Category Archives: House and Home

Activities that Help Me Get Through Lockdown

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Many people have discovered they have hidden talent or skills during the lockdown. Some learned they have wanted to bake, cook, play musical instruments, or sing. Others develop hobbies like gardening, painting, reading, and writing. And some pass away the time binging on movie series or playing games to entertain themselves. All these activities have helped us get through this time.

I have my list of favorite activities that cheer me up through the lockdown. 

Online games

Playing online games keeps my sanity from the daily stresses. When I get tired from doing the household chores, I rest a bit and grab my mobile phone to play with block puzzles. It is like a mental exercise to me when I need to focus on something important.

When I am sitting in front of the laptop, I would be playing a fight virus game. It is a hospital simulation game where you get to destroy the nasty COVID-19 virtually. Even if it is just a game, it feels like you are doing your share protecting hospital workers and patients against the virus. 

To play this, tap or click on the virus to disinfect the hospital environment. By destroying the virus, you keep the hospital staff and patients safe from the virus infection; tap patients (with heart signs) to help them recover more quickly. A meter in the lower-left corner illustrates the percentage of how infected the hospital is. The game is over if it reaches more than 70 percent.

Korean Dramas

South Korean dramas are popular among their Filipino audience. I started binge-watching Korean dramas in 2016, around the time I was recuperating from a medical procedure. Watching KDramas has kept me company from boredom, and I’m still hooked, until now. I was thankful for this streamlined series because I have learned many things about Korean culture and fashion.

What is good about KDramas is that the seasons are shorter, and soundtracks are appropriate to the theme and unforgettable, too, even if I do not understand the lyrics. The funny part is I get the hang of reading subtitles fast while catching on to the scenes.

I watched almost all KDrama genres: drama, romantic comedy, melodrama, action, thriller, horror-comedy. I have tons of still unwatched KDramas on my list.

Decluttering

It is the least of my favorite activities. However, decluttering has helped me lessen my anxiety and focus on other things. It is therapeutic.

I have started putting away old clothes, a stack of newspapers, old receipts, old school books, and paper books. I am planning to sell the newspapers and schoolbooks to the junkshop. I have a bit of a problem with old clothes. Hopefully, I could find a recycling shop that would accept the clothes.

The next project will be decluttering the kitchen.

Gardening

Planting is one of the activities that hubby and I share. We do not have many plants, but we are content to see them grow every day. Gardening helps ease our worries from day-to-day activities. We are not getting any younger, and a simple hobby like this is good for our mental and emotional health.

The activities may be simple but, they help me get through the lockdown.

How about you? What are your coping mechanisms all this time? What activities do you think have helped you refocus your priorities, how it helps your mental state? 

A Permanent Home Structure with Rooftop in Mind

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Our 24-year old bungalow house has weathered numerous typhoons and some unintended distractions (house repairs by neighbors) over the years. Repairs here and there made it livable up to this time. We have plans to build a more sustainable home, comfortable enough for a family of four and a pet dog in the future, but a good kind of problem is holding us back. Our children’s education is always a priority, so any amount left after paying the monthly bills goes to the college fund.

My daughter’s rendition of our future house. Front view.

In 2019, we were left with one student to support and were discussing the possibility of saving up for our permanent home structure until Covid19 happens. We were so excited about the idea that finally, we can start building our financial plan using a mortgage calculator to help us plot the expenses once we get our (future) Pag-Ibig housing loan approved. As for the loan payment, we plan to use Pag-ibig’s housing loan affordability calculator. Sadly, all that loan and mortgage discussions are set aside for the meantime.

Second-floor plan.

Work from Home

We don’t know for sure how long this pandemic will force most people to work from home. In our case, our graphic designer daughter works from home since last year. With the future house plan, the lady will have ample space to accommodate all her gadgets and design equipment. Even if she transitions back to the office, the room will remain as her working area at home. Our son, who is still studying, also needs extra space in his bedroom to do his school work.

The good thing about working from home is that our daughter was able to save her paycheck. We also keep the allowance intended for our son. He is attending online classes so, we don’t worry about transportation and meal allowances.

Effect of Pandemic in Real Estate

Covid19 has disrupted the construction of condominiums and business buildings last year. The hardest affected were buyers, who are mostly, Overseas Filipino Workers. They have already paid for their units in advance but were dismayed to find out the construction has stopped. This issue between concerned developers and buyers has yet to be solved.

The non-payment of the mortgage had caused an increase in the number of property foreclosures since last year. Some property owners sold their residential or condominium units to start their businesses. Real estate websites such as Lamudi showed 593 foreclosed properties up for sale in Quezon City.

If you are keen enough to check on the foreclosed list, you may discover a house at an insanely low price. A business-minded person will consider this an opportunity to try to dabble in buy and sell.  

Resiliency

Ironically, some areas are depicting a different atmosphere despite the pandemic. In our neighborhood alone, several household owners are into repairing, beautifying their houses, building flower beds, and carports. The food business is likewise thriving in our area. One would think it’s a “usual” market day if not for the facemask-wearing customers queuing for their orders. Resiliency perhaps is one of the “good things” these uncertain times have given us.

Carry on

Covid19 has affected everyone but, life continues to move forward. A year after the lockdown, we have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps, we can safely move when the (Covid19) vaccine rollout reaches its intended beneficiaries. By then, we have achieved herd immunity.

Meantime, our dream house will have to wait until the pandemic is over and our youngest graduated from college. We will diligently work until we reach our goal.  

DIY Entryway Ideas

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The entry of your house is the first thing that guests will see as they enter your home, and the last thing they will see as they leave, so you will want to make it memorable. In Feng Shui terms the entryway is the most important place in the house as it is the entry point for Chi energy to flow into the home. Here are 5 entryway ideas to assist you with getting the most out of your entryway.

Photo by Collov on Unsplash

Inspiring/Uplifting

One important aspect of your entryway design is to make it inspiring and uplifting. As the first thing that people will see when they enter your home you will want to make an impact. Decorate the area with your favourite painting, or other things that add a splash of your unique taste to the room. If you can fit it in, have a small side table with a vase of flowers or if there is not enough room for a table, why not try a shelf? Whatever you choose to decorate with, make sure that it uplifts you as you enter the room.

Mirror

A mirror in your entry way will give the illusion of space and as long as it’s not placed facing the door it will assist with the flow of energy in the room. According to Feng Shui, if the mirror is placed facing the door the chi will bounce back out, which will mean that wealth flows away from your home. Whether you are following Feng Shui principles or not, a mirror will help to make your entryway more spacious.

Make it spacious

The more light in your entryway the better; so if you have a window in the room it will assist you with making the space feel more spacious. The biggest thing to remember with increasing the spaciousness of the room is making it as uncluttered as possible. If there are piles of clutter and too many pieces of furniture it will make the room closed in and feel less spacious. One important aspect of keeping it spacious is to make sure that the front door opens and closes without restriction.

Represent the 5 Elements

If you are following Feng Shui principles for maximum effectiveness and flow of light and energy, then you might want to include the 5 elements of water, fire, earth, metal and wood. You could incorporate some of the elements into the physical design of the walls/doors/furniture in the room, or for ones such as fire you could have a picture of a fire, which would achieve the same results.

Have a great front door

As the very first thing that people will see when they come to your home, before they even come inside, the front door has to be awesome. You will want it to reflect your personality and say something about the people that live in the home. One way to increase spaciousness in your entryway is to get a front door with glass windows so that more light can come into the room. If you already have a door that you love and would like to add some windows to it then you could probably find some Stihl power tools that would help you to do the job.