Things To Keep You Busy During Quarantine in The Netherlands

For many of us, working from home has become normal in the first week of the Netherlands. So why not use our extra time to be productive? It’s important to have things to keep you busy during quarantine in the Netherlands, so that we have also distraction from our work. Especially for those, like me, who are now sat in their living room which has also become an office area!

I wanted to write this post of things to keep you busy during the quarantine for you to be inspired, but also as motivation for myself to check and do something.

Things To Keep You Busy During Quarantine In The Netherlands

Have An Early Deep Spring Clean

What better way to start the stuck in house quarantine routine by finally cleaning out those jam-packed draws, dusty bookshelves and box filled storages. Whether its to clean out these places, to declutter or to have a spotless clean home, now is a good time to start. Hello Marie Kondō, time to spark joy again!

Donate Old Clothes

So you’ve been busy with the deep Spring clean, now you are left with lots of items likely perfectly usable again. For example, we all know a few pieces of clothing that we don’t fit no more, but still hold on to it ‘just in case’. Unless we are already in a fitness routine, let’s finally donate those clothes to someone who can use them!

Once the quarantine is over, check out your local second hand stores (like Piekfijn) where you can bring your belongings or throw your clothes in one of the many clothing containers around the city.

Dig Out The Board Games

I don’t own many unfortunately, so I need check some new ones out. Dust off your molopoly board But if you have some and quarantined at home with family, why not bring out your competitive side?

If you are currently in quarantine alone, download some games that you and loved ones can play together online. There are many apps via your smartphone and computer games to team up together and have some fun.

Get Some Fresh Air

Even though we are all in quarantine and need to be very mindful of everyone to not help the spread of the virus, we still need some of this fresh Spring air. In the last week I’ve been talking daily walks either around the block during lunch times or longer walks in the late afternoon to places that are pretty empty from people. It’s good to get fresh air into your homes too by opening some windows or a balcony door. Being stuck indoors is no fun and we still need to take care of our health!

Sunshine Tip: Spring is already starting to show itself so I’m sharing a throwback post to the cherry blossom trees in Amsterdam!

Support Your Local Restaurants

Even though many places are closed, there are still some restaurants open for business and likely need our help. You may have stocked up on a lot of food and toilet roll, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t grab a take away! You can find the restaurants open for business on most home delivery websites such as Thuisbezorg and Uber Eats.

Keep in mind that you can likely buy gift cards are your local restaurants, which supports them now and you can use in the future!

Help Out The Elderly Population

You can sign up to help out the elderly population. For example, if you need to go to the supermarket and not part of the high risk category, why not volunteer to pick some food supplies up for your elderly neighbour while you go anyway? Check out Gewoon Mensen Die Mensen Willen Helpen (only in Dutch).

If your Dutch is not up to scratch yet to sign up, pop a note under the door of your elderly neighbours with your contact information and share what you can help with. This could be picking up food supplies like mentioned above, or also things like walking their dog, picking up medicine or posting some mail.

Visit A Museum – Virtually!

You can now visit a museum by staying in your pyjamas! Shared on this link and another here you can visit the Van Gogh museum, Rijksmuseum and the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. However you can also check out many museums in London, Berlin and Paris. I’ve already got lost in some of these virtual worlds that I totally forgot I was in quarantine in the Netherlands.

Finally fix those broken “……….”

Yes we have something. Something that broke maybe recently or more than 6 months ago that still needs fixing. We also likely have the DIY stuff in house to fix it too, so why not invest some of your time to finally get it sorted. For me, it’s so far been the focus of fixing up the car with some new parts!

Research Your Family History

Ever wondered what your family history was truly like and never researched it? Or wondered what your great great great granddads profession was? Or why you have family from all over the world? Get connected with loved ones online to see what you can discover!

Plan More Things To See In Your Own City (For When Things Are Open!)

Since I am based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, I have loads of blogposts such as sharing things to do in Rotterdam during the Summer and Winter. The city has so much to offer, such as street art walks, green nature parks and a fun shopping area. However you can also consider checking out your local Dutch National Park, did you know the Netherlands has 21 in total?

You can check out my full Rotterdam posts here!

Check Out My Other Expat Posts 

Gym Closed? No Excuse!

Just because the your gym or swimming pool has closed, that doesn’t mean you should stop exercising at all. Grab some of your stocked up water as weights and find a nice youtube workout. Whether thats some yoga, stretching, Zumba dancing around your living room or a full on HIIT session, Youtube has everything! For me, I am a big fan of pilates with Blogilaties, where you can focus on different parts of the body each day.

Learn A New Language

Whether that is improving your Dutch here in the Netherlands, or wanting to step up your game ready for your next trip abroad, now is a great time to learn! Dig out the sticky notes for sticking around your house, download a language app or even go crazy with google translate. We suggest Duolingo!

Keep In Touch With Friends And Family Abroad

We might need to be socially distancing ourselves, but that doesn’t mean we cannot still be social. Now is the time more than ever to keep in touch with loved ones. Send them some nice updates like a photo of your lunch or how your work from home office is looking.

You can also organize some fun things to do online with your colleagues too, like a Kahoot pub quiz, a Friday afternoon Dutch ‘borrel’ (drinks) virtually and sharing your working from home photos in a social chat.

Get Green Fingers

Its officially Spring so as well as a deep clean inside the house, get pulling out those weeds in your garden. Being in quarantine definitely gives us plenty of time to sort out the house and garden. Else to plan what you want to grow this year and make a cosy garden for those upcoming summer evenings.

For those with a balcony instead, why not give those windows a good clean in time for sitting in the sunshine.

Read A Book

When was the last time you picked up that book that you haven’t finished yet? Now is a good time! Take a break from the scrolling on your phones and dust off that book you need to finish. This year I am also reading more books, since it’s something I really enjoy, but don’t make much time for. So far I am on book number 3 and getting into the habit of reading more! If you have any book recommendations, let me know in the comments!

You can also check out many Audiobooks via the library website!

Improve Your Cooking Skills

I bet we’ve all been there, looking through a magazine or scrolling social media and spotting a delicious meal that you’d want to try. For me I am totally #guilty with this one. If I had to guess, I probably have loads of recipe ideas saved in my favourites bookmark. Since most of us now have too many ingredients in house (from all that unnecessary stockpiling!), let’s put them to good use with trying that new recipe!

Make A List Of Things You Want To Do AFTER Quarantine In The Netherlands

I’m a big fan of lists and really have a list for anything and everything. So this one for me is to list all the things I want to do after quarantine in the Netherlands. Such as a museum in Amsterdam that I still haven’t visited, that trip to the Ikea for some extra bowls and to make some appointments with girlfriends for lunch/shopping.

Plan Your Future Travels

We all like to have that next holiday planned to look forward towards. Although it is now not really recommended to be booking your flights and hotels for the next few weeks. That shouldn’t stop you from looking ahead and researching your next destination in advance. I have some great places in Europe, North America or Africa that you might be interested in!

Let us know in the comments what more suggestions you have during the quarantine in the Netherlands!