How To Have The Perfect Self-Care Day At Home
March 28, 2020
Life certainly has taken a strange turn this year, hasnโt it? With all that is happening in the world, itโs easy to start to feel isolated and perhaps a bit (or a lot) anxious. As somewhat of a stay-at-home expert, I feel like it is my duty to share some of my tips on how to keep yourself busy when youโre stuck at home. One of my favourite things to do when I feel stressed out is to have a self-care day!
In fact, this is the perfect time to really slow down, make time for yourself and do all of the things your previously fully-packed schedule wouldnโt allow! So, fear not, my friends, you can survive more than you think and there are still plenty of ways to relax and have fun!
I also included a list with 30 self-care activities that you can easily do at home, so if youโre short on time, scroll down for some quick inspiration ๐ Although, if you want ALL of my tips & resources (I also included some of my favourite gadgets/products for those who fancy a little online shopping), let me first guide you through how to have the perfect self-care day at home.
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TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY
Even though body & mind go hand in hand, Iโve decided to divide this post into self-care practices I like to do to take care of my body and activities that are good for your mental health!
Read Next: 8 Mental Health Resolutions For 2020!
DO A WORK-OUT
I love doing an at home work-out session in the morning to start off my day energised and fully awake. Iโm not going to list the benefits of exercising, because I think weโre all aware by now that itโs good for us. What I will say is that itโs one of the best natural ways to de-stress and feel happy. Even a light, 15-minute work-out can already drastically improve your mood. Seriously, it might be the cure for any short-term negative emotion. Angry? Sad? Feeling unattractive? Get onto the mat and start sweating.
TRY YOGA
I know everyone says this and you might be sick of hearing it, but yoga really does have SO many benefits. It increases flexibility and muscle strength, improves energy levels, reduces insomnia and lessens chronic pain. These are just a few of the physical benefits of yoga, but obviously itโs also very good for our mental health. Few things make me feel more zen & at peace!
If you want some guidance, you HAVE to check out Yoga With Adriene. Sheโs the best at yoga and has a great sense of humour too! Honestly, I feel like sheโs my friend even though weโve never spoken irl. She has yoga for all levels, so you can make your practice as challenging or easy as you want.
The only other thing you need is a decent yoga mat that is anti-slip and not too thin. Trust me, Iโve tried the cheaper ones and they just donโt cut it. Your knees will thank you!
TAKE A LONG RELAXING BATH
Whenever I take a hot bath (which is almost never), I tell myself I should do this more often. Soaking yourself in warm water will relax your muscles in an instant.
I mean, am I the only one whoโs always wanted to have one of those fancy baths you see in Youtube videos? Candles (try this non-toxic one!), bath bombs, essential oils (lavender for complete relaxation), soothing music, rose petalsโฆ It certainly seems very lovely, but who has time for that! I usually just hop in the shower and thatโs that.
However, now that weโre all stuck at home and lots of us no longer have a social life, itโs high time we take one of those baths, donโt you think? Letโs see what all the fuzz is about!
PAMPER SKIN & HAIR
Since weโre all taking baths now anyway, we might as well put some extra care into our skin & hair. Letโs be honest, an extensive skin & haircare routine is an integral part of any decent self-care day.
SKINCARE
One of the things that has brought me a lot of joy during these times has been binging skincare videos by Hyram on Youtube. Fun fact, I used to be massively into skincare! I loved reading up on ingredients and I even had a blog dedicated to testing out (organic) skincare brands.
The past few years this interest kinda disappeared into the background as I pursued other things. However, Hyram reminded me of the importance of taking care of your skin and how nice it is to dedicate that time to yourself, which is what this blog post is all about!
Alright, now for the fun partโฆ
At night I like to double cleanse to make sure I get rid of all of my make-up and sunscreen. I start out with the Iunik Calendula Cleansing Oil and follow up with their Centella Foam Cleanser.
No self-care day is complete without a face mask, am I right?? For a spa-like experience, you must try the Iโm From Honey Mask. I used to put raw honey on my face, but this one is a lot less messy and has amazing ingredients!
Next, I obviously go in with a moisturizer, although Iโm still in search for a new one. For now, I simply use an Aloe Vera cream (like this one). I also use this for my body. Of course, these are all just suggestions (feel free to share your faves in the comments!).
HAIRCARE
I STILL havenโt found the perfect shampoo & conditioner yet, so I use random drug store products (if you have any suggestions, let me know!). As an extra treatment, I like to use castor oil (this one is the best!), which is great for hair growth and shine. You can leave it in for an hour or overnight.
