Positives of more time at home

[Winters100]

Like everyone else I would far rather be out living my normal life, but I have found some positive things to keep me going. Would be interested to know what suggestions others have:

1. The garden. I am lucky to have a garden and have started to give it some proper attention. Broken down into tasks that will take some time, but at the end of this it will hopefully be weed free! ALso found lots of seeds which in due course will be planted - some are a bit old, but who knows, I might be lucky!
2. Languages, something for which I have 0 talent, but I have found a great free app called Duolingo. Putting aside 45 minutes in the morning and again in the evening to to to re-learn Russian - I had some basic knowledge 20 years ago so time to brush up! I don't think that nay actual teacher could put up with my lack of talent, but the app will hopefully be able to tolerate it
3. Able to properly look after the one member of the household who has to go to work. Make nice food for him, iron shirts properly etc
4. Cleaning! I used to hate this, but it is strangely satisfying now that I have time to do it properly. Have so far emptied, sorted and cleaned all kitchen cupboards and will move through the house.
5. Dog training. I never paid much attention to it before, but actually it is quite fun.
6. My wardrobe. At the moment full of all sorts of odd things that I will never wear again. Tomorrow they will all be sorted into what is needed and what is not!
7. All my old bits of tack. They are on the list for cleaning and sorting. Ditto old rugs which I will was / patch up, and will send the ones that I don't need to a charity when this is over.

Does anyone else have things that they are finding satisfying at the moment?

Chin up everyone.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Tax - not fun but feel smug now I’ve done it.

Weeding gardens and lots of pruning and trimming. Looks amazing.

Rugs - we have way too many. Giving a load away.

Baking - never normally have time for it. Only one failure so far.

Reading - we own probably 200-300 horse books. Enjoying some I haven’t read for years. Relearning why horsemanship is so important.

Cleaning tack - hiding my obsession for quality bridles from husband by cleaning them and zipping them back into their bags quickly.

 

[luckyoldme]

We are both truck drivers working monday to friday away from home.
One of the things we cant get over is actually being allowed to stay at home over the weekend.
Family say they understand but they dont.2 days at home is nothing.
We have done a bit of gardening and im getting on with the quilt ive been trying to make for months.
We are completely the opposite of everyone else...we are only getting two days of lockdown a week ..and the its getting quite scary and hard down the road.

 

[milliepops]

We are both truck drivers working monday to friday away from home.
One of the things we cant get over is actually being allowed to stay at home over the weekend.
Family say they understand but they dont.2 days at home is nothing.
We have done a bit of gardening and im getting on with the quilt ive been trying to make for months.
We are completely the opposite of everyone else...we are only getting two days of lockdown a week ..and the its getting quite scary and hard down the road.

Does it get a bit lonely?

I keep making a mental list of things I want to do but my work life is carrying on as normal so I've only got the weekends too really, I'm always a bit over optimistic about what is possible to fit in to 2 days ?

 

[luckyoldme]

Does it get a bit lonely?

I keep making a mental list of things I want to do but my work life is carrying on as normal so I've only got the weekends too really, I'm always a bit over optimistic about what is possible to fit in to 2 days ?

No!! Ive never in my life been in a 24/7 relationship or evan met a bloke brave enough to have 7 nights a week at home!
With todays technology sometimes i still feel i need time out from the phone .. during the week i park up where i can but if at all possible i go as remote as i can and get out for a walk
The thing i miss the most is the gym and swimming .thats a huge benefit during the week!

 

[doodle]

4. Cleaning! I used to hate this, but it is strangely satisfying now that I have time to do it properly. Have so far emptied, sorted and cleaned all kitchen cupboards and will move through the.

I found myself Brillo passing the teaspoons yesterday.....

 

[Upthecreek]

Our household is a very busy one with two adults working long hours in full-time jobs which both involve travelling & being away from home a fair bit (normally, but not now obviously). Three kids - one at uni, one doing A-levels and the youngest is 15. Our horses usually take up nearly all of our leisure time for me and both girls and this has pretty much been the case all their lives. My son plays football at county level so leisure time for him is usually spent training or travelling bloody miles to play matches.

