29 Productive Things To Do In Free Time At Home
Photo of wooden wind mill by Roman Bilokrynytskyi on Unsplash
Updated 2024.07.29. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
Productive is defined by the power to create abundance, yield results, or satisfy wants and utilities. Productive can also mean having the means to create a large amount of supply of something. You need time to create a supply of anything, so this post is about using time to do all of the above.
Ideally when time is spent productively, it is being used to facilitate a positive change in the circumstances - you are using it to save resources, make money or reduce workload, or create more of something.
Productive activities that you can do at home can involve home administrative tasks, social glue tasks, or even tasks that create more space in your life to devote to the production of supply or something wanted. It can also mean you are getting tasks done.
So below are 29 ways to be productive when at home:
Photo of mill on top of countryside trail by Nadi Lindsay from Pexels
Inventory your capital assets, your physical belongings. Do it for insurance, to know what is valuable, or to identify things you can sell to create cash.
Sweep or vacuum the floors. If you have hard surfaces, they will get dirty, and cleaning them creates a pleasant space to walk about.
Go through your miscellaneous papers and discard expired coupons, flyers and other announcements past their prime.
Dust surfaces. Surfaces can collect dust quickly. If you haven’t dusted in a while, a wet wipe works wonders, and your space will feel cleaner. Clean spaces are blank canvases to create.
Organize your closet. Discard things past their useful life, donate or sell things that you aren’t wearing anymore.
Read a book you kept for the purpose of doing so. Reread a classic. Whenever you reread a classic, you see new things and get ideas that can stimulate your imagination for creating supply.
Sort your email inbox. Go through your email, and archive things you’ve taken care of, flag things you still need to do, and delete stuff that doesn’t matter to you or the tax man. You may find old opportunities there.
Water your plants. Use rainwater if possible. If you must use tap water, let the water sit overnight, giving a chance for the chlorine salts to settle out, and then water the plants in the morning. Plants bring oxygen and oxygen brings fresh ideas for producing new things.
Put away or take out seasonal decorations. If you are mid or end of a seasonal festivity, put the decorations back in their places, or get out new ones. Staying on top of trends is good for keeping the ball rolling.
Make meals for a day in advance. Or two sittings in advance. Or one sitting in advance. Cook food in preparation for the next time you or those you care for will be hungry and all will thank you. Coal in the firebox keeps the whole train running.
Predict your needs a month out. Using time to think, as thinking is productive. In your next free moment, take some deep breaths and think about what you and those you care for may need in the future 30 days. On your next errand, bundle your trip, and gather those things.
Ask for help with bigger projects. If you have predicted a need, and it is a larger task, in your next free moment, ask someone to help you with it - preferably after they have eaten. Most people are friendlier after they eat.
Do some outdoor landscaping. It can be minor, such as weeding a walkway, cutting back the dead flower heads in a planter box in the winter, or burning some brush. It’s invigorating too and great exercise.
Wash the dishes. Cleaning the sink prepares the kitchen for the next user to produce something. Having a clean kitchen with all the tools ready when the chef is ready to create puts a smile on their face - even if that is you!
Put the washed dishes back in their spots. Once everything is dry, put away the clean dishes in the cupboards.
Make the bed. Having a fresh bed to get into at night is a future gift you can give to yourself now.
Take out the trash. Gather the trash from all the waste areas and baskets of the home, pick out the recyclables for reuse or recycling, then put the gathered trash in the main bin. Take the trash outside. Place it in any receptacle you have for further hauling to the dump.
Refill bird feeders. If you take care of wildlife, fill up their watering holes and seed receptacles. They notice when you do and often come in right away. Birds create inspiration, and when the mood is up, energy is up, and more things are created.
Replace the hand towels at all sinks. If you are using cloth hand towels, replace these every couple of days - or when you notice one is so damp it does not dry.
Turn on/off outdoor lighting. If it is morning, turn off your porch lights. In the evening, turn them on. This will help with the electricity bill in the day and safety at night.
Start organizing a social event. Think about an upcoming celebration - birthday, holiday or great news in the family. Make a communication with a key planner person. Gatherings can be great networking opportunities, yes even with family!
Explore a money making venture you’re curious about. Gather things to sell, think of hobbies you have that could become a side business, or research ways you can use your talents to make money for others.
Deep clean a bathroom - wash the tub, the toilet and the shower curtains.
Go through your bills, pay them, and set up automations for bills and other repeating tasks robots can handle.
Enter your receipts into a budget and catalog your expenses as wants, or must-haves. Think of ways you can decrease both as you do this.
Finish a pending craft. Set a time, a day and do it.
Write a big to-do list and start cutting it back. If you already have a to-do list, go through it and delete or toss things you’ve done.
Do one thing for your health and well being. Ideally, two.
Schedule upcoming maintenance. Have a thing that needs care you can’t provide? Make the appointment.
Need more free time to do these things? Here’s some ideas:
Photo of mill on top of countryside trail by Nadi Lindsay from Pexels with text overlay 29 Productive Things To Do In Free Time At Home
How To Create More Free Time
Think about your number one distraction. It could be social media. If this is it, limit your social media checking time to once per day. In all the other times you are tempted to be distracted by it, do a productive task instead.
Set up focus hours on your cell phone. In the Do Not Disturb settings, adjust the settings for your Focus Time. You can select apps to disallow, people to allow, and time windows to not be bothered.
Check the news once a day. News cycles loop. If you watch an hour show, it may even loop within the show. As soon as you notice yourself hearing a story twice, turn it off.
These are just a few of the things you can do at home to get the ball rolling on home efficiency. See one on the list that inspires you? Start there.
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