Cool Things Right at Home during lockdown: The World Health Organization has labeled COVID-19 a pandemic. Academic experts recommend public health measures such as ‘social distancing’ to curb the spread. As of 25th March, India is on complete lockdown for 21 days. It’s a positive step to curb the spread of Coronavirus. For the next three weeks, we are restricted for space but have loads of time at our disposal. 

Here are few ideas to keep these 21 days productive and free of lethargy:

#Spare 30 Minutes for your Body

Pick up a time in the morning or evening for your exercise routine and stick to it. It won’t take up much of your time but help you remain fit and active throughout the lockdown. 

As we already know our body immunity strength is the only thing that can help us in defeating COVID-19.  Just start with WARMUP (10 mins) then WORKOUT (15mins) and at last COOL DOWN (5mins).

  • Warm-up: Arm Swings, Standing Side Bends, Spinal Rotation, Alternate Toe Touches, and Skipping.
  • Workout: Half Crunches, Toe Taps, Static/ Dynamic Glute Bridge, Chair Squats, Calf Raise and Mountain Climbs.
  • Cool Down: Seated Butterfly/Inner Thigh Stretch, Hamstrings Static Stretch (lying), Quadriceps Static Stretch (lying), Lower Back Static Stretch, and Chest Static Stretch.

# Enroll for Online Workshops

There’s so much to learn even from the comfort of your home. From Yoga, Playing Music Instruments, Online study course classes and many more you can upskill yourself during this Coronavirus lockdown.

The only thing you have to do is analyze yourself and think about what you want to do but due to a busy schedule, you can’t. Now here is time, learn and enjoy your hobby.

#Try a New Recipe to Keep Busy

This is a perfect time, we can build our cooking skills. In India, mostly Indian females are responsible for preparing the family’s food. But why only females, it can be done by anyone: Male Bachelors why are you dependent on a maid or maggie, Working Women- Prepare healthy food for the family. Keep the ingredients minimal so you don’t have to rush to the grocery store anytime soon. But if you haven’t cooked in a long time, now’s your chance to wear that chef’s hat again and prepare a meal for yourself. At the same time, try out new hot and cool drinks since your market-bought drinks will now be limited.

# Gardening

Now come to the balcony or garden. Waste-pickers will most likely bring down their shifts (as they should, Coronavirus won’t spare anyone) but your bins need not be overflowing. Pick a spare container and try composting most of your wet waste.

  • A simple method, just put 1/4 moist soil inside that container as a base then put a thick layer of wet waste then again a thin layer of moist soil, repeat this till all waste is getting consumed. Now cover the top of the container with a perforated lid or with a cloth and keep aside for approx 2 weeks. After two weeks the soil is ready, now transplant your old plants in new compost soil and keep used soil aside for upcoming kitchen wet waste compost soil preparation.
  • Some seeds from the vegetables and fruits you have stocked can be used to make a flourishing garden. Space or no space, you can have tomato, onion, carrot, cucumber, chili saplings in small containers. At the end of these three weeks, you can have a nice mini-garden right in your home!
  • Most of us have empty plastic bottles lying around. Convert them into pretty hanging planters. They go perfectly well on any windows and can help purify indoor air too!

# Pamper Yourself

Many fruit and vegetable peels are fantastic for your skin. They exfoliate, hydrate and rejuvenate your skin to make it super soft. Now that you have additional time at your hands, why not make a spa day out of it and get back your glorious skin texture. 

While you are at it, revive your beautiful locks too! Now is the time when you can oil your hair generously, apply homemade hair packs and spare hours together pampering your hair. No pollution, no outdoor chemicals to hamper your hair. I say, go for those much-deserved natural hair spas and come out of this feeling gorgeous!

# DIY’S

Have you hoarded old clothes because they are too special? Well, while you are sitting at home during the coronavirus lockdown, transform them into something you will use. Let’s safeguard your sentiments while also utilizing old clothes. 

Entangling wires, cluttered socks, and messy drawers often make the room look super untidy. The solution? DIY organizers made from trash! It doesn’t take much time or effort to make them and you’ll end up with a cleaner, tidier looking room! 

Summer is upon us and birds might be looking for food and water more than usual. Make a bird feeder or simply put bowls of water and bird feed (ripe fruits, grains, etc) on your terrace or balcony. That’s all you need to do but the result is very rewarding!

And by that, we mean, do it yourself! Make candles, revive furniture, make mats from old clothes, convert cardboard into bookshelves- the opportunities are endless! Give your home a makeover with decor that you made yourself! All those DIY videos that you have saved in your lists but never utilized? Now is the time!

# Traditional Games to get You over the Lockdown Blues

Bring out those old board and card games that once had you engaged for hours together! Relive those childhood memories with your family members by playing them regularly. It will help you more if you restrict your screen time to x hours every day.