26 Fun & Useful Things to Do When You're Bored
There are so many types of boredom that one would think we’d stay sufficiently preoccupied trying to keep track of them all. There’s the snowed-in variety, when it’s too darn cold to leave the house. There’s the cooped-up-with-kids kind, when you’re reminded, repeatedly, how bored your children happen to be. Do the words "Mom, what can I do now?" sound familiar? (Psst: Challenge them to color a cover of Country Living!) There’s the procrastination kind of bored, when you’re looking to do anything other than the task at hand. And then there’s the social distancing kind, which is a whole uncharted category of bored that, candidly, we’re all newly trying to navigate! (Who would have guessed we'd be stuck inside this long, or that we'd be learning the ins and outs of virtual 4th of July parties?) Fortunately, there’s no shortage of quality, beats-staring-at-the-wall ways to while away the time, whether it's a summery DIY craft project or baking a beautiful spring cake. So while your kids occupy themselves with one of the 40 best kids' movies on Netflix or the rest of the gang gathers around the best family board games, try one of these pass-the-time pursuits, including both the practical (organizing with everyday items, removing your name from telemarketing lists) and playful (laughing at funny church signs, tuning into a 24-hour cow cam).
Go antiquing online. From First Dibs to Everything but the House to Chairish, there’s no shortage of online resources to indulge the thrill of the hunt (even when you can't go to a flea market)—and chances are their vendors could use your support now more than ever. Don’t miss more boutique-y sites like Mate Gallery for nautical antiques, House of Antique Hardware for vintage fixtures, or Hannah's Treasures for vintage wallpaper. (Psst: The latter is a favorite of movie production designers, including the set designer of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.)
Play neighborhood bingo. Print out this part game, part scavenger hunt before your next walk around the 'hood, and you might just squeeze a couple of extra blocks out of your kids.
Host a virtual happy hour (or coffee klatch). Toast friends or family members far and wide with this now-trending alternative to good old-fashioned meetups. Even if you're not particularly tech-savvy, organizing a virtual happy hour is easier than you think. Here are a few cocktail recipes to get you started.
Write a letter. Or a postcard. Simply put pen to paper and send someone a good old-fashioned letter. (Extra points for pretty vintage postage.) Or, for a fun delayed gratification game, play a game of Tic Tac Toe through the mail. (Grandparents will especially love—and eagerly anticipate—the playful back-and-forth with the littles.)
Take up cross-stitch. Find inspiration in the monthly patterns that appear in Country Living and download our free templates—or hoop it up with your own starter kit.
Document your family history. Chances are, you have plenty of photos to sort through and label, but you can take it one step further courtesy of services that help you do the digging or documenting. Ancestry.com is a leader in the research-your-roots space, but don’t miss resources like Legacy Box, which helps you digitize family relics (think old VHS videos), The Heirloomist, which artfully photographs beloved items for posterity, and Hannah Bergen, whose heirloom furniture kit allows you to keep better tabs on passed-down antiques and other sentimental items.
Watch a cow cam. Bovine (and other animal) enthusiasts can tune in to the lush pond pasture at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York, where more than 500 rescued farm animals graze and congregate.
Cue up a documentary. Binge-watching a reality TV show may leave you feeling...couch potato-y. But a documentary, on the other hand, will likely leave you feeling a little bit smarter. (It's like reading historical nonfiction instead of a trashy romance novel.) Ken Burns' Country Music—a meaty 8-part, 16-episode series about the history of the genre—is now streaming on pbs.org and the PBS Video app. The Biggest Little Farm follows a couple as they work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles. Oh, and it's not too late to join the Cheer squad, which celebrates an all-American pastime, or tune in to Young @ Heart, a moving 2007 documentary about a senior citizen chorus that performs rock songs. (Yes, you will most certainly cry.)
Chuckle at funny church signs. These are too clever for their own good. “A Long Time Ago In a Galilee Far, Far Away…” Or drive around and seek out your own. You have time on your hands, after all.
Listen to a podcast. A favorite with podcast enthusiasts in the Country Living office is How I Built This, an NPR podcast about how some of our favorite brands (think Jet Blue, Ben & Jerry's, Spanx) started from scratch—and what the founders learned along the way. For younger ones, Wow in the World, an NPR podcast for “curious kids and their grown-ups” is a hands-down favorite, as is Circle Round, which adapts folktales from around the world into sound- and music-rich radio plays for kids ages 4 to 10.
