Let’s face it—times are a little rough right now. Whether you’re stuck working from home during this quarantine or straight-up out of work, you’re not alone in your boredom. Give these things to do when you’re bored a shot… one of these just might be the cabin-fever cure.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means we make a small commission when a purchase is made after clicking through a link. This comes at no additional cost to you. We value your trust & only recommend brands/products we truly love. Thanks for your support!
Free Things to do When You’re Bored
1. Organize Your Life
Why not give your planner a little TLC while you’re cooped up? This is the perfect time to make sure everything important is in your calendar, your bills are paid, your budget is balanced, and your important documents are filed away safely.
This is also a great time to comb through your old papers, cashed checks, and that god-awful mail pile that’s been collecting dust on your counter. You’ll feel so good after decluttering the paper in your home!
For a little help organizing those important dates, check out this free printable birthday & anniversary list.
2. File Your Taxes
I know, I know. Filing your taxes SUCKS. If you’ve been putting it off all tax season (like I have), this is your time to shine, my friend. Thankfully the internet makes it not-so-hard. My fav way to easily file taxes (for free!) online is TaxAct. The website is super user-friendly and it’s easy to import your W-2 for quick filing online.
Bonus: TaxAct does everything they can to get you the biggest refund possible, which means more money in your bank account! Use this link to try TaxAct & if you have to purchase additional features beyond a simple free tax filing, you’ll get 20% off! Whoop whoop!!
3. Reconnect with Old Friends
Life takes us in all sorts of directions. Because of this, we all have an old friend or two who we haven’t spoken to in awhile (maybe even years) that we still think of every now & then.
If you’re stuck inside anyway, this is a great time to reach out and check on the people you care about who you haven’t heard from in awhile. Who knows—maybe you’ve been on their mind, too!
4. Go Nuts With Your Laundry
This is an excellent time to get ahead on your laundry game. When’s the last time you washed all of the sheets in your house? The throw blankets & pillows on your couch? What about your rugs?
There are so many things that need occasional laundering, and it’s probably been awhile since you’ve washed it all. Try giving your shower curtains, coats that aren’t worn very often, scarves, beds your pets lay in, and even your window curtains a quick wash.
If you’re low on laundry supplies, check out Grove Collaborative. This is my FAV place to buy laundry essentials and they have plenty in stock! Every product they sell is safe & environmentally-friendly, plus their prices are amazing. I order all of my household supplies through Grove Collaborative every month & I seriously can’t recommend them enough.
Bonus: Grove Collaborative is offering a FREE full-sized laundry set with your first $20 purchase!
This set includes these FREE all-natural & full-sized items: Grove Laundry Detergent, Grove Laundry Dispenser, Grove Stain Remover, a surprise bonus gift, + free shipping! I know, it’s an AWESOME deal (worth over $30!)!!
Click HERE to claim your free laundry kit with your first $20 purchase at Grove Collaborative!
5. Finish a Book
I have to admit it—I’m a book starter. Not a book finisher, but at least I get them started, right?
If you’re anything like me, you probably have at least one (or maybe ten?) books laying around that you’ve picked up before but haven’t quite reached the end yet. Now is the perfect time to dive back in, especially if you’re starting to go a little stir-crazy.
“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”
—Mason Cooley
If you can’t find a good book at home, here’s some of my favs on Amazon Prime (that are also available on Kindle!):
- Self-Help Books: The Big Leap | Girl, Wash Your Face | It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way
- Fiction: Station Eleven | All the Light We Cannot See
- Trilogies: The Summer I Turned Pretty | The Hunger Games | Crank
- Classics: The Scarlet Letter (free on Kindle!) | Great Expectations (free for Kindle!) | The Old Man and The Sea (only 99¢!)
- Personal Finance: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind | Rich Dad Poor Dad | The Total Money Makeover
- Business/Entrepreneurial Books: Acres of Diamonds (free on Kindle!) | Think and Grow Rich | The Go-Giver
6. KonMari Your Home
If you haven’t watched Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix or read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you’re seriously missing out. The KonMari method lives up to the title of the book and it’s a legit life-changer.
This method is about more than just spring cleaning—it’s a total transformation of your home and the items you decide to keep there.
“If you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again.”
—Marie Kondo
It sounds a little scary, but it’s totally worth the read, the watch, and the doing. Just trust me on this one! (Click here to buy the book on Amazon.)
Things to do When You’re Bored That Aren’t Quite Free
7. Start a New Hobby
If you’re really that bored, there are tons of hobbies out there waiting for you. Here’s some fun ones to try:
- Knitting
- Bonsai Tree Growing
- Lettering / Modern Calligraphy
- Candle Making
- 3D Puzzle Building
- Watercolor Painting
- Journaling
- Reading (ahem… see #5)
8. Get Ahead on Gift Shopping
This is a great time to make your lists and check them twice. Who has a birthday coming up? Have you thought about Mother’s Day & Father’s Day gifts yet? Don’t forget the weddings & baby showers coming up this year!
One of my favorite places to find gifts is Etsy. This website has a ton of unique gifts for everyone plus they have so many gifts that can personalized.