For damaged hair, I swear by Olaplex. This is the only product I know of that doesnโt just coat your hair but actually repairs it and itโs used by hairdressers!
Aside from taking hair growth supplements (if youโre struggling with hair loss or lack of volume, I strongly suggest taking Viviscal for a few months, it works SO well), thatโs all I do atm in regards to my hair.
COOK A HEALTHY MEAL
Last but certainly not least, try making yourself a healthy meal. It can be something as simple as breakfast or lunch, or you can go all out and prepare a 3-course dinner. Itโs always a good idea to improve your cooking skills (one of my goals for 2020 btw!). Besides, your body will thank you if you make an effort to use fresh and healthy ingredients.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR MIND
TRY GUIDED MEDITATION OR (SLEEP) HYPNOSIS
Iโve tried meditating in complete silence several times over the years, but I canโt get into it for the life of me. It goes something like this: I close my eyes and attempt to clear my mind. I get uncomfortable after two minutes and switch position. Iโm trying very hard not to think about anything. Something distracts me. I think about everything. I give up after 10 minutes.
Luckily, thereโs a solution for anyone who has this problem and itโs called guided meditation or even better, hypnosis. I suggest trying this when youโre feeling particularly stressed and I can assure you, you will be astounded by its effects.
If this interests you, you must check out Michael Sealey on Youtube. He has tons of videos that you can choose from and theyโre SO effective. Iโm not a fast sleeper whatsoever, but when I listen to one of his hypnosis tapes, Iโm asleep within minutes. You donโt even know what true relaxation is until youโve tried hypnosis, Iโm telling you.
JOURNAL
I swear there is nothing more therapeutic than writing out your thoughts, especially if youโre an overthinker and your brain tends to become a chaotic mess. Your writing doesnโt have to be good or poetic; just write down whatever youโre thinking or feeling and I promise, you will feel 10 times lighter afterwards. There have been countless times I was so angry or depressed I thought I would lose my mind, UNTIL I scribbled it all down in my diary. As soon as I saw the words on paper, the emotion lost some of its power. Try it, I dare you.
If you need a new diary, check out these gorgeous ones (I just bought the one on the left!):
GET CREATIVE
Unless youโre working in a creative field, there isnโt that much time for creativity in todayโs society, which is a shame. Iโm a firm believer that humans find enormous joy & purpose in creating something from scratch! Now, donโt be too hard on yourself, you donโt have to be the next Picasso, it just has to be fun.
Some ideas to get creative on your epic self-care day:
- Knit your own sweater
- Recreate a make-up look from your favourite beauty guru
- Try drawing or painting
- Create a scrapbook with your best travel pictures
- Make one of those gorgeous bullet journals to stay organised
LISTEN TO MUSIC
I always forget how much music can lift my mood until I put some on! Feeling down? Listen to your fave upbeat playlist! Perhaps steer clear from overly depressing tunes or you may start cryingโฆ No? Just me? Not that thatโs bad btw, feel whatever you need to feel ๐ I used to spent hours browsing Youtube for new, awesome bands and then played their songs on repeat and it brought me so much joy.
READ A BOOK
Ah, whatโs better than escaping into a good book? I treasure the moments Iโm so caught up in a story, I become completely unaware of whatโs going on around me. No matter which social media platform appears, for me, nothing can beat the pleasure of reading an actual book.
Some of my all-time favourite books:
- On Love by Alain De Botton,
- White Oleander by Janet Fitch,
- When Nietzsche Wept by Irvin D. Yalom,
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley,
- I Wrote This For You by Iain S. Thomas and, of course,
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
WATCH SOME NETFLIX
Sometimes we just want to turn off our brain for a while and distract ourselves with some mindless binge-watching. Enter Netflix (is it really a self-care day without some good old Netflix?). Iโm sure I donโt need to explain this any further, letโs get straight into my suggestions:
Tv-shows Iโve been loving:
- ANNE WITH AN E (I canโt even explain how good this is, just watch it!!)