Since normal life has stopped I have noticed that all the kids are very relaxed. There is no longer any rush to get to places to do stuff. They are all spending a good part of each weekday on school work (once I’ve managed to get them out of bed!), but they are also reading books, playing tennis in the garden and even some old board games have seen the light of day! They are obviously still all spending way too much time on social media, but at least now they have the excuse of needing to keep in touch with their friends!!

All three have been cooking and baking, with mixed results! So I guess the positive of all this is that they have all had to find other things to occupy their time and do different things than usual. And many of these things they don’t get time to do or wouldn’t think of doing in ‘normal life’.

 

[Jules111]

It's a very strange time isn't. I'm a Key Worker, work is crazy with all leave booked for Easter now cancelled and weekend/evening working being the norm. My house is a disaster area, kids off school and creating mess in every room. Horses on DIY livery and are being cared for to meet basic needs but no time to spend on grooming, riding, or playing about with them. Can't enlist help for any of this. I have friends who are climbing the walls due to boredom who would love to help but can't. Really odd situation. Just have to hope we'll be out of this soon.

 

[turnbuckle]

It's lovely to pick up the thread with old friends one had more or less lost touch with because everyone was so busy busy busy. And I've even buried the hatchet on a couple of fall-outs, which I thought I never would......!

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

I live alone and between the BF and the horse, I barely had time to keep the house tidy, let alone clean. Meals were quick and easy.

Now I eat well, cook properly and don't understand how I ever struggled with 5 fruit & veg per day.

The garden (wilderness might be a better word), now has a patch of grass you can walk through and I've dug a bed which will become a border once I can buy plants again! I found out the stepping stones were actually a full path hidden under growth. I've sown some garlic cloves, planted 3 plants and started growing tomatoes in my conservatory.

I've also bought a bike. I've been wanting to for a while but it never made it up the priority list but it has now.

I'm not happy isolated, but there are some benefits.

 

[oldie48]

As OH and I are both retired we are used to being home quite a lot but with all my outings cancelled I find I have loads of time on my hands. I've just cleaned out my spice and herb cupboard and discovered multiples of so many things. I am not a panic buyer just forgetful but three lots of lemon grass is going it I could actually open a Thai restaurant! I've also got a sourdough starter going as it's proving difficult to buy yeast. I am doing quite a lot of cooking as I don't want to waste anything. Garden is also getting a lot of attention but then again, it always does at this time of the year. However, OH has put a hot water shower in the stables so we can wash our hands (or horse!).

 

[luckyoldme]

Not so much a positive of being at home more a positive of less shopping hours.
Due to early start on monday..i sleep in the wagon on a Sunday night.
I like my job but sunday nights are a wrench..i love my weekends. So i set off and allways have an internal dilema about chocolate...like a massive bag of revels just to soften the blow of going back to work.
Last night the shop was shut and I survived without chocolate! Im hoping this will break the habit!

 

[meleeka]

I sorted my wardrobes out yesterday which was hugely satisfying. I’m on a mission now to have everything in its place and do an actual spring clean, something I’ve never done before.

The best thing is I haven’t cooked for a week! OH has been cooking tea while I do the horses, which is very nice of him as it’s a chore for me. Horses are on my land just up the road, so not too much has changed for me in that respect.

 

[Spotherisk]

I found myself Brillo passing the teaspoons yesterday.....

I just bleach them!

 

[Pinkvboots]

We cleaned both of our cars on Saturday which we never do as we just pay to get them done normally, I actually find I have talent for polishing cars my oh was so impressed with how they looked afterwards I fear it might turn out to be a permanent job for me now.

 

[J&S]

I seem to have spent my whole life saying to myself or any one else "I haven't got time for.........", now on over 70's lock down I am able to do things in my own time at my own pace and not feel that slight panic of not being in the right place at the right time doing the right thing! I do feel guilty though that I am not able to participate in helping the community and sad not to be able to go to my local RDA centre where I have been a Coach for the last 20 years.

 

[Orangehorse]

I am trying to to do one "extra" thing every day, so I'm not rushing. I still have horse and pony to muck out feed and hope to start to do a bit of groundwork when OH gets round to rolling the paddock. Dog gets a slightly longer walk.

