Apartment activities for a rainy day
The first two months of the year have brought record rainfall to Southern California, driving us into our apartments to weather the storm. While rainy days can be a welcome change of pace, persistent gloomy weather often leads to dampened moods, loneliness, isolation, and cabin fever. With 2024 forecasted to be an especially rainy year, even homebodies may need a refresh to their routine to keep spirits up and daily life interesting! As spring begins, try out a few of the following indoor activities in the comfort of your own apartment to liven up the routine.
Cultivate Creativity
Activating the right-side of the brain breaks up mundane routines and helps to boost our mood. Rainy season is the perfect time for exercising creativity and learning innovative hobbies that otherwise would not fit the schedule. Social media content consumption tends to increase during rainy days. Perhaps instead of consuming, you may want to try your hand at content creation as a digital activity! Cozy rainy days are the prime time to sit down with a laptop or mobile device and learn photo-video editing. For hands-on creatives, easy model kits, such as the viral book nooks or the famous Lego botanical collection have become widely available for beginners to experts. Model building keeps hands busy and challenges the creative process. If too many moving pieces get overwhelming, try more relaxing activities. Crochet has recently seen a spike in popularity, with makers daily creating new tutorials for how to crochet clothing, blankets, and stuffed animals. There is truly no end to the amount of crafts that can be learned right at home!
Get Classy
Turn your apartment into a lecture hall. As information on the internet expands day by day, we now enjoy the luxury of education in every subject imaginable accessible on demand. Whether learning a new language, building skills as a business owner, or simply gaining healthy personal finance practices, online courses can fulfill any curiosity. Sites such as Master Class and Udemy have university level courses from industry experts around the globe, often at discounted rates. YouTube also has thousands of short and free online courses for just about any subject. Pull out your laptop, curl up on the couch and enjoy the simplicity of college level learning right in your own living room!
Fix it Up
We are all far too familiar with how fast projects around the apartment pile up: much faster than they can be tackled! Between work, school, and social schedules, home repairs and larger projects tend to get pushed off until the to-do list feels unmanageably long. Sheltering from the rain for multiple days is the perfect time to tackle mounting projects! Perhaps your winter wardrobe is in need of organization for the changing seasons. Take advantage of the extra time indoors to follow our winter wardrobe organization tips and get ready for Spring! How about that end table in need of a fresh coat of paint? Throw on some music and start prepping the surface. Make sure to use proper ventilation and protective gear for sanding or applying paints and finishes with strong fumes. If some of last season’s clothes need mending, grab a needle and thread and immerse yourself in the cozy, crafty atmosphere! Whatever apartment projects on your to do list you need to finish, there is no time like a chilly rainy day to get it done!
Cook Off
While gloomy weather sleepiness may feel disruptive to our productive plans, fatigue is often a signal from the brain that the body is craving energy. Nothing feels quite as apropos for chilly weather as cooking a warm, delicious treat to energize yourself. Better yet, use the opportunity to try something new! Dust off the collection of grandma’s famous recipes or try the master chef challenge of the Gordon Ramsay Beef Wellington. Rainy days are perfect for stepping up to the cutting board and sharpening your cooking skills.
Game On
When the gloomy blues set in, the best way to dispel the clouds is a fun and healthy distraction. Get the whole household involved in a competition or a brain teaser. Board games engage the strategic mind and foster teamwork. Try working together to assemble a jigsaw puzzle, team up to solve a Murder Mystery, or test your skills with a virtual escape room. Alternatively, you can level up the competition by holding a video game tournament with games like Mario Kart. Whatever activities you choose, make sure to pick ones that encourage sunny attitudes to counteract the gloom.
Construct an Epic Pillow Fort
No matter what age you are, creating a hideaway of pillows and blankets is a fantastic activity to warm up the atmosphere! Pull out the old unused sheets, comfy pillows, and the fluffiest blankets you can find to build a big, coziest fort in the center of your apartment. Take caution however, as sheets are heavy and flammable. Make sure your fort is securely anchored and not hanging onto weak or breakable objects. Set up blankets far away from candles and outlets. Battery powered string lights add a warm ambience to chase out the cold. With your comfy fortress set up and a proper view of the TV, turn on your favorite movie or bingeable show, set up the board games, and hunker down for an exciting, cozy day.
Cozy Fitness
As the lack of sunshine starts to deplete our mood, staying active is more important than ever. However, as our bodies experience greater fatigue, we want to be mindful not to push ourselves to exhaustion. Try a few non-strenuous exercises to encourage circulation while remaining relaxed! Yoga is an excellent exercise for a rainy day, as it contributes to multiple components of your health, such as mental wellbeing, sleep, and posture, without over exerting your body. Yoga equipment is compact and easily stored, making it a great activity for the apartment. If you’re looking for a more cardio based fitness routine, check out Blogilates on YouTube for guided tutorials on Pilates and muscle toning!
Conquer Your TBR List
If you’re a book lover, rainy days are no problem! There are millions of books, both fiction and non-fiction to read and not nearly enough time. Extra time indoors means time to check off some of the books on your To-Be-Read list. If you’re on the hunt for a good book, but not sure where to start, check out Good Reads, a great online community for book lovers everywhere! Browse through fellow readers’ reviews to find your next exciting story. Make yourself a warm drink and begin a new adventure! Brew a health packed tea or a pour over coffee to sip on as you get lost in a new world!
Catch Up with Loved Ones
The recent popularization of video chat apps like zoom and FaceTime have brought us closer than ever to those who live far away! WIthout venturing outside of your apartment, you can connect with friends or family who live an hour up the freeway or halfway around the world! Having a conversation over video can help you to feel connected with community instead of isolated at home. You can also enjoy virtual activities with those you are connecting with through virtual game options like Jackbox Games which can be played with a group straight from your phone!
Nap Time
If a gloomy day causes you to feel extra fatigued, your body may be letting you know that you actually need extra rest. While there are plenty of engaging activities to do on rainy days, at times the most productive choice is to give yourself the sleep that you need. Neglecting rest can lead to side-effects such as burnout, exhaustion, lowered immunity, or depression. If you have trouble sleeping during the day, try installing blackout curtains to create a night-like environment. White noise machines and apps can also help to drown out any daytime noise of your adjoining neighbors or community activity. Of course, having extra time to do fun indoor activities can be exciting, but it is also vital to set aside time to rest and recharge when we need to.
Southern California is a busy area, and being ultra-productive is often idealized by the society around us. As the weather forces us to be inside our homes more often, remember to pay attention to what your mind and body need. Whether it’s engaging hobbies and activities or slowing down to rest, use the rainy weather as the golden opportunity to make space for yourself.