Keep Out The Cabin Fever With Decor & DIY

Cabin fever is no joke. I live in northern MN where we remark on it constantly throughout our endless winters so its not a new term to us at all. But that doesn’t mean we’re “used” to this kind of situation. In fact with winter quite over the majority of us are mortified that even though we finally made it to spring we’re still somehow stuck in the house! What else isn’t a joke is that there may be some people out there taking full advantage of being home and getting a lot done some of the rest of us have been paralyzed by the current world situation. I myself have hit quite the wall where motivation left LONG ago. I am working toward getting motivated again however I think any way we can get through these trying times is the RIGHT way, we can worry about the rest when its all over.

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)

Your home is your castle. Never has this old saying been more relevant. With much of the world on COVID-19 lockdown, many of us are sequestered away in our homes as we all pull together by keeping apart to flatten the infection curve.

That’s good news for those of us who’ve invested a lot of time and effort in making sure our homes are beautiful and fit for purpose. Indeed, for many of us the silver lining in this dark cloud is that we’re getting to spend more time in the homes we love so much.

After all the time spent repairing and maintaining our homes, for once we’re not too busy to appreciate the fruits of our labors.

Whether you’ve been placed on furlough by your employer, are currently doing your job from home or a freelancer for whom this is business as usual you can expect to spend the next few weeks (or months) at home and that really can lead to cabin fever.

If you’re used to home to yourself it may be jarring to suddenly share it with your partner and / or family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The good news, however, is that your decor and DIY skills will be your most powerful weapon in keeping coronavirus-induced cabin fever at bay. 

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your time at home until the lockdown is lifted… and to help alleviate some of your cabin fever!

Keep yourself busy

Idle hands are the devil’s playthings! If you’re no longer able to work, or are experiencing a reduced workload in the current climate, you may experience a level of inertia that you’re simply not accustomed to. This can lead to feeling lost or even depressed.

View this as an opportunity to engage with the projects around the home that you’ve been putting off. Keeping yourself busy with new and old projects can really help pass the time and give us some alleviation from the cabin fever.

Eliminate irritations

One of your first priorities should be to focus on the jobs that have been bugging you. The things that can create a mounting sense of irritation the longer they’re left unchallenged.

The leaky tap in the utility room, the flickering lightbulb in the bedroom or the proliferation of weeds in the garden. Not only can these be irritating, in some cases they can even increase the cost of living. If a repair is a little outside of your comfort zone, we live in an era where YouTube can teach us virtually everything we need to know. 

Just remember which jobs are best left to the pros;

• Major plumbing repairs
• Knocking down internal walls
• Fixing a suspected gas leak
• Never tamper with your building’s electrical supply 

Learn the skills that will keep you comfortable

Discomfort can exacerbate irritation. Which, in turn, can build up more and more over time making you feel short-tempered and irritable. Now’s the time to look at ways in which you can bring more comfort into your home.

From reupholstering your favourite armchair to carrying out repairs on your AC apparatus or replacing your condensing unit. Your comfort is a more important investment than ever. Again, under some circumstances, you may need to defer to a professional. But doing what you can when you can will be invaluable in keeping the family happy, comfy and appreciative of their home.

Make sure your family are the only ones enjoying your home

With a growing proportion of the population on lockdown, our wildlife is getting bolder and more adventurous. Especially furry critters like rats and mice. Fortunately, there’s no evidence that rodents can carry or transmit the coronavirus. But their urine and droppings can still be harmful to your family’s health. Especially if you have babies and young children crawling around on the floor.

Not to mention the damage rodents can do to your home or the dent they can put in your all-important food supplied. 

Now’s the time to start making sure that your family are the only ones enjoying your home. There are a lot of ways in which you can do this without resorting to poisons or lethal traps. Stay vigilant in keeping the kitchen clean and tidying away food. Look over your home’s exterior and seal any cracks or gaps which might admit a rodent- no matter how improbably small it may seem.

Clear away the clutter

Clutter can have a surprisingly profound effect on your mental health at the best of times. It can be distracting, detract from the design aesthetic of your living space and prevent you from being able to relax.in your own home. 

Now’s the perfect time to declare war on clutter and embrace minimalism. Take a look around your living space. Ask yourself what draws the eye? Is it something that’s supposed to be there? If not, can you find an alternative space for it? Find some storage space in which to keep items which don’t need to be on display (this is why storage furniture is such a great investment). Find out if there are any possessions you no longer want or need. Putting them on eBay might be a surprisingly lucrative revenue stream.

Make sure your whole family is by your side in the war on clutter, cleaning up after themselves as they go throughout the day. 

Bring nature into your home

Finally, you’ll never appreciate your garden more than over the coming weeks and months. Your own little outdoor paradise will be invaluable in helping you to stay on the right side of sanity and prevent you from feeling too cooped up in doors. We’re naturally predisposed to feel happier and calmer when we’re surrounded by trees, plants and flowers.

So who says that we have to leave nature outdoors? Bring in some of the beautiful flowers that you’ve cultivated in your garden. There are also lots of companies that deliver flowers and plants straight to your door. Bringing nature into your home can imbue it with a wonderful sense of calm and serenity. 

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)