A “how to” guide to staying at home!

“There’s no place like home.” Everyone knows this saying, but what to do? 10 ideas.

Hand lettering – learning how to write beautifully

This awakens memories of primary school days: way back when letters were copied as blockletters and later joined-up. But this can also be learned in its most beautiful version – at the same time, it’s good practice for your next birthday card. Warm-up exercises and hand lettering alphabets are available on the lettering and graphic design website Papier-Liebe.

Brushes and brush pens are particularly suitable for hand lettering. However, you can use other pens if these are not available. It is important to make the downward lines wider.

More than painting

Not everyone has a natural gift for drawing – and yet (almost) everyone can learn to draw. Three points are especially important for this: practice, practice and even more practice.

Equipped with pen and paper, you will find plenty of subjects in your own home that are just waiting to be drawn. Hobbeasy has step-by-step instructions if you have the motivation and just need to know the basics. 

Feel-good factor: cleanliness

Ever heard of the term “cocooning”? It comes from the word cocoon and it means withdrawing from the world into your own four walls. The right basis is important here: cleaning and tidying up doesn’t sound like fun at first. Household games, such as matching up socks on a countdown, make it easier to find the necessary motivation. In this way, tidying up becomes one of many attractive leisure ideas.

Making memories: this time will pass – everything will be fine 

So, you’ve spruced up your home and this should be commended: by drawing attention to your home and, of course, its occupants, through home photography.

Simply let your creativity run wild and take pictures of what comes in front of the lens – your home, your family and, thanks to the self-timer, the photographer. Just one small tip: we often look our best in natural light. 

Don’t forget to keep fit

Doing sports at home has become normal for us at least since the lockdowns. Whether small workouts without equipment, the 5 Tibetans (a strength-building sequence of yoga exercises) or sweaty indoor cycling sessions that get your pulse racing in no time – many things are possible in your living room at home.

Food makes you happy

Continue the creativity in the kitchen! Trying out new recipes is fun and is also great for your palate. You don’t necessarily need many ingredients for this. Simply use what you find in your cupboards.

An ingredient-based recipe search is helpful for this: There’s a possible use for every type of food thanks to Restgourmet, Chefkoch and many more. Simply enter food into the query form and find out what you can conjure up from it. This is a good way to dare to try out new recipes. And by the way: you’re allowed to improvise!

Other countries, other languages

Those seized by wanderlust can take the time to prepare for their next trip – linguistically. If you can communicate with locals on holiday using more than just gestures, you will get to know the country and its people better.

Online language courses, such as Babbel and many more, for beginners and advanced learners make it possible to learn a language using just your smartphone. And for those who are lacking someone to talk to, tandem platforms provide the opportunity to find partners with whom to practice what you’ve learned. The exchange then takes place online – via video chat or telephone.

Keeping your mind in shape

There are online offerings for every area of interest. Whether programming via programming courses and tutorials from the search engine reecodecamp, playing the guitar with tutorial videos by Justin Guitar or tying fishing knots with the Fishing Knots app. Why not use your time at home to focus on yourself and your goals?

Book club 4.0

Read more – a classic New Year’s resolution. It often goes out of the window after a few months and you have to constantly remind yourself to do it. If you’re lacking the motivation to do it alone, you can set up a digital book club – a good opportunity for a regular exchange with the loved ones you’re unable to see at the moment.

Of course, not all of our friends have the same books on hand. But delivery services make it possible. For example, the Berlin book shop Uslar & Rai offers a bicycle delivery service.  

Quality screen time

With the home office, video conferencing has also become the new normal for many people. Here a meeting with colleagues, there a jour fixe with business partners. It’s understandable that people immediately close their laptops after work. But the digitalization push also has advantages: Being more proficient in videoconferencing also makes it more normal to talk to family on the phone via Facetime or to cook with friends via video telephony.