5 Projects You Can Tackle in Your Home During Social Distancing

Image Source: Houzideaz

Image Source: Houzideaz

A few weeks into social distancing, and we’re starting to get the itch to do something. It’s so important for us all to stay home right now and keep our distance in order to stop the spread of the virus, but it’s also completely understandable to be feeling a little stir crazy. Sure, letting ourselves have a few lazy days (or weeks) felt good for awhile, but now we just want to feel like our days aren’t blurring together.

Here’s the silver lining - remember those home projects that you’ve had on your list for awhile? The ones that have been collecting dust on your Pinterest boards? That you’ve been putting on the backburner until your schedule opened up?

Well, the day is here. Your schedule has been officially cleared and now you have nothing but time. If you’re wondering what you can accomplish now that the possibilities are endless, we just happen to have a few ideas!

5 Home Projects You Can Tackle During Social Distancing

Paint a wall - or all of your cabinets

Painting a wall is one of those home projects that can add a lot of impact without much effort. This is especially true if you’re choosing to create an accent wall in your home, though painting one room can be an equally quick project if you do the proper prep work - and it won’t require you to leave your house. 

Image Source: @tiffanyluseg https://www.instagram.com/tiffanylusteg/

Image Source: @tiffanyluseg https://www.instagram.com/tiffanylusteg/

  1. Clean it up: First, spend some time wiping down the wall and your trim with a damp cloth to remove any dust, hair, cobwebs, or debris that may be clinging to your drywall. We don’t judge! This gives you a clean surface to paint over and eliminates the risk of ripples or uneven tone in your work. 

  2. Protect your surfaces: Then, use painters tape to protect your trim and any other builtins (cabinets, etc.) that you don’t want to splatter with paint. This lets you make quick work of the project instead of being slow and meticulous.

  3. Choosing your paint color: We could spend an entire blog post discussing the questions you need to ask yourself as you’re choosing a paint color, but here we want to focus on the fact that it’s easier than ever to buy paint online. As we’re all social distancing, this is your best option - either using a traditional home improvement website like Home Depot or Lowe’s or purchasing from a startup like Clare.

  4. Get painting! Once your supplies have arrived, just go for it! Cut in your edges and paint your canvas with large swaths of the color that you’re most inspired by. With your prep work in place, one wall can be completed in an hour or two and an entire room can be done in a day. This one change can make a world of difference for the room you’re updating, and you’ll likely add some value to your house.

Depending on your level of motivation, you could even expand on this project and tackle your kitchen cabinets or refresh the trim in your home. Painting is a project that even a DIY beginner can manage, and it leaves you feeling like you accomplished something big from your to-do list.

Create a gallery wall

If you’ve had a bare wall in your home that’s been calling for art for awhile, now is the perfect time to perfectly execute a gallery wall. In regular life, it can feel like a major feat - figuring out which art you want to include, which frames you need to use, and which organization makes the most sense for your specific space. But, with social distancing in effect, you really have nothing to lose from experimenting.

Image Source: Houzideaz

Image Source: Houzideaz

  1. Gather your art: The pieces of a gallery wall are specific to each homeowner, an artistic collection of personal motifs, framed photos, bold prints, and even fine art. Before you can start assembling your wall, you’ll need to decide what you want to include. Try to choose pieces that vary in size and shape, but maintain a similar color scheme so that they don’t clash with each other once they’re hung on your wall.

  2. Choosing frames: The frames that you use in your gallery wall are almost as important as each piece itself. You’ll want a variety of thick frames, thin frames, matted, and not. Though it can be tempting to choose frames in every wood tone or metallic shade, you’ll want to stick with either deep or light shades, warm or cool. This will help your gallery wall stay cohesive. Some pieces that you chose in the previous step won’t need a frame at all (think woven hangings or baskets) - and that will make your gallery wall all the more organic.

  3. Creating your wall: Before you pull out your hammer and nails, think about mocking up the space first. The tech-savvy can use Photoshop to digitally envision their space, but cutting out the shapes of each frame from butcher paper and trying out different layouts can work too! Consider not only the orientations of your frames, but how each art piece will look together. Then, when you have a layout you like, use Command strips or good old fashioned nails to hang your gallery wall.

Reorganize for function

Half of the battle toward having the home that you want is understanding what isn’t working for you right now. When you first moved in, you likely unpacked your belongings in a certain way - putting items in particular drawers, organizing your closet in one format, or even choosing rooms to serve a specific purpose. Then, life got busy and you never really reevaluated your choices.

Image Source: godiygo.com

Image Source: godiygo.com

Use this social distancing time to take a look around your home. Are your kitchen drawers organized to work with the way you live? Are your utensils stored far away from your plates or servingware? Are your mixing bowls always in an unreachable place when you want to make an impulsive pan of brownies? Think outside of the box and organize your home to fit your lifestyle.

Start your garden

Think you might have a green thumb that’s been dormant without any free time to exercise it? Though social distancing can be difficult, the one silver lining is that it’s falling during a time of renewal outdoors, where the weather is heating up and plants are beginning to bloom. This year, you can use this to your advantage by getting your hands dirty, tilling up a small plot in your backyard, and planting seeds for your favorite vegetables and flowers. These empty weekends and evening hours can be filled with love and care given to your plants. And, you’ll be producing fresh food for your family and saving a trip to the grocery store. Win-win!

Image Source: Gardeners Supply Co

Image Source: Gardeners Supply Co

Deep clean *everything*

This is probably the least “fun” home project on our list, but the most practical. When is the last time your home got a truly deep clean? A wipe-down-the-baseboards, dust-the-ceiling-fans, scrub-the-cabinets, explore-the-nooks-and-crannies, kind of clean? With everything going on right now related to COVID-19, this could be the best time to grab your cleaning supplies, throw on some rubber gloves, and get thorough. Your home, and your health, will thank you!

Image Source: a Clean Bee

Image Source: a Clean Bee

Tips for Updating Your Home During COVID-19

Now that you have a few projects for inspiration, we want to leave you with a few quick tips for accomplishing them during social distancing.

Order online when possible

Home improvement stores have come a long way when it comes to e-commerce. You can get just about anything that you’d need for the projects above by ordering online, and, even during the current pandemic, many shipping dates are still on schedule. You’ll have what you need in no time without putting yourself at risk for exposure.

Utilize drive up services

Many retailers offer drive up services where you can order your items online, drive to the store, and a store associate will place them in your backseat or trunk. While it’s not the best option compared to no-contact, online ordering, it’s still an improvement. Use this option if it’s absolutely necessary for you to complete your project and you can’t get your supplies online.

If you need to go into the store to get it, save it for later

If it looks like you’ll need to head to a store to purchase an item for your home project, we recommend putting it on the backburner for now. No home improvement project (short of replacing a failed appliance or fixing integral structure) is worth exposing yourself and others to the COVID-19 virus. Cosmetic improvements can wait!

Current social distancing rules could stretch on for weeks, and taking on a home project could be just the thing to help you pass the time while making the most of your days. Choose a project that you’ve been meaning to tackle for awhile now, and see if you can make it come to life with the items you have in your home or supplies you can buy online. If you take this challenge, will you show us what you’ve created? Be sure to tag us on Instagram or send us a DM!

Home, InteriorsEmma Leuman