So far I have

Last week when it was hot I did a lot of bedding, towels, extra washing for things
Cleaned the oven! I know it should be done more often than I do and I had been thinking for weeks "I really must clean the oven"
Got the sewing machine out and did some mending. I might move on to finishing some things I started/make chair covers as the current ones int he kitchen are worn out.
Thinned out the strawberry plants. I can't buy seeds at the moment, all sold out.
Sorting and cleaning the pantry, one shelf at a time.
Got the exercise bike out and I also have a mini trampoline, but mustn't overdo it!

I plan to got through the book shelves, particularly cookery books, I have enough to start a shop. Most of my buys are from charity shops so I can quite happily recycle them again.

 

[ameeyal]

Me and my husband never take time off my our work, and never go away on holidays , we are always busy. 6 years ago we bought an ex dairy farm with 30 acres, the weekends are not long enough to do all the work to get the land and building in good shape, we are now relishing this time off from our work to catch up on so many jobs, we go out side at 9 o'clock with sandwiches and don't get back in the house in till 6 o'clock in the evening, have to say we are just loving the time at home to catch up, as well as horse riding everyday and dog walking.

 

[tristar]

i`m shattered from doing things, but found the time to eat a whole box of chocs

 

[Upthecreek]

i`m shattered from doing things, but found the time to eat a whole box of chocs

I devoured a whole chocolate orange today ?

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I am a young retiree with a few part time jobs which have dried up so I have few more hours free so little has changed for me. CV19 has left me feeling very out of sorts and unmotivated but I have kept going and have completely cleared the orchard bar the bonfires which I’m pleased about. DP is off games anyway so not riding him and sharer is riding my other pony. I could ride him but I’m worried about having a fall and putting the NHS under more pressure so I have stopped which is silly as he is far more reliable and bombproof than DP.

 

[Winters100]

I devoured a whole chocolate orange today ?

Oh don't! I am not overweight (yet), but I do gain really easily (and if I am honest am a bit prone to being greedy!) so need to keep a strict eye on it. With the lower amount of activity, coupled with more time hanging around the fridge, I am having to be super super careful! I never normally have time to snack with work and horses, but I keep finding myself looking hopefully in the cupboard where I keep the snacks for nightshifts! Thankfully they are in limited quantities and needed more by others, so far I am resisting......but it could be a long haul

 

[tiahatti]

I have been sewing and knitting. It's nice having time to do this. The hoover and duster have seen some action too.
I like baking but keep telling myself I dont need to make high calorie goodies if I am not going to burn them off.

 

[J&S]

Yes, I fear I shall come out of this a fat wino!

 

[Chinchilla]

Everyone's being so productive..... So far I haven't done much beyond mess around with my animals. ? and get into debates over the fact that yes, we definitely DO need a chicken house and a pond....

 

[On the Hoof]

Everyone's being so productive..... So far I haven't done much beyond mess around with my animals. ? and get into debates over the fact that yes, we definitely DO need a chicken house and a pond....

phew, not just me then except pondering ponds and chickens , definitely not on my agenda but only because I dont have the room, if i had I would no doubt be pondering them also

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I am not pondering ponds as I already have one but I am hanging around the fridge far to much ? As for chickens I have the space, the run and the house but have refrained as I wanted to rehome battery hens and they have halted all adoptions.

 

[Trinket12]

With no riding I’ve had to go back to running (not my favourite thing )

Have also made some sourdough starter dough, will have a go at baking the loaf at the weekend. Made some scotch eggs (they don’t sell them in Canada) and just organized my closet!

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I don't work now due to chronic physical and mental health issues but am finding Im able to add a little more structure to my day at the moment. I have to carefully pace my activities so that I don't burn out but have managed to do a few extras which I'm really pleased about.
I live alone anyway so I don't mind too much but I'm struggling with a few issues which means not seeing friends and family is hard.
Enjoying being able to just sit down with a book or my felting work without feeling guilty that I should be doing other things

 

[QuantockHills]

I am not pondering ponds as I already have one but I am hanging around the fridge far to much ? As for chickens I have the space, the run and the house but have refrained as I wanted to rehome battery hens and they have halted all adoptions.

the group i'm involved with are still planning re-homes and have just put in extra arrangements and precautions for when we're allowed out again... check out 'fresh start for hens' on the internet! my girls are stopping me going mad....!