life easier, and the time flies by like crazy:
1. Deep-clean the entire house
Starting with the boring stuff, but a necessary sacrifice. Deep clean every surface, under and over every piece of furniture you own. I know it’s tedious, and you might find at least 10000 excuses NOT to do it, but think of it this way: a clean space is less likely to make you ill.
Also, don’t forget about your beloved tech devices: laptops, phones, tablets, game controllers, the freaking remote!
Yes, we’re not experts in this, but it’s only logical. Less harmful bacteria, fewer chances to compromise your immunity. A strong immunity gives you more chances to stay safe.
You don’t have to spend crazy amounts of money on cleaning solutions, just DIY them ( see links below) by mixing simple things like rubbing alcohol, water, vinegar (or lemon juice), dish soap, bicarbonate of soda and essential oils in various quantities.
They are super easy to make, last quite some time, are healthier for you, especially if you have a sensitivity to chemicals, or small children to look out for, and most importantly, you can make them for a quarter of the retail price of normal cleaning solutions.
Here are some of our articles, to help you with your cleaning:
–What cleaning essentials you need to have in your home – 5 easy tips for newbies
–DIY cleaning products for newbies -cheap, easy, natural
–How to have a cleaner home – 5 easy tips for newbies
–7 Lazy people MOM approved cleaning hacks you need to know now
–How to properly clean your tech devices
2. Organize, organize, organize
Because we love to learn new things every day, how to keep our stuff organized is a skill that we were eager to learn, and so happy we have great tools like Pinterest to help us through this.
You might think, why in the heck is this important? Why would I like to do this? Well, why not ask yourself this: Aren’t you tired of clutter? Of trying to find a simple thing like the hairbrush in the mess? It’s like trying to find a needle in the haystack. Trust me, I’ve been there.
Using stuff like jars of various sizes for the kitchen, boxes for the wardrobe, shelves for the pantry, and these cute baskets for your bathroom, and a must-have in the dressing – the multiple trouser hanger -you can make wonders around even the smallest of apartments.
There are so many ideas on how to declutter and organize on the internet, you just have to take your pick. Here’s a list of our favorites for inspiration.
– 21 Genius Japanese Small Space Hacks You Will Want to Copy Right Now
– 13 Brilliant Ideas For Organizing Small Spaces
– Storage Ideas For Small Spaces: 11 Tips To Organize A Small Home
– 11+ Genius Organization Hacks for Tiny Bedroom
And of course, you can stalk Marie Kondo for many, many, many, many more!
3. Learn a new skill/ improve an existing one
Being stuck at home is the absolute perfect time to do even more useful stuff for yourself. Why not learn something new? YouTube is filled with various tutorials from cooking to painting, but if you want something more, and that gives you a lifetime available certificate as well, try Udemy.
There are so many courses on Udemy, in so many fields, it’s amazing! Some of our favorites include:
– The Web Developer Bootcamp by Colt Steele
– Adobe Lightroom Classic CC & CC: Photo Editing Masterclass by Phil Eibner
– The Secret sauce of great writing by Shani Raja
and there are so many more!
The fun thing about Udemy is that they have super sale events every few months when all the courses go from their full price down to 90% off, or more! And trust me, the deals are worth it.
Also, if you’re smart enough to set up a Honey account beforehand, and have Honey installed on your browser, you also get the chance to make some coins back on every purchase! Woop-Woop!
4. Read
How many times have you said: I would love to read, but there’s just no time for that! Well, now’s just the time for that! Start with something small, and still very relevant, like: The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity, by Carlo M. Cipolla. Superfast read, witty, and will make you want to read more.
There are so many books out there that just wait for you to read them! Pick something you like. Fantasy? Sci-fi? Personal development? Maybe The Witcher series? Whatever it may be, there’s definitely something you like out there.
I’m most definitely restarting the Harry Potter book series today!
But again, if you would love to read, but have other stuff to do, why not try an audiobook for a change? Many of them can be found in audio form, and with our link, you get 1 for FREE. Enjoy!
5. Pick up / keep up a hobby
If you are anything like me, you most definitely need some rest from the daily stress and use activities like cooking, writing or photography to do so. When was the last time you picked up a paintbrush? if ever?
Take this time to improve yourself. To relax. Do something that makes you happy, something that makes the child within dance around with joy. I’ve always wanted to pick up knitting. If this continues any longer and I will be that bored, that’s definitely in my future, haha.
