What to Do When Stuck at Home: 9 Fun & Free Things to Pass The Time
Need ideas for things to do while stuck at home?
The best cost-free solutions for what to do when stuck at home.
Having extra free time is a blessing and a curse.
It’s great…until you have it and don’t know what to do with it. And then the boredom sets in.
So here are 9 things to do when you’re bored and stuck at home:
FREE Things to Do When You’re Stuck at Home
1. Plant Flowers to Help Bees & Butterflies
Bee and butterfly populations have been declining alarmingly fast in the past 5 years.
To address this issue:
Alt National Park Service is offering free Black-Eyed Susan and Butterfly Milkweed seed packs. You can do your part to help pollinators by filling out a mailing form to request seeds here.
2. Binge Watch Shows You Haven’t Seen a Million Times Already
SLINGTV Free Live Streaming
For a limited time, you can watch select On-Demand Movies, TV Series and ABC News Live for free with SLINGTV. No credit card info needed!
There’s no need to sign for an account, either. Head here and click “watch free now” to start streaming.
Access SLINGTV on a Chrome, Safari or Edge browser, OR by app download on a Roku, Amazon or Android device.
NOTE: The SLING TV free experience is currently not available on iOS devices with an app download.
For more information, see this page.
CBS All Access Free Month
Get a free 1-month trial of CBS All Access by using promo code ALL at checkout.
When does the offer end? April 23rd, 2020.
Cost after trial ends? $5.99/month for the Limited Commercial Plan or $9.99/month for the Commercial Free plan.
*Cancel before the trial ends to avoid getting billed. You can cancel right after signing up and still enjoy the full 1-month trial.
Amazon Prime is also offering customers a free 30-day trial of CBS All Access.
SHOWTIME Free 30-Day Trial
SHOWTIME is currently offering new customers a free 30-day trial – no promo code needed.
Cost after trial ends? $10.99/month.
*To cancel your subscription and avoid being charged, you must cancel before the end of the free trial period. You can still enjoy the full 30-day trial even if you cancel right after signing up.
In addition:
Amazon Prime and Prime Video subscribers can enjoy a free 30-day trial of SHOWTIME.
If you already subscribe to Xfinity, you can watch SHOWTIME, EPIX, and select other channels On Demand for free. Offer ends April 14th, 2020.
If you are a DIRECTV customer, through March 26th you can watch the SHOWTIME channel for free.
DISH is also offering subscribers free SHOWTIME access through April 3rd, 2020.
Roku Free 30-Day Channel Subscription
Do you use a Roku device? For a limited time, you can get a free 30-day trial for select channels available on the Roku Channel. No promo required.
Here are the channels offering a free 30-day trial:
- Showtime
- Lifetime Movie Club
- Hallmark Movies Now
- UMC
- Shout Factory TV
- EPIX
- Scream Box
- Fandor Spotlight
- Fit Fusion
- Acorn TV
- Smithsonian Channel Plus
- A&E Crime Central
- & more!
Cost after trial ends? $5.99/month per channel.
*All of these channels will renew automatically after the free trial ends. Make sure to cancel before the trial ends to avoid being billed. Cancel right away and you can still enjoy the 30-day period.
Select HBO Shows & Movies Free in April
For all of April 2020:
HBO has made some of their most beloved shows, documentaries and movies available to the public.
Watch The Sopranos, Veep, Silicon Valley, McMillion$, The LEGO Movie 2 and more for absolutely free! No subscription required.
Head to HBO GO or HBO NOW or On Demand to press play.
3. Relax With Coloring & A Good Book
Free Printable Bookmarks
Like cats and bad cat puns?
Kill some time with one of these (cute) free coloring bookmarks. There’re fun for adults and kids.
Kindle Unlimited Free 30-Day Trial
For a limited time, Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial of Kindle Unlimited.
With it:
You have access to over 1 million book titles, current magazine, and audiobooks. No Kindle device needed – read anywhere with the Kindle app.
Cost after trial ends? $9.99/month.
*Cancel your trial at anytime before it ends to avoid getting billed.
4. Prioritize Self-Care by Zenning Out
Calm.com is currently offering a page full of resources to help you take care of your mind and stay grounded. All free of charge.