Check out these posts for even more gift inspo:
RELATED POSTS:
—The Ultimate Amazon Prime Gift Guide for Women, 2020 Edition
9. Give Yourself an At-Home Spa Day
You deserve some pampering, babe! Turn your free-time into a luxurious spa day with some bath bombs, candles, and a face mask.
Here’s some of my fav spa day essentials: Organic Bath Bombs | Aromatherapy Candles | Dead Sea Mud Mask | Jade Facial Roller | Brown Sugar Scrub
10. Try Adult Coloring Books
If you’re STILL looking for things to do when you’re bored, adult coloring is a great option. It’s relaxing, therapeutic, and a great way to relieve the stress of being stuck at home.
Check out these Adult Coloring Books on Amazon if you’re just that bored!
(Just to clarify—I love adult coloring.)
What do you do when you’re bored? Tell me on Twitter!
RELATED POSTS:
PS: Don’t forget to check out our Freebie Library to snag some cool free stuff while you’re here.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means we make a small commission when a purchase is made after clicking through a link. This comes at no additional cost to you. We value your trust & only recommend brands/products we truly love. Thanks for your support!
Just when I thought I had done everything I could in isolation, I found this list!! At home spa day here I come!
Glad I could help!
There are so many things to do at home! I enjoy my introvert like which means enjoying indoors and did most of you’ve mentioned. I enjoy Konmari-ng my closet!
Yes! The KonMari method is awesome!!
Britt these are great 10 tips! I need to really get myself organised and make sure I don’t waste this time we have because it will go by so quick. What do you think?
Totally agree, time seems to fly way faster when you’re home all day. I have to admit that I’ve def wasted some of this precious time at home!
I have definitely been using the time to do all of these. I’m on my second book! Like the coloring books! I’ve been doing puzzles.
Love it! Puzzles are a great idea!!
I am super bored. I will definitely try some of these.
Good luck! I hope at least one of these cures your boredom ??
Great ideas to deal with this ongoing quarantine boredom!
Thank you 🙂
Wow lots of ideas to kill boredom while on quarantine mine I spend time for my blog and watching Netflix thanks to this!
Netflix & blogging are definitely great ways to keep the boredom away! Glad this list helped you 🙂
Great tips. I do love to read but haven’t managed to do much of it lately – unless we’re counting Room on a Broom, Where’s Bear or The Gruffalo.
I am growing a bonsai tree and I’ve managed to get through a tonne of laundry. #KCACOLS
Lol! Those books count to me! Love that you’re growing a bonsai tree & getting ahead on your laundry. Getting stuff done makes being stuck at home not so bad.
Thanks for the excellent suggestions! I am definitely trying to organise my life and get on top of the paperwork etc. as you suggest. I am also doing a little DIY around the home and trying to buy some soft furnishings so it looks more homely. Which will be perfect for when our family is allowed to visit again! Stay safe xx #KCACOLS
Love it! I’ve been doing a lot of little projects around the house too. It’ll be fun to see how everyone has improved their homes after all of this blows over!
Great list. I need to get myself organised more. #kcacols
Thanks Claire! This is a great time to get organized 😉
Some great ideas. I am enjoying catching up with all the books I have been meaning to read and box sets I’ve been meaning to watch! #KCACOLS
This is definitely a great time to catch up on books & shows!
I’ve done most of these. Mostly baking and eating a lot ;0 #KCACOLS
Lol! I’ve been doing a lot of baking & eating too?
I got a chuckle at the laundry one as I just put in a load and have never been so caught up in my life. House has never been this dust free before either #KCACOLS
Ha! I can definitely relate to this!!
I think everyone is surprised at how busy they have been while confined to home – like you say lots of things that tend to get overlooked (paperwork – urgh), I’m going to try and do a digital photography course, no excuses! #KCACOLS
This is SO true! There’s so many projects around the house that get put off when our lives get busy. I hope you’re able to finish your digital photography course!!
Some good tips. We’ve taken up Badminton and Finska. We spend over an hour a day on these. We even got a LED shuttlecock and I put fairly lights on the net so we have a bit of night action happening too. Dance to Hot Dub time Machine live streaming on our Saturday night (probably your Saturday morning so you could use it as a Kickstarter to your day). We had a trivia night last night – it was so much fun (across zoom) and I have another night over Kahoot). There is some good in this. But man, I really hope it’s over soon!!!!!! #KCACOLS
Those are all great ideas!! I love the idea of a trivia night over zoom. How fun! I totally agree with you. I’ve had some fun during these times too but it’ll be SO nice when it’s over!!
There’s a few on your list that I need to do ASAP lol. Thanks for sharing this at the Happiness Is Homemade party last week, I decided to feature this post at our current party! Congrats and thanks again 😀
Thanks so much! I appreciate the feature!! ❤️
These are great ideas for what to do if you are bored at home. Unfortunately, because I have a nearly two-year-old daughter, this is not the case with me at the moment. But the suggestions are really fantastic!
I wish you all the best
Nina
Thanks Nina! I love that your daughter keeps the boredom away for you 🙂