Send a message (or care package) to a soldier. In January 2020, Operation Gratitude kicked off a year-long campaign to honor servicemen and women and their families. Join the #OG2020CHALLENGE to make a difference and help Operation Gratitude deliver 75,000 individually addressed Care Packages to Deployed Troops in 2020.
Get organized with vintage finds. That's right: You can corral clutter in every room—kitchen, pantry, closet, you name it—with DIY organizational ideas! Who would have thought those gingham-lidded jelly jars could come in so handy, or that a vintage globe stand could be used as a paper towel holder?
Try your hand at paint-by-number. Chalk it up to the grown-up coloring book trend, but the popular 1970s pastime is having a serious resurgence, and you can choose from dozens of Country Living kits, including mason jars, farm animals, and country scenes.
Update your holiday/Christmas card address list. It's one of those things you never have time to do, so get your address book in good shape well before the season and you'll thank yourself come November. Tip: Some photographers are even snapping "porch portraits" of families on their front steps to take advantage of all this....togetherness...during this period of social distancing. (Yep, they're staying at least six feet away, and many are donating photo session proceeds to charity.)
Train your eye. Did you know: In every issue of Country Living, antiques lovers Jackie Greaney and Paul Havel help readers train their eyes with a hunting ground. See how many differences you can spot in these two photos.
Set up a "drive-in" movie. If you've done your share of Costco-ing and online shopping as of late, chances are you have a couple of large cardboard boxes sitting around. Turn 'em into cars for your next family movie night (drive-in, anyone?!) complete with paper plate tires and steering wheels and paper cup headlights. (See the best kids' movies on Netflix for movie night ideas.)
Make a seriously good playlist. Discovering new music is a joy unto itself. You can start with the 70 most classic country tunes of all time. For other leads, check out the “Laurel Mercantile” playlists on Spotify for Home Town star Erin Napier’s favorite songs by season.
Interview a relative. Or have your kids do it. Even better if it's recorded, as you'll have an oral history to treasure forever. There's an art to asking questions, and here are a few good ones to get you started:
What smell do you remember from childhood?
What did your childhood room like like? (What pictures/posters were on the wall? What color was it painted?)
How'd you earn your first paycheck?
Did your family have any favorite sayings or funny expressions?
Send off a wishing lantern. If you've seen Tangled, or To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, no doubt you recall the scenes featuring beautiful lanterns drifting off into the sky. Create your own memorable sendoff with these picks from Amazon.
Remove your name from telemarketer lists. This one's less exciting than it is wildly useful. Use this rare free moment to minimize robocalls by dialing 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to remove. It will be off the registry the next day. (Companies typically update their telemarketing lists within a month of that date.)
Learn a new instrument. Fender is currently offering three months of free guitar, bass, or ukulele lessons to the first 500,000 people who sign up to Fender Play, which means at the next corporate retreat you can also be—surprise!—the entertainment-for-hire.
Do a puzzle. We know, we know—they're sold out of most on Amazon, but don't miss these Country Living puzzles featuring some of our favorite images (vintage collections, scenic landscapes) from the magazine.
Install a gallery wall. From 3-D baskets to wooden cutting boards, chances are you already have all the fixin's for an interesting, artful installation on that blank wall that's been starting you in the face for months. Check out this gallery wall inspiration then get goin' with the hammer.
Paint your front door. As far as transformative, high-impact home projects go, this one's high on the list, and not that hard! Pick a sunny yellow or peruse this list of our 20 best front door colors.
Plant a container garden. Here’s the foolproof threesome for a porch-worthy planter: You need a "thriller" (think a tall showy plant that adds some height, like hydrangea), a "filler" (think lower clusters of plants like petunias, geraniums, or impatiens), and a "spiller" (think something that trails over the edge, like ivy or potato vine).
Make mason jar ice cream. Sure, settling in on your sofa with a pint of Ben & Jerry's is a bored-at-home cliche, but churning out your own custom recipe is an accomplishment. This super-simple homemade 4-ingredient ice cream recipe is almost as easy as removing the lid from a carton. Sweet!
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