Starting up my fashion no-buy challenge mixed with the nostalgic feeling of school ending and summer starting, I’m feeling this urge to make myself a bucket list of sorts, but one that really feels like the analog childhood I had. The primary goal—do more stuff offline.
I rounded up 55 ways I’m planning to unplug this summer with a mix of creative activities, low hanging life admin takes that aren’t sexy, but will make me feel better, house projects I want to tick off the list and just plain spending time with people I enjoy.
Read before bed - I’ve been in a reading slump of sorts, but need to push through and get back into the habit of reading before bed.
Eat al fresco as a family on the deck - I LOVE when we can eat dinners outside. With three kids under seven, we’re a messy bunch and eating outside saves me having to detail the dining table and floors post dinner. I throw a tablecloth over our dining table, light a candle, grab the cute cloth napkins, maybe even snip some flowers and put in a bud vase, then dine. Simple, but ever so slightly elevated.
Knit instead of scrolling - I’ve been working on this transition already and doing a good job! I bring my little knitting project tote around with my most places, especially the playground with my kids. They have fun and I get a little down time on a bench knitting. Win-win.
Take film and polaroid photos (and get them developed) - Two summers ago I got the film camera I had in middle and high school. I toted it around all summer taking film photos. Then, I never got them developed. I got hung up on finding a “good photo print shop” and not just using Walgreens photo for some reason. The perfectionist in me got the best of me. I’m going to drop my old film rolls off tomorrow and just enjoy the hit of nostalgia when they’re ready. This summer (and for the rest of the year) I’ll try and snap photos on film and drop them off at Walgreens promptly when each roll is completed.
Use my cookbooks (make my kids a summer baking cookbook) - I think I need to put them in a more obvious and accessible location. They’re high above my stove in a cabinet so I don’t see them, therefore, I don’t use them. My oldest daughter and son have been into baking lately so I want to print out a few easy recipes for them and make them a little baking cookbook of their own. It’s another great excuse for me to use my laminator (lol). I get far too much joy from laminating things.
Make my phone super boring - Today, I deleted a bunch of apps that had just accumulated on my phone. It felt great. I then decided to make it look really boring when I use it but changing my app icons to grayscale—and, whoa, is it different. I open my phone and am instantly like there’s nothing here for me. Even the notification bubbles are grayscale. So far—all of like four hours—I’m loving it.
Go for a walk after lunch or dinner - One of our favorite things to do as a family is take a walk/bike ride after dinner together. I want to start doing that after lunch at the office. My husband and I work together so it would be a nice thing to do together most days. There’s a little loop we can do in about 15 minutes just to get a little sunshine, chat and clear our brains.
Journal a few times a week - I used to do this more regularly where I was going through some deeper issues in therapy. Now, I’m feeling more at peace and haven’t had the draw to journal my thoughts as much. I want to get into the practice of journaling in both hard and easier phases of life.
Talk to friends and family on the phone - I’m a texting/snapchat friend. I don’t know why I don’t think to actually call my friends on the phone and chat, but I want to do more of it. The last few days my sister and I have been facetiming each other for our kids to chat, but it usually ends up into a 20-minute conversation between the two of use and it’s great! I want more of that in my daily life.
Cleanup my phone photos - When decluttering my apps I noticed I had the “Cleanup” app in the mix. I downloaded, but never used it. Now, I’m hoping to cull through my embarrassing amount of photos over the next few weeks or months.
Make family photo albums (I’ve gotten behind on this one) - Piggybacking off #10, I’m planning as I go through each year’s worth of photo deleting what I don’t need, I’ll be left with a batch of photos I can easily select and have printed into 4x6 prints and put into a photo album. I did this for a few years, but got out of the habit. I’d love to get all caught up on my annual albums this summer.
Finish filling my frames with black and white family photos - I still have numerous empty frames on my walls that need to be filled with photos. I love the look of black and white photos of just random life snaps in frames. I have a large gallery wall going up my stairs and at the top of our upstairs landing that’s only halfway filled with photos.
Get and use an alarm clock - I hate having my phone on my nightstand, but I never do anything about it. I’m going to move my charger to a different spot and put the kid’s hatch alarm thing in our room as my alarm clock.
Add batteries to my watches and wear them - I recently decluttered my jewelry box and had forgotten about several vintage watches I own. I need to take them to a jeweler in town and have the batteries replaced so I can wear them. I like checking the time on a watch. Something about it just feels good.
Family game night - I want to pick a night of the week were we play a game as a family. We always have Friday movie night and we used to do games weekly, but got out of the routine. It would be fun to bring it back.