Here’s what’s included:
- Meditations
- Sleep stories
- Mindfulness training
- Calm masterclasses
- and more.
There’s no need to sign up for anything to access the free resources.
5. Learn a New Skill
Free Guitar Lessons from Fender Play
Wanna learn how to play guitar? Fender is currently offering a free 3-month subscription to Fender Play. No credit card info needed!
The subscription lets you choose from lessons for Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Ukelele or Bass, as well as different genres of music.
When does the offer end? This is limited to the first 500,000 who sign up. So hurry if you want to get the free lessons!
Free Cooking Classes from Milk Street Cooking School
You can now access Milk Street Cooking School’s entire line of online cooking classes online for free. Improve your cooking skills by creating an account – no credit card info required.
When does the offer end? April 30th, 2020.
Unlimited Free Classes from Bluprint
Bluprint is now offering free unlimited access to its library of over 1300 classes. They have lessons on crafting, food, art, fitness and more.
No subscription needed!
This offer expired on April 9th, 2020.
2 Free Months of Skillshare Premium
Explore 25,000+ classes with a free 2-month membership to Skillshare Premium.
The online classes cover topics of productivity, creative writing, business, photography, fine art, and more. You don’t need to use a promo code to take advantage of this free offer.
Cost after trial ends? $8.25/month.
*Cancel before the trial ends to avoid getting billed. You can cancel right after signing up and still enjoy the full 2-month trial.
6. Set Up a Budget
Use my free monthly budget template or college student budget template to get a big picture look at your finances.
A little planning can go a long way. And now is the perfect time to get a handle on budgeting. Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to do.
7. Complete a Puzzle With Friends
Ravensburger is a new digital platform for putting together digital puzzles. You can work on a puzzle by yourself, or work together with a group of up to 8 people.
It’s the perfect way to get some friend time while still practicing social distancing. It’s free to use, you just need to create an account to get started.
8. Upgrade Your Bullet Journal
Get the Instagram-worthy bujo you’ve always wanted with a little help from these popular free bullet journal printables.
Because there’s nothing wrong with faking it until you make it.
9. Focus on Your Fitness
Free 6 Weeks of Centr by Chris Hemsworth
Right now you can try 6 weeks of Centr for free. This offer has expired but can still get a free 7-day trial.
Centr is a health & fitness program that Chris Hemsworth launched in 2019. The subscription includes workouts, advice, recipes, and guided meditations.
Cost after trial ends? $10 – $29.99/month.
In order to activate this offer, you will need to select a subscription and enter credit card details. Your credit card will not be charged during the trial.
*You can cancel at any time by switching auto-renew off. Switching auto-renew off does not restrict access to Centr during your trial.
Peloton Membership Free 90-Day Trial
Access the FULL Peloton digital library for free by signing up for a 90-day trial – this offer has expired, it’s now a 30-day trial. Inside are a mix of classes on yoga, meditation, strength, cycling, running, and more.
Cost after trial ends? $12.99/month.
*Peloton will remind you three days before your trial ends so you won’t be accidentally billed, and you can cancel anytime.
CorePower Yoga Free Online Classes
CorePower Yoga is giving everyone free access to a new collection of online classes every week. No subscription needed!
Orangetheory Fitness Free Online Classes
Orangetheory Fitness is also posting free classes on their website. Anyone can watch these videos with no membership required.
Bonus Activity Idea: Donate Blood & Earn a Free Gift Card
If you’re feeling stir crazy and you need to get out of the house for a while:
Why not donate some blood?
Right now there is a shortage of blood due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So it’s super needed.
The Red Cross is even thanking donors of blood, platelets, or AB Elite plasma with a $5 Amazon gift card. This offer goes through April 30th, 2020. This offer has now expired.
Final thoughts on what to do while stuck at home…
I hope that these fun things to do while stuck at home help you beat back the boredom for at least another day.
If you have more ideas on what to do when you are stuck at home, please leave a comment below!
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About Charlie
Charlie is the co-founder of College Life Made Easy and author of the book 175+ Things to Do Before You Graduate College. She’s a 2015 graduate who teaches overwhelmed students and parents of students how to confidently navigate the whole college thing. As a former broke college kid, she’s passionate about helping students develop the skills they need in order to thrive (instead of just survive), stress less, and actually enjoy the full college experience.