How to survive lockdown with your sanity intact

With snap lockdowns still happening regularly and no end in sight until the majority of us are vaccinated, many of us are asking, how are we going to make it through with our sanity still intact? There are many ways we can make the best out of a tough situation – read on for inspiration.

Learn how doctors are protecting themselves against coronavirus. 

You’re probably already texting with your loved ones so why not add some fun to the mix? Each day one person in the group chat sends out a request for a strange item – say, a school formal photo or a ladybug – and everyone has to find one in their home, snap a picture of it and send it to the group. You can up the fun by making a theme day allowing people to send in multiple pictures. How many things do you have in your house that look like food but aren’t? Or have strange instructions on them?

Remember that stair that squeaks creepily in the middle of the night? The hole in the wall from when your toddler had a falling out with Thomas the Tank? The falling-down fence that has made the neighbours gossip about your mental health? Now is the perfect time to take on all these little household projects. If your handyman skills are a little rusty, brush up with some DIY tutorials. Just think about how good it will feel to have those things off your to-do list.

Why not try these 14 DIY projects to help future-proof your home. 

Board games are standard stuck-at-home activities but lockdowns aren’t just one random day, they can be days, weeks or even months long, giving you plenty of time to play an entire game of Risk, Monopoly, Dungeons and Dragons, or even a really intense game of Scrabble. Spread-out, take your time, and get really strategic. Who needs to actually use their dining table anyhow?

Forced confinement is the perfect time to pick up a new language. Whether it’s through an app like DuoLingo or conversing with native speakers online via a service like Lingualia, you can practise everything from the basics to conversational fluency.

Have a chuckle over these 10 common sayings that sound way funnier in other languages. 

Just because the outside world can feel like a dreary place doesn’t mean your home has to! One way to brighten it up is to start cleaning out and organising your wardrobe, pantry, fridge, desk, or other clutter hotspots.

Find out the 20 things you’re doing in your home that professional organisers wouldn’t.

Self-care is one of the first things to go in our busy, overscheduled lives but now that your schedule is wide open, your pores can be, too! Take a hot bath, apply a face mask, slather on some rich lotion, put on your tooth whitening strips, and prepare for the ultimate night in for the whole family. (Dudes can love skincare too!)

On the other hand, these are the things you should never do to your skin, according to dermatologists. 

Streaming TV shows and movies were made for long days at home. But we know you’ve seen every episode of Friends, The Crown and The Office at least 100 times. So take your viewing up a notch by watching an indie film, a documentary about a subject you know little about, or a show that’s totally out of your comfort zone. Or watch your old favourites; sometimes you need something that feels familiar inside when things get weird outside.

Bingeing on cooking shows? Here are 30 things TV chefs won’t tell you. 

Hand sanitiser may be scarce these days but there’s plenty of bar soap and chances are you have a few lying around your home. A simple paring knife is all it takes to create a beautiful sculpture. (This one is not for the kids or anyone with butter fingers.) Plus you can still use it to wash your hands when you’re done admiring it!

Make sure you wash your hands immediately after touching these 10 things. 

Move over, Pixar! All you need to make a charming animated stop-motion short is your phone and some creativity. Apps like Stop Motion Studio (available for free on Apple and Android) let you turn your favourite story or song into a cute animation you can share with friends. Use Lego figures, Barbie dolls, stuffed animals, or even kitchen utensils to share your vision.