Get a printed calendar - I love having a printed calendar in our kitchen for the kids (and myself) to see the month at a glance. My kids also enjoy crossing off each day and seeing the visual representation of time until a specific event.
Send letters and care packages (setup pen pal kit for kids) - My oldest is at an age where she can read and write. She recently started sending letters to her friends in the mail. I got her her own return address stamp already, but want to just setup a little box with all the supplies near the kids craft supplies to make it easier and an enjoyable thing for her to do. I also want to send my friends some cards and care packages literally just for fun! Makes me feel like I’m at camp and sending notes home to friends.
Edit family home videos to watch together - Nothing fancy here. I just drop together clips with a front title and date. No music, no fancy editing, just old VHS style video clips strung together to make a “movie.” I’ve made a few of these from trips, but I want to do some seasonal everyday life ones of just all my random phone videos from the summer. Then I upload them as private videos to my youtube channel and we watch them on the tv!
Join (or start?) a club - I want to join a book club or maybe a knitting club. Or maybe start on of my own? Even a virtual one could be fun on here? Let me know your thoughts!
Talk to people in line - Remember standing in lines and you didn’t have phone to entertain you? Yeah, I can’t really remember it either. I’m going to do my best to resist the urge to entertain myself with a little device and dare a say—talk to people? Maybe that’s a stretch for my introverted self. I’ll start with smiling and making eye contact and we’ll see where it goes from there.
Host a clothing swap with friends - It would be fun to have my girlfriends over and we do a clothing swap of our things and maybe some kids stuff? A good old book swap would be fun too!
Plein air painting (make a summer art collection) - I want to practice painting outside and painting from life. I’d also love to create collection of art this summer with a specific focus. I usually just paint whatever comes to mind when I have to time, but would love to have more a practice of creating collections. Maybe I’ll get to selling original artwork this year?
Take an in-person class - I’d love to take a plein art painting class this summer or maybe a Thai cooking class.
Press flowers and frame them or make an annual scrapbook - Two summers ago I made a big flower press and my daughter and I would pick flowers and add them to the press. I have a little box of these pressed flowers. It would be fun to create framed pieces to hang around our house with the flower and date. I love the idea of giving them out as gifts too or putting our annual collection into a scrapbook!
Sew more clothes - This one’s always on my list. This summer I’d like to make a white linen skirt, dress or two and a top. I have the patterns and fabric ready for my projects, now to just schedule the time.
Go to the farmers market - Pre-kids my husband and I lived in a small apartment in downtown St. Paul, MN. I used to walk up to the farmers market every Sunday. It was wonderful. I’d get fresh produce, bouquet of flowers and coffee. Now, we live in the suburbs and the market is a 20 minute drive, but I’d love to go a couple times this summer, either solo or meet up with my sister or friends.
Go see a movie in the theater - It’s always fun to go to the movies. My youngest might need a sitter or maybe my husband and I will divide and concur this one. My two oldest love going the few times we’ve went. I think they’re mostly in it for the candy and popcorn and seeing the movie is just a bonus ;-)
Visit the library - I used to visit the library more often. I think what would help is drastically cutting down the amount of kids books we own and then just rotate in library books or swap books with friends. I love to look through the adult arts and crafts books and cookbooks to rent at the library too!
Can pickles - Canning pickles just feels like summer to me. If you have a delicious (and easy) recipe drop it in the comments!
Learn how to embroider - I think it would be fun to add little embroidery bits to some of the clothes I already own and my kids stuff. Plus, it would be fun way to cover a up stain or patch a small hole.
Mend my clothes - A byproduct of my fashion no-buy is learning to mend the clothes I already have. I have a few pieces that need minor alterations. My favorite pair of sweatpants have a hole in the knee and I want to repair them, because they’re the most comfortable, perfectly worn in pair of joggers that the brand doesn’t make anymore.
Practice the piano - We recently got a new digital piano. My oldest has been begging for a piano and I was fully on board with the idea. I kind of took piano lessons as a kid, but it didn’t accumulate to much. I’d love to learn Christmas music and play it around the holidays just for fun.
Do a family puzzle - This one might be tricky with my 2-year-old, but the older kids looooovee puzzles. It would be fun to get a more difficult puzzle for all of use to work on and hope the 2-year-old doesn’t dismantle it in the process.
Go berry picking - There are a few berry patches near where we live. I need to add their picking season to my calendar so I don’t forget.
Use our record player - We have a record player, but rarely use it and just use spotify. I’m pretty sure my husband told me once he can hook it up to built-in home speaker system. I should circle back to that idea with him. It would be fun to put on a record on a random afternoon lounging or cleaning the house.
Go to yoga and pilates classes - I’ve been consistently working out for two years now and am in the best shape I’ve ever been. I’d love to mix in some yoga and pilates classes to the mix this summer.
