Raising children is tremendously challenging and difficult because you’re on call for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with virtually no break. It can be draining to keep up with the needs of children, but the stress just vanishes when they reach certain early milestones that make you proud and make all that work worth it. Apart from acting as a primary caregiver for a child, stay-at-home parents also take care of the house, and that means chores like cooking, cleaning, and even washing clothes.
As any employee with a job would, parents also need to take a break or get busy with something other than child rearing. Making some time to do hobbies and other fun stuff can be beneficial to the mood and overall health of stay-at-home parents. When you have children, you don’t have to revolve your life around them and if you’re looking for ideas of fun things you can do at home, look at the list below:
Upgrade Important Fixtures
The thought of having a hobby may not sound so appealing to you yet if you’ve always been busy with taking care of your kids. As a prelude to being comfy with the idea to find something else to think about other than childcare, take a good look at your house, and see what needs fixing or upgrading. If you find that you have furniture and fixtures that need replacing, it would be a good time to do it.
With furniture, you can easily order what you need online and have it delivered to you directly. Carefully check the dimensions of your space to ensure that everything will fit together. As for fixtures, the bathroom has some of the most important ones, like the toilet and the sink.
If you’ve been having problems with clogging and drainage lately, consider getting a macerating toilet from Saniflo. You’ll find that your life will be easier with an upflush toilet because all the waste will go through the sewage with no problems. The best part about it is that an upflush toilet is designed to be easy to install, so there’s virtually no downtime if you decide to get one. Plus, you don’t need custom equipment or to destroy floors or ceilings to put in additional pipes for it.
Plant a Garden
Speaking of getting a new hobby (but not really), planting a garden is a good way to learn something new. Whether you have the backyard space to grow some fruits and vegetables or whether you just want a portable herb garden in your kitchen, the yield is something you can use especially if you cook homemade meals all the time. You also save some money from every harvest.
Planting a garden can be a lifelong hobby, and you can cultivate many other plants as you advance. It is also something you can do together with your kids in the future. If you garden with your children, manage your expectations about clean floors especially when you’re done for the day. Take a look at these steps for starting a garden.
Explore Fitness Options
Exercising is good for everybody, but not a lot of people have the time to do it. If you’re a stay-at-home parent, going to the gym may be out of the question for you if you have kids to look after to.
Explore other fitness options, especially exercises you can do at home. Reserving at least 30 minutes of physical exercises can help reduce stress, increase your energy, and improve your mood.
Read a Book
If you’re an avid book reader, nothing makes reading more enjoyable when you’re just as home. The great thing about books is that you can do it as a hobby for free by going to your nearby local library.
You can also buy your own books online or grab a digital copy you can read from a device. Whether you are into thrillers, romance, or any other type of literature, there’s a vast selection available to suit your preferences.
For thriller enthusiasts, authors like J.D. Barker and Riley Sager can offer gripping, suspenseful stories that can keep you on the edge of your seat. On the other hand, if romantic comedies are more your style, you might enjoy the lighthearted and witty novels by Sophie Kinsella and Tessa Bailey, both of whom are known for crafting delightful love stories filled with humor and charm.
If you’re not really into books, it would be a good time to start getting in the habit.
Get Into Cooking/Baking
Another valuable hobby you can develop is cooking and/or baking. There are a lot of benefits when you’re good at making food: you feed your family well, and you can make your food healthy.
Your cooking/baking hobby will also expand their taste palates, so instead of having the same kinds of food week after week, your family will learn of new dishes every time you try a new recipe every week. You can take culinary classes or experiment in your kitchen to make it fun.
Learn to Play an Instrument
There is no such thing as too late when trying to learn something new, least of all, learning how to play an instrument. Take advantage of being a stay-at-home parent by picking up the guitar, piano, or whatever instrument you desire when you have some downtime at home.
You can take formal instruction from an expert, but if, for some reason, you can’t go out of the house, you can always look at online tutorials or sign up for online tuition from Tremolo Guitar School, and practice.
Scrapbooking
The great thing about scrapbooking is that you can expend your creative side and you can do it without any proper tutorial. You can just pick up a scrapbooking kit from a store and decorate your scrapbook as much as you like.
Scrapbooking is also a handy hobby because you can make a scrapbook full of memories of your children. These books will be there for years after your children have left the nest, and you can use it to look back together with them. If you want to make a scrapbook from scratch yourself, here’s a good tutorial.
Learn Calligraphy
There are different mediums you can use in calligraphy. Whether you use ink or watercolor, creating something can be a great way to relax and unwind after a long day.
If you’re a complete beginner, it can take some time to master brush strokes, but once you get the hang of them, you’ll be making masterpieces in no time. Once you deem your works good enough, you can even start a little calligraphy business.
Learn to Make Organic Anything
Chemical-free and organic everyday items are hot on the market right now. You can take up soapmaking or candle making and make it profitable by selling products online. The great thing about having this kind of hobby is that you can invent your own scents and products that are completely your own. If your venture takes off, you may have an option to turn it into a full-time business in the future.
Go Back to Things You Used to Enjoy
Having kids is not a reason to stop doing the things you used to enjoy. When you’re free or you have some time to spare, revisit past hobbies and see what happens. You may either find out that you no longer enjoy it or reignite your passion. Whatever it is, it’s totally okay to pick up and learn a new thing or two. The most important thing is that you never stop learning.
What fun things do you do when you’re at home? Share your thoughts below.
I do like these tips. I need to go back to do things I used to love when I was young.