With this whole COVID-19 situation happening in Malaysia, we’ve been told to practice “social distancing” and to stay at home for the next few weeks to avoid spreading or catching the virus. It’s been a couple of days, and I have to say I am bored out of my mind. I know I’m not alone in this! Many people are finding ways to keep themselves busy at home during this pandemic period. So we’ve decided to come up with a list of things you can do at home to keep yourself busy.

1. Organise Your Pantry

Now that you’ve done some grocery shopping and stocked up for the next 2 weeks, maybe it’s time to organise your pantry? Marie Condo has taught us a few ways we can keep things organised and clean. And the #1 rule being, get rid of all the expired goods! There really is no point in keeping that bag of peanuts from 2010. Throw out what’s expired  and you’ll be surprised with how much space you have! Next thing you could do is to separate and compartmentalize all your goods. Meaning, 1 shelf could be dedicated to all your canned food, 1 shelf for all your herbs and so on so forth.

2. Clean Out Your Fridge

Now when was the last time you thoroughly cleaned through your oven and fridge? I know many people who don’t do it as often as they should. Your fridge should be cleaned out shelf by shelf every few weeks to keep it fresh. After all, we are keeping our food in it. Cleaning it frequently will help keep the breeding of germs at bay and avoid any diseases like food poisoning.

3. Make a Meal Plan for The Next 14 Days

Staying home means more time and effort can be put into our meals. It’s crucial we start practicing a healthier lifestyle, especially during this period. So ditch those junk food and fast food delivery services. Sit down with a piece of paper, a pen and plan out your daily meals for the next 14 days. This will not only discipline yourself with what you’re putting in your body, but it also gives you a chance to step up your cooking skills. You can go the extra mile and calculate your calorie intake too!

4. Prep Your Meat and Vegetables

Sometimes our meat and vegetables could take up a lot of space in the fridge, and things could get messy. So, we suggest washing all your vegetables, cutting and proportioning them out for each day. You can keep them in a bag or a container. Same goes with your meat, you could cut them out and proportion everything out for each day. We suggest marinating your meat straight away and freezing them. That way, when it’s time to cook, you could just grab it out of the freezer a few hours before. It cuts time, and also makes it more yummy because it’s been marinating for so long!

5. Make Some Pickles

Pickles? Who would have thought. Pickles are so easy to make and so yummy too. All you need is some water, vinegar, salt and maybe some spices! Get creative and try something new.

6. Bake a Loaf of Bread

Now stocking up on bread wouldn’t make sense cause of it’s shelf life. So why not bake your own loaf of bread? It’s time consuming, yes. But what else is there to do, am I right? Homemade bread is always 100 times better than store bought bread anyway! A plus side, your whole house will smell like a bakery. Yum!

7. Bake A Cake

Again, if you’re already baking a loaf of bread, why not go all out a bake a cake as well? Maybe you can try that one recipe you’ve been itching to try! Or maybe you’re just craving for a slice of cake, but don’t want to risk going out. You could try out our Date Butter Loaf Cake and let us know what you think!

8. Make Your Own Compost Bin

Instead of throwing out all those onion peelings and egg shells, why not make your own compost bin? Compost is an important supplement you can give to your garden. It fuels the growth of your plants and keeps the soil rich. The people are starting to compost more is because not only does it reduce household waste, it’s also good for the environment as it reduces land waste. Click here on how you can make your own compost bin.

 

9. Organise Your Kitchenware

Kitchenware can sometimes take up a whole lot of space in our kitchens. So it’s best we have a space or a shelf dedicated to them.  If you have kitchenware that you frequently use, you could have it kept at the front or where it’ll be easier to reach. Whereas if you have kitchenware that you don’t use at all, you could keep it in a box, and pass it out to someone who may need it even more. Not only will it help you clean out unwanted things, it’ll also get your kitchen looking more organised!

10. Read Your Cook Books

Now I know many of us here have piles upon piles of cookbooks. But do we ever really go through them? They aren’t there to just look pretty. This free time we have could be a good time for us to learn new recipes and try something new. So go through those old cookbooks of yours and get cookin’ !