Finish decorating my daughters bedroom - My daughter asked for an update to her bedroom and decided on a mermaid-ish theme. I’ve made a few changes and added a few pieces, but would like it get it “done”—paint her bed frame, hang a mirror, upgrade her book shelf and diy a cute wall trinket cabinet thing I found at the thrift store with seashells we’ve collected from our travels.
Update and organize my craft room - My craft room is perfectly functional and its absolutely amazing having a dedicated space with a door, but it’s a bit sad in there. I’d love to paint the walls and trim, hang a mirror, add a rug and a little decor to the space.
Have picnics - I love picnics in the summer. I’m more of a let’s go get chipotle and eat it at the park kind of mom and not the make cute picnic food prepared in advanced kind of mom. I keep a picnic blanket in my car, but could add a few other bit to make a ready-to-go picnic experience like napkins, silverware, cups and sunscreen/bug spray so we can dine outside on a whim.
Go to an art museum - I want to just stroll around an art museum solo this summer.
Visit the zoo - My kids love animals and we have a larger zoo about 30 minutes away from where we live. It’s kind of something I need to plan in advance and leave the house first thing in the morning to get there and home before nap time. I’m going to pick a few weekend mornings and pencil in “visit the zoo.”
Try a new restaurant - There are a few new restaurants that opened that I’ve been wanting to try.
Go on family bike rides - We have a great bike setup for the whole family now. It would be fun to explore more trails and go on longer rides with the kids. Maybe even have a picnic somewhere?!
Host a brunch - I want to be someone who hosts dinner parties with my friends, but most of us have little kids and it’s not that season of life right now, but brunch could be a great starting point for having my friends and their kids over just to hang out because we’ve all been up for awhile at that point anyways.
Dance and do karaoke as a family at home - The kids got a karaoke machine for Christmas last year and it would be fun to have a legit family karaoke and dance party night. Get dressed up, have stage names, and let loose!
Paint my nails - I tried the nail salon the other week and got dip nail polish. It was kind of awful. I want to a cute nail girlie but in reality I like them short and functional. I’ll stick to just painting my nails at home and make it fun.
Wallpaper our entryway - I’ve wanted to wallpaper our entry space for a few years, but haven’t been able to pick a design, but I’ve finally landed on a thin neutral stripe design like Chalk White Arrow’s dining room. She also makes me want to paint the ceiling blue too!
Install new kitchen backsplash tile - Another project that’s been on the to-do list for awhile. I prefer to do home projects in the spring through fall months because the weather is best setup shop in the garage or outside.
Grow our house plant family - I want to add a few house plants upstairs in our bedrooms. A room doesn’t feel complete to me until it has a plant in it.
Keep my car clean - Easier said then done with little kids, but even just a quick vacuum and wipe down makes a huge difference to my daily mental health.
Make jewelry - I made a few glass bead necklaces this spring and they’re now staples in my wardrobe. I want to try making some more jewelry this summer.
Finish the kids playhouse and outdoor mud kitchen - We built the kids a playhouse in the summer of 2021 and it could use a bit of love to make it a more enjoyable space again. It would also be nice to build them a proper mud kitchen. Right now the kids area of our backyard often gives abandon campsite chaos vibes.
Declutter the whole house - I’d like to work through decluttering the whole house again. It’s amazing how fast you accumulate things you no longer need having growing kids. Unused baby gear, random plastic toys you don’t know where they came from, cluttered art supplies, and off season clothes that probably don’t fit and-shoes! Anyone else some how end up with a million shoes around their house? Maybe it’s due to having four distinct seasons or because they seem to grow out of things almost overnight.
Get monthly facials and simplify my skincare routine - I LOVE skincare. I used to struggle with acne in my teens and 20s, which brought me into the world of skincare and I’ve been hooked ever since. I like the science and discovery of it all, but that often leads me to a surplus of products or an overcomplicated skincare routine. Now, I want to focus on a simple, yet effective routine. Save money on buying skincare and funnel it into getting a monthly facial. I recently went to HeyDay salon (think it’s a chain you can find across the US) and really enjoyed it.
Minimize multitasking - I’m the queen of multitasking. I used to wear it as a badge of honor, but the older I get the more I realize it’s not. It’s actually what often leads me to the feels of burn out or feeling not good enough because I haven’t done enough. I’m currently reading “Effortless” by Greg McKeown and it’s completely shifted my perspective on this. I want to work toward making more space for rest and only doing in a day what I can completely recover from in that day.
If you have any analog activities you’re adding to your life this summer or any season I’d love to hear them in the comments. Cheers to a more offline summer and life!
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