Staying at Home: How to Enjoy Self Isolation in Your Apartment
Living Pretty Ep16 | Staying at Home: How to Enjoy Self Isolation in Your Apartment
Staying at home in quarantine is a weird new way of life we’re all being forced to adopt with Covid 19. Some people (like me) naturally know how to be happy alone at home, while others find it a bit more challenging. Either way, small apartment tips and small apartment inspiration are more important than ever since we’re all stuck inside our small space living situations.
In this video, I share some tips on how to enjoy self isolation, things to do at home by yourself, and studio apartment inspiration. Social distancing in an apartment can be a pleasant experience, and as a natural-born hermit who loves being home alone, I’ll show you how!
Watch the video now!
↓ Wanna read the episode? ↓
I’ve made some slight edits in the transcript below so that everything makes more sense in text form. But overall, this is almost a word-for-word dictation of what I say in the episode. I’m a much better writer than this, I swear, haha.
If there's one thing I know I'm really good at, it's staying at home… and not leaving. It's a natural talent of mine. I basically want my life to resemble that of a creature who lives under a rock in a secluded cave, only underneath that rock is a pretty apartment with scented candles and pretty throw pillows.
And so. Much. Netflix.
So this whole self-quarantine thing we're going through right now... I was pretty much built for this.
I'm like the survival expert character in a zombie movie. You know the one who's like a scientist or a doomsday prepper or something - they have like a unique skill set that helps the other characters sort of navigate the apocalypse? I'm like that character, only for people who suddenly have to be hermits.
Let me be your hermit guide through this self-quarantine apocalypse.
But in all seriousness, it can be really hard being stuck at home, especially when you live in a small apartment. And it doesn't help that things are looking really dire in the world, and there's so much that's outside of our control right now.
In a time where there's so much fear and tragedy, one thing that we do have control over is our homes. We're stuck in here, so we might as well make the best of it.
So I’m going to share some tips from my own experience as someone who loves being a homebody. Tips that will help you adopt more of a happy homebody mindset.
Take it from someone who has been practicing the art of social distancing since my early days of childhood when I refused to go to daycare because it was too socially draining for me. 😐
1. So one limiting belief you might be experiencing right now is thinking, “my apartment is too small to be comfortable in this time of self quarantine”.
I mean, yes, those of us who live in small apartments... it's trickier for us to feel comfortable. It's very easy to feel claustrophobic when you're living in a small space and you can't leave it. But the way I choose to look at my 500 square foot studio apartment is: it's small but it's very cozy.
Take a moment right now to look around your small apartment and think the mantra “my apartment isn't small, it's cozy… my apartment isn't small, it’s cozy” and think about how lucky you are to be living in a cozy little space.
Small space living is such a trend right now, it's become actually something that people desire. And it's always good to do a gratitude check in times like these. You and I may be living in small apartments but at least we have a roof over our heads, whereas there are plenty of people who are not as privileged as we are.
So I like to take moments throughout my day and think, “I live in an apartment in downtown Seattle, and it may be small, but I am so so lucky to be living here.” So yes, your apartment may be small but think of it like this: it's a cozy little space that a lot of people would love to be in right now.
If you want proof on just how possible it is to make a small space into a stylish sanctuary, then watch this video. It's my studio apartment tour, in which I take you through every little facet of my space and show you how I made it into my dream space.
Also, I have a free workbook you can download called Studio Styling 101 if you want like a step-by-step guide on how exactly I made my studio apartment into the space of my dreams.
2. Another limiting belief you might be having right now is thinking that your apartment isn't stylish, and it's too late to decorate right now because of the quarantine.
Well, I can tell you with utmost certainty that isn’t true.
You are totally capable of making your apartment stylish without buying anything new. First of all, this is a great opportunity to declutter and just do a really good cleaning job in your apartment. Just the simple act of decluttering will automatically make your space more stylish.
So that would be step one - to declutter. Step two for making your apartment more stylish in this time of quarantine is you can still order decor online.
Amazon has plenty of inexpensive decor that you can order and have delivered to your doorstep. And if you are financially capable right now, now might be a good time to redecorate.
Now, I totally understand that for a lot of people that's not a possibility right now, and if that's the case, then just refer to step one. Like I said, a simple decluttering session can make all the difference in your apartment in terms of making it more stylish.
But if you are financially capable to spend some money on decor right now, decorating would be a really good thing to do in this very moment. Because you're stuck at home, and if your space is not making you happy - and we're doing this for another month, two months, so on - then you're just going to be stuck in a space that is making you unhappy for all of that time.
