Earth Hour is happening today! What better way to celebrate our earth by staying home and do our part for the environment. Other than tuning in to Earth Hour 2020 - Live & Unplugged livestreaming conversations by the Earth Hour and WWFSG team from 5.30 - 8.30pm and symbolically switching off our lights together, here are other activities you can do instead of going out.
1 | Food prep
Acai bowl made by Adele from Coffeeandkombuchaa
Make your own nutritious breakfast bowl or plan your meals for the upcoming week! There's no better time to start cooking your own meals when you're working from home.
Ingredients for breakfast bowl
- Base: Açai berries blended with frozen bananas (alt: Non-dairy yogurt)
- 1 Fresh banana
- Homemade granola (or any granola with low sugar)
- Peanut butter (we prefer the all natural type with little to no stabilisers)
- Chia Seeds (alt: Pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds for the little crunch)
- Kiwi (alt: Orange, peach, or any of your favourite tart fruits)
There's really no fixed rule to follow for a breakfast bowl, but we suggest to choose fruits that are lower in sugar and throw in a good mix of seeds and nuts that are high in protein and fats for a complete breakfast.
Meal preps can sound really time-consuming initially, but once you set up a good routine you'll find it really easy to replicate every week! We usually prepare our meals on Sunday for 5 working days of the following week, but feel free to adjust to your needs.
2 | Learn new skills
There are so many free and affordable online courses available nowadays, such as learning coding from Codecademy or picking up a new language from Duolingo. Our friends at Tiny Rabbit Hole are also putting together an online conference teaching, so DM them to indicate your interest.
We also like to let Youtube autoplay bring us through random videos, from crocheting a bag from upcycled plastic bags to making a flute out of a carrot. We'll...let you explore.
3 | Make a citrus vinegar cleaner
Create your own home surface cleaner with just vinegar and orange peels to get rid of stubborn stains. The acetic acid from vinegar works great against stains and smells from urine, sweat, blood and many more, which is useful for households with pets. This hack is a fresh upgrade from the regular vinegar solution which many might find too pungent. Plus, you can squeeze some last use from the orange peels before you finally discard them.
What you need:
- Clean glass jar
- Clean citrus peels (orange, mandarin orange, clementine, lemon etc)
- A sprig of rosemary or cinnamon (optional, but adds depth to the smell)
- White vinegar (You can also use rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or cleaning vinegar)
- Wash and pat dry peels and collect them in a clean glass jar. Store the glass jar in the fridge to keep the peels from spoiling.
- Once you have enough peels to fill up the whole jar, take it out of the fridge and fill it up with vinegar.
- Optional: Add your sprig of rosemary or a stick of cinnamon to make the solution smell even better.
- Close the jar securely and leave it in a spot at room temperature and away from direct sunlight.
- After 1-2 weeks, the oils from the peels would be properly infused into the vinegar and it is ready to be used in dilution.
- Strain the citrus vinegar and discard the used peels.
To use as a cleaning spray, dilute the citrus vinegar with equal parts water and place in a spray bottle. This cleaning solution works best on sinks, taps, floor and table surfaces, but careful not to use it on natural stones like granite and marble.
4 | Start a body weight fitness programme
Work from home but don't forget to work your body! Check out online fitness programmes and apps to keep you in shape while you're stuck at home with your favourite gyms and studios closed for the month. You'll emerge a stronger and healthier person when the virus is gone!
Hope this little list of suggestions can help everyone tide through their WFH or quarantine arrangements no matter where you are. Let's all work together to socially distance ourselves and help the frontline staff do their best!
What are you doing to stay happy and healthy at home? Let us know in the comments below!