- SPINNING OUT (ice skating, family issues & bipolar disorder)
- ELITE (Spanish murder mystery set in a posh high school)
- SEX EDUCATION (hilarious & very educational indeed)
- YOU (disturbing, fascinating, psychotic)
REDECORATE YOUR ROOM/OFFICE
Another fun activity thatโll make you feel productive is redecorating your room or work space (Pinterest for inspo always)! I donโt know about you, but I get bored pretty easily so I like to change things up once in a while. You can also clear out your closet and get rid of clothes you no longer wear (space for new ones ๐ ). I used to HATE cleaning up my stuff (like any sane teenager?), but now I canโt work or think until my space is tidy & clean.
REACH OUT TO FRIENDS OR FAMILY
Many of us (including myself) have a tendency to assume people are busy and donโt want to be disturbed, which is often enough reason not to call or text someone we really want to talk to. Itโs unfortunate, because it creates even more distance and isolation and who knows, maybe the other person wouldโve loved hearing from you. Donโt fall into this trap and call someone you know you can rant to or that makes you laugh. Youโll feel so much better afterwards!
My goodness, this was a LONG blog post, probably the longest Iโve written so far. If you made it till the end, thank you so much for reading and I hope you found it useful! Let me know in the comments whether Iโve inspired you to have an epic self-care day ๐
As promised, hereโs my quick list of 30 self-care activities you can do at home (whatโs your favourite??):
30 Self-Care Activities To Do At Home!
- Yoga
- Dance it out
- Make cocktails
- Listen to guided meditation
- Listen to hypnosis
- Take a bath
- Knit
- Draw or paint
- Work-out
- Apply a face mask
- Listen to music
- Watch Netflix
- Play with your pets
- Give yourself a mani-pedi
- Do your make-up
- Apply skincare
- Apply hair treatment
- Read
- Watch your favourite youtubers
- Go on an online shopping spree
- Facetime your friends
- Cook a healthy meal
- Play a board game
- Play a video game
- Make yourself a warm drink
- Journal
- Make a scrapbook
- Clean out your closet
- Redecorate your room
- Do some gardening
Great ideas! I just posted something very similar to this for self-care โ great minds think alike!
Thank you so much, yours as well ๐
These are some awesome self care tips! I never heard of the honey mask or the castor oil/olive oil for hair and I am so excited to try it! I bookmarked your site for further reading! ๐
Wow that means a lot, thank you so much!! Definitely try it ๐ I hope you enjoy my other posts as well!
These are great ideas; some weโve done since being at home, but some we havenโt. Iโll definitely be pulling from this list as the days go on โ thank you!
Thanks, I will be doing the same haha!
Great ideas!!
Thank you ๐
I have recently started to be creative and it works best for my depression. Now i will add skin care to this as well thanks for the share ๐
My pleasure, hope it helps! Best of luck ๐
Thanks for the ideas! Iโve been taking a nice hot bat to relax after work and reading more, most definitely has been helping stay sane.
That sounds amazing, good on you for making time for yourself ๐
Coconut oil and raw honey are my go-to as well! They work like magic!
I know right & still affordable too!
Some lovely ideas! I definitely need to tidy up the room and focus more on healthy eating!
Thank you & good luck with that ๐
I LOVE these ideas!! Thank you so much for sharing!
My pleasure!! Thank you for commenting ๐
Wonderful post. Baths are definitely an underrated self-care tool, but theyโre so relaxing!
Thank you so much! Totally, I love the idea of baths but I just never make the time! I should really follow my own advice haha.
Great list! I already practice many of these but there are others I think my routine could benefit from.
Thank you, Iโm glad you found some more ideas ๐
really great ideas thanks for sharing them
Thank you, glad you enjoyed reading!
Very nice, it is so important to take care of yourself! And I enjoy all the ideas you suggested โ although I did not do yoga for quite some time, should start again! Thank you for this post.
Thank you, Iโm glad you enjoyed my post ๐ Same, I just started doing yoga again after a long break and itโs been so good!
Loved reading this blog post. Self-care is so important and in particular in times like this. I started running and yoga and redecorated my flat already.
Absolutely, Iโm glad you enjoyed reading ๐
Thanks so much for the reminder and option of home self care. Very much needed in these strange times.
Absolutely, itโs so important!
Yoga and exercising has always helped me to relax!
Same!
I always benefit from hitting the restart button every now and then! This is a great list! I typically find myself moving my office around for a fresh look, and making myself a hot cup of tea. ๐
Thank you ๐ I love that!
These are really great self-care strategies! I definitely want to try incorporating more of these into my day-to-day life!
Thank you! You will quickly reap the benefits ๐
Self care is everything! I see many of my favs. Meditation, Skin and Body care
Crucial in times like these!