6. Exercise & Meditate
If the new health situation is keeping you away from the gym for now, why not create a space for exercising indoors? All you need is a yoga mat, some weights (or just two bottles of water), and maybe a ball to balance your booty on – but that’s not mandatory.
Just pick a spot where you are comfortable and have enough space to move around. It can be in your bedroom, your living room, even your kitchen – if it’s big enough.
When we renovated the apartment, we specifically said that our exercising space would be in our bedroom, so we try to keep it as neat as possible. (Photos of our new apartment coming on Instagram soon!)
Here are some YouTube channels to help you with your exercising:
– Boho Beautiful
– Blogilates
– Lucy Lismore
7. Play some games
As gamers, it would have been just impossible to make this list without even mentioning the fun times you can have playing games. Board games, card games, video games, console games…. Games, games, games!
From Star Wars Monopoly to Warhammer Board Games, to Assassin’s Creed on the Xbox, anything goes. And it’s such a fun way of spending time with or without others.
8. Watch movies & TV series
I know that binge-watching stuff on Netflix is not the healthiest of activities, but why not enjoy your favorite TV shows while you can? Let’s be real, it’s a relaxing way to pass the time. And there’s so many to choose from! (The Witcher is a must!)
Hey, why not kill 2 days with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings extended movie marathons? Or try to figure out the right way to watch all the movies of the MCU in the right order ( from Iron Man to Avengers Endgame). There are over 20 movies so far available on DVD, so there’s enough for a while.
9. Set up a home office
It’s all fun and games, but money has to come around from somewhere, am I right? Now, for those of you not being healthcare workers and having to be out there in the field, setting up an office in the house might be strange and a bit difficult, if you don’t do it right.
First and foremost, you need a desk. I know that working from your bed sounds perfect, but not only is it counter-productive, but it’s unhealthy – for your body and the mind. Take this from a former bed blogger, your ass will get numb, your back will hurt like hell after a couple of hours, and you won’t be able to rest.
Next, a steady and reliable internet connection, so you can be connected to your team and communicate as normal.
And finally, silence, so you can concentrate. Yes, you are at home, but that doesn’t mean you are on vacation. You need to set up some boundaries and some simple rules with your family so that everyone understands that work is work, and playtime is playtime.
True, it might be difficult for you if you have small children running around and causing havoc, but look at it as an opportunity to educate and bond with them as well.
10. Start an online side-hustle
If you are in the worst-case scenario, like we are right now (jobless and quickly going through your savings), why not take this pandemic to do something else for a change? Start a side hustle online! Teach something on Udemy, start a YouTube channel, sell your photos or digital art online, or better yet – start a blog!
Starting a blog can be a bit scary, if you don’t know how to do it right, it’s true. But there are so many helpful guides out there and so many benefits to it! You get to make some money on the side, you relax your mind by writing, and you help people!
Share your wisdom, tips, tricks, how to’s … your most beloved recipes maybe? There’s definitely something you know, that others don’t. And it’s so easy to start a blog!
First and foremost, you have to get your hands on a blog hosting service that you trust and create a self-hosted blog. (not one that looks like yourname.blogspot.com, for example, but yourname.com).
This is very important if you want to monetize your blog properly because you can’t actually monetize it if it’s not self-hosted.
See below for more info about how blogging works, from our experience.
–What the Hell is a Blog Hosting Service? (and how to choose one)
– Can you make money blogging without blogging about blogging?
– July 2017 Income Report: How we made our first 260.56$ blogging
… and the most important tip of all…
11. Keep yourself safe!
Make sure to wash your hands as often as possible, avoid touching your face, or other people as much as you can, and most importantly try not to let media stress you with the Covid-19 news.
Keep yourself informed from official sources, like the WHO, the ECDC and other official sources in your country. Mass media and social media will try to scare you crazy. Please, please, please don’t fall into that.
If you need great sources for an update on the matter, check out Doctor Mike’s YouTube channel. He’s just awesome!
And most definitely, don’t buy all your money’s worth of toilet paper, or in Romania’s case, also flower and oil. That’s not going to save you!
Wash your hands, stay inside, and be safe, lovely dreamers!
Great Tips! I’ve been looking at courses on Udemy and coursera. I’m working remotely but there is still a lot of time on my hands that I’m trying to be as productive as possible with.