In this video, I walked you through how I gave my apartment a refresh for under $200, so if you want some inspiration on giving your apartment a refresh without spending a ton of money, this video will show you just how possible it is!
3. Here's another limiting belief you might be feeling: this is boring.
You might be thinking that this is incredibly boring right now. You might be thinking that you need social interaction in order to feel happy, but take it from me - someone who feels extremely happy being stuck at home and not interacting with anyone - it is possible to have a grand old time by yourself with no social interaction.
Treat this time as an opportunity to give yourself space to slow down to enjoy the simple things.
For example, a lot of us complain that we don't have time to read for pleasure. Well, now we have extra time and space to do that. Working from home allows us to easily, like, during our lunch break, pull out a book. Or spend the time that we would otherwise be spending commuting to to read. Isn't there a book that you've been wanting to get around to but your life feels so crowded that there just isn't time to do it? Don't you think now is a time to read for pleasure?
We actually have some time now! Just the time that we spend commuting… it's time that we have gotten back. So if there is something you've been meaning to do - a hobby, a creative thing that you've been wanting to do, a video game that you've been wanting to play - I mean, now is a time to do that.
With the time that you would have spent on a Friday night at the bar with your friends, you could be cozied up on your couch binging a Netflix show, playing a video game, or reading a book. I mean, that sounds amazing to me.
And if you're really hurting for social interaction right now, then comment below and let's interact a little bit. Tell me what your biggest struggle is in your apartment during this time of self quarantine, and I will do my best to give you whatever styling advice I can give to help you actually get to a place where you can enjoy your space in this difficult time.
4. And the last challenge that you might be dealing with right now is feeling unmotivated.
I had one of those days yesterday and, actually, this morning.
Yesterday and this morning, I felt absolutely no motivation and it was one of those times where my work, my YouTube channel, this blog... everything felt pointless. That is one of the downsides to being stuck at home; self motivation suddenly becomes more of a challenge.
But the best way to overcome a lack of motivation is to simply take action.
Make your bed every day, get dressed every day. Taking these little actions that you would be taking if you were going to work for the day can make a huge difference on making you feel motivated, rather than just sort of slothing around in your pajamas.
...Which can be wonderful, don't get me wrong. But taking those little actions can make all the difference. Yesterday I made myself feel better in my lack of motivation just by making a sandwich and taking a shower. 🤷🏻♀️
And that helped!
And also, when it comes to a lack of motivation, this is where I kind of circle right back to the idea of the power of creating a space that makes you feel happy and is aesthetically pleasing to you. I'm not saying you have to make your apartment look like a page from Elle Decor, but it just has to make you feel good.
So when you feel unmotivated, look around you. Look at your environment, look at your apartment. What is making you feel unmotivated? What is bothering you? What is making you feel unhappy in your space? And do whatever you can do to fix that.
If there's a junk drawer that's been haunting you, for example, clean that baby out! In this video, I cleaned out my junk drawer and expressed the feelings of euphoria afterwards, and proved that taking an action like that can make a huge difference on your mindset.
So whether it's a junk drawer you need to clean out, or a corner of your apartment that you're not very satisfied with, or just a complete cluttered mess somewhere in your apartment, take this time to take care of that.
And if you are working from home and you're feeling a lack of motivation, then watch that video in which I walk you through some steps you can take to make your workspace - whether it's at a desk or on your couch - into an inspiring environment that makes you feel excited to sit down and work in.
So those are my very, very simple tips on how to make your space an enjoyable space in this time of self-quarantine.
And I know what you might be thinking, in response to videos like this... You might be thinking, “don't we have bigger things to worry about than how our apartments look?”
And yes, there are bigger things than styling your apartment, of course there are. But at the end of the day, you only have your brain. You only have your experience. And it's so easy to get bogged down in what's going on in the world - and, yes, you should be Informed. But in terms of what you actually have control over, don't you think it's worth it to make an environment for yourself that just… feels good?
In this scary time, we should be seeking out and clinging to whatever simple pleasures we can get our hands on. And one of those simple pleasures is waking up in a stylish apartment that makes you feel good.
And if you're really stumped on how to do that - how to create that space for yourself in this crazy time - then comment below and I will do my very best to give you some guidance and give you an idea of what you can actually do in your specific case to make a little sanctuary for yourself amidst the chaos of this world.
For daily glimpses in my studio apartment life and how I'm dealing with this self quarantine time, follow me on Instagram @moda.misfit. And of course, subscribe to my channel and hit the bell to be notified whenever I post a new episode.
Happy styling, my friend. And remember your apartment is destined to be pretty, and you are pretty powerful.