From Work From Home to Vacation From Home: 10 Easy and Luxurious DIY Home Upgrades

When envisioned what it meant to “live your best life”, many of us didn’t include a pandemic and mandatory stay-at-home orders on our list. Yet, here we are! I would do anything for a surprise trip to Europe right about now, or even my annual family vacation at the cabin. This year as many of us swap our vacations for staycations, we could all stand to add a little more luxury and glamour to the equation. No matter your budget, we have ideas to make this year’s much-needed staycations one of your best!

• Unplug: It’s no mistake that this is number one on our list! Having your phone or laptop next to you is too tempting and it feels too much like work from home rather than a vacation from home. Set that outgoing message and stick with it! If you can pry the electronics away from your family too, it’s even better. Eliminating screen time will help you to escape the digital world, tune in with family, and will help you sleep better too. Good riddance!

• Upgrade your Sleep Situation: Sleep, and I mean good sleep, is the rarest commodity on Earth right now. Since we won’t be out walking the streets of Paris or going on long hikes, it might be harder to signal to your body that it’s time for sleep. To help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep, try upgrading your sheets to a soft (and sustainable) bamboo blend, invest in a cooling gel pillow, or try out a weighted blanket. One of the biggest barriers to restful sleep these days is that our bodies have no routine to know when it’s time to sleep. In addition to cutting out screen time, try getting natural light in throughout your vacation and cutting it out when it’s time to go to sleep. Carpe Noctem!

• Tune In to Audiobooks and Podcasts: If your Christmas wishlist is only two items long, let it be these two: 1) noise-canceling headphones 2) a new audiobook. When we’re stuck in our home offices even while we’re “off duty”, it’s hard to not let your mind wander back to work! With a good book or podcast and a pair of headphones at your side, you can leave it all behind. Try listening as you exercise, go for a walk, or build a puzzle. Not only does it help you to relax during your staycation, but it can also make you feel more accomplished knowing you’re all caught up on your favorite novel! Here are a few of our favorite women’s health and wellness podcasts to help get you started.

• Swap Wine for Mocktails: That bottle of wine sure is tempting, but the morning after isn’t! For more restful sleep and happy mornings after, try swapping wine for high-quality non-alcoholic spirits! There are plenty of new spirits on the market with complex flavors and unique ingredients that rival traditional spirits. If your glass of wine is the one thing you’ve been looking forward to, you don’t have to cut it out. Start off with your favorites and add non-alcoholic spirits to follow to suit your cravings and eliminate the side effects!

• Get Crafty: What’s that project that you have been putting off for months? Just because staycations should be relaxing doesn’t mean they can’t be productive too! I know that personally after I get a good day or so of relaxation, I’m ready to get back to my projects. Try starting a new project like crocheting a new cozy blanket, getting some holiday decorating done, baking, or making art to add to your Zoom background. If we have the whole “office” to ourselves, we might as well decorate the walls right?

• Outsource: When you see that pile of laundry or dirty dishes staring at you during your vacation, it’s hard not to get to work! Where and when you can, try to save the chores for another day or make your job easier by enlisting some help. Have food delivered, drop your clothes off at a laundromat on your way to do some holiday shopping, or try to get the kids to pitch in so everyone can enjoy the vacation.

• Introduce Essential Oils: Essential oils like lavender, sage, and jasmine can be extremely soothing. I like to diffuse essential oils at the end of the day to signal to my brain (and my nose) that it’s time to relax and stop working. You can diffuse your favorite oils throughout the day to help create a calming space or reserve them for nighttime to help you relax into a deep night’s sleep!

• Don’t Skimp on Spa Day: Hot showers are a great way to unwind every day, but we can step it up for vacation! Keep the hot shower or bath, but toss in a face mask, moisturizing lotion, steam facial, or hair mask to really pamper yourself. There are plenty of DIY face and hair masks that you can whip up at home using everyday ingredients!

• Get Moving: Exercise can feel like a mountain after a long day’s work, but on your vacation, you can really slow down and have fun with it! It doesn’t have to be 50 sit-ups in a row, you can get up and get moving with a hike or kayaking trip in a national forest, dance, bike ride, or long walk in your favorite park. You can’t live your best life on the couch!

• Go Glamping: Camping, even in your own backyard, is sorely underrated! Since it’s your vacation, you don’t want to go rustic, you want to bring your favorite things outside on a glamping staycation! Start up a bonfire and enjoy your new non-alcoholic spirits, set up a tent (complete with weighted blankets and the thickest air mattress you have of course), and a hot chocolate. You can also check out nearby Airbnb pre set glamping stations to take the planning out of the equation.

While our European holidays are put on hold, there are plenty of ways to make the home feel more like a sanctuary worthy of a week-long staycation.