One of the positives people seem to be drawing from life under lockdown is the realisation that most of us have had more of our most valuable asset made available, time, and spare time. For one of the first times in I dont kmow how long, probably before we had kids, so 13+ years, this bank holiday weekend, we did next to nothing apart from rip up the garden, and it was great.
But time is like any resource we have. We can use it wisely or unwisely.
We've come up with ten ideas you can try to make the most of the time we have right now.
1 - Organise your wardrobe once and for all. Could some if the material be used to assist in making face masks or can the elastic and button be used to assist with mask holders? On top of that, how many odd socks can one person own?
2 - Add some new life to old furniture by giving it a lick of paint. I've seen some great things being upcycled on the community pages.
3 - Clear out the food cupboard. It’s surprising how much out of date stuff we have lurking at the back of them. if there isn't any out of date tins, but there are things you probably wont use, is there anything you can donate to the food bank?
4 - Read more. Since lockdown, there’s been a boom of virtual book clubs, and the use of things like Audible (that's books that you listen to). We think it's a double whammy of keeping the brain ticking over and being social at the same time.
5 - Treat yourself to a ‘night out’ indoors. Make your favourite pizza, watch one of the many online concerts now freely available from top musicians and then relax with a good movie. I was forced to watch Les Miserables this weekend, and it was ok.
6 - Relive your youth by listening to classic albums like Oasis, watching old DVDs, or old TV shows like the A Team or Airwolf
7 - Of course, we understand if you have young children or are working from home, these ideas might prove a lot trickier to do. But it’s essential to take some time, even if it’s just 30 minutes a day, just for yourself. You deserve it.
And from a purely property point of view here are three more ideas you might want to consider to stop you clock watching.
1 - If you are thinking of selling after the lockdown ends make a list of those jobs that need doing before putting your home on the market, feel free to get in touch with us if you need advice on what buyers love and what they dont
2 - Wondering what mortgage or remortgage options you have available? It’s an excellent time to have a chat with a mortgage broker to see what’s out there now, and in the coming months. So many people could save hundreds of pounds by simply staying put, remortgaging and staying with the same company.
3 - And finally, we’ve plenty of time on our hands here at Next Place so if you’re curious about the value of your home and the best way to market it post-coronavirus we’d be happy to have a chat. We can conduct online valuations, meaning social distancing rules are always respected.
So, here’s to staying home, protecting the NHS, saving lives and making the most of our precious time.
From all of us at Next Place.
Check out the video version here