Monday, August 13, 2012

Fun things to do without spending a dollar / money



Check out your local Craig’s List free section or Freecycle. This is a fun way to pick up free things you need, and maybe some fun items you can redecorate or make art with. Surprising things have been known to turn up…I’ve seen soap-making kits, antique roll-top desks and even a hot tub! It’s definitely worth a spin.




Try volunteering. I know, I know, this is not what people usually think of for fun, but my husband has shown me otherwise. He regularly volunteers for behind-the-scenes help at music festivals and expo’s, which means he meets lots of great people and attends the event for free. I’ve done it with him and I have to admit, it’s more fun than simply buying a ticket and being part of the audience.















The best things in life are…actually, yes, they are free. At least, creativity is free. It’s only in recent times that recreation and entertainment has been sold to us for a very high price. But do you really want to spend $30 for a movie and popcorn with a friend? Nah, you can do better - especially if you’re trying to save money these days, like most of us. Check out these ideas and step outside of the expensive, prepackaged entertainment box.










Try your hand at guerrilla gardening. You know that boring patch of grass on the corner? I’m sure no one would mind if you sneaked in some sunflowers or a bunch of marigolds. Guerrilla gardening is an underground urban movement to take back the little green spaces most people ignore. Beautify your neighborhood, on the sly.










Hiking, biking or walking in a local natural area or park. Yes, this is obvious, but sometimes we forget how free and easy some of the best pleasures are!





Keep your eyes peeled for free concert and theater-in-the-park series starting in late spring and summer.







Take up urban foraging. Who doesn’t like free food? Learn about wild, regional edible plants or befriend a neighbor with an overloaded fruit tree going to waste. Augment your diet with fresh, free foods!






Have a partner? Have sex. Nature’s foremost free fun activity - get creative with it! (Getting busy is certainly one of our favorite healthy recommendations.)





Take your honey or some friends on a good, old-fashioned picnic.







Scour your books, CD’s and DVD’s for those items you just no longer need and trade them in for credit at a local used CD or bookstore. Spend the afternoon browsing for new reads and new tunes you’d never find otherwise. If there’s no used media store in your area, try a website like SwapTree or Title Trader.







Spend a night stargazing. Find star maps online or in the library, then scout out the darkest part of town and learn the constellations. Watch as they change through the seasons. Bring a romantic partner for extra motivation.



Explore the vast world of podcasts. I myself am a podcast addict, loving to enrich my mind with interviews and alternative news. You can find storytelling and comedy podcasts too if you prefer something a little lighter, or podcasts featuring music you’d never hear on the radio.

500 Things to do when bored

Fun Things to do when bored

•Blow on a blade of grass,
•Blow on a beer bottle,
•Blow bubbles with bubble gum,
•Crank up some music,
•Cut out your photos and paste them on sticks and have a puppet show,
•Eat everything in your refrigerator,
•Eat 6 spoon full of sugar, a soda, and another think that makes you hyper and then you won't be bored anymore, you will end up finding something to do... trust me
•Experiment with makeup,
•Get a bubble blower and then blow some,
•Get a tootsie pop and see how many licks it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop,
•Laugh out loud,
•Learn how to fake an accent,
•Make a humorous crank phone call,
•Make an entertaining phone answering-machine message,
•Make up songs or poems about your boredom,
•Nap for one hour,
•Play cards,
•Play Dead,
•Play house with yourself,
•Play with marbles,
•Pop zits and blackheads, clean lint out of belly button, q-tips, and find those hidden treasures of the nose,
•Practice your arm pit farting skills (Advanced participants try with your hand cupped on the back of your knee)
•Pretend that you are not bored,
•Read some comic books,
•See how long you can hold your breath,
•Send a tune with keypad numbers on the phone,
•Sing even if you can't,
•Spin until you're dizzy,
•Stand on your head,
•Stare at the ceiling and try to make something out of the dots,
•Write your name in permanent marker on all your underwear,
•Search "fun thing to do when bored" on google,
•Break into a friend's house and clean it,
•Call a wrong number and talk to whoever answers,
•Catch a fly, then put in a jar and stick in the fridge (this cools their metabolism down), then tie the fly to the end of a thread 15in. and hold the other end of the thread while you watch it fly around (We have tested this and it works - a lot of patience is involved)
•Chase your best friend round the sofa,
•Dance around your living room naked,
•Doodle or cartoon,
•Dress in something silly and laugh at yourself,
•Fiddle around with a Ouija board,
•Figure out how to get yourself on TV,
•Find an address to your favorite famous person and write them a letter. See if they write you back,
•Flip a coin 500 times to see who wins,
•Get on the radio,
•Give names to your body parts,
•Go shop for a really cool books,
•Go through the English dictionary looking up really long words like discombobulated and brag about it,
•Have a carpet picnic,
•Have a staring contest with yourself in the mirror,
•Kiss your elbow, if you can,
•Lay a long straight line of masking tape on the floor. Now spin around really fast then try walking on the masking tape.
•Learn a new word in the dictionary,
•Learn to Juggle, tectonic, shuffle or break dance,
•Learn to peel a banana with your feet,
•Let a helium balloon float up to your ceiling and throw things at it to pop it,
•Listen to a type of music that you don't normally listen to,
•Listen to really hard music and head bang,
•Listen to some polka music and eat sausages,
•Make a list of the fun things you've already done, then admire how long your list is.
•Make a trash can a basketball hoop and throw crumpled up paper for baskets,
•Patch some clothing,
•Phone your local government rep and see if you can convince him or her to have lunch with you,
•Plan a journey,
•Play bottle cap hockey...with pens as the sticks and a bottle cap as the puck,
•Play dress-up with all the clothes you have in your closet,
•Pronounce your friends names.backwards!
•Put doll clothes on your cat and play dress up,
•Rent a movie, 1 hours later go back to the same movie store and rent the sequel, 1 hours after that go back and get the third movie,
•Rent some fun movies,
•Roll your change,
•Run around your house as fast as you can and, count how many times you can go without getting tired.
•Shave your head
•Sit at your desk with your left arm sticking out until it goes numb
•Snap your fingers as if suddenly you have a bright idea and see if you get any
•Take a company that has been getting on your nerves - find out who the person is that you should write complaints too. Write a letter to them with the most trivial or confusing complaint. Ensure you talk in circles so that the letter is well written but extremely confusing
•Take one hundred dollars out of the bank and spend it all on yourself
•Throw a huge party for no reason at all
•Turn on the T.V., put it on mute and make up dialogue
•Washable crayons are a wonderful invention. Pick a wall and invite friends
•Watch 101 Dalmatians and see if they really show 101 Dalmatians
•Watch a foreign film
•Watch cartoons (preferably funny stupid ones)
•Write a big list of fun things to do
•Write a limerick or twelve
•Write a rant letter to the paper
•Write out ten things that make you happy - then do one of them
•You and a friend pick your noses and see who has the biggest boogers
•Outside Boredom Fighters
•Bring dog treats to the park and meet 25 new dogs
•Burn things with a magnifying glass
•Buy the craziest, most comfortable slippers you can find
•Climb a tree
•Find some crutches and pretend to have a broken leg
•Go through this blog "fun things to do when bored" 100 times.
•Flirt with people,
•Go dumpster diving and see what you can find,
•Go out and get your motorcycle license,
•Go to a candy store and buy a ton of candy. Eat all day
•Go to the 24 hr grocery at 1 a.m.
•Have an egg toss,
•Make a rope swing
•Make faces at strangers to make them laugh
•Play Frisbee
•Play knicky knicky nine doors leaving freaky anonymous notes behind
•Put bunny ears on people you don't know (the two finger kind you know, like a peace sign)
•Skip rope,
•Take your TV outside,
•Try to stay up for 24 hours,
•Volunteer for a charity,
•Walk around a public park, every so often pretend to trip on a 'invisible' wire.
•Watch kids play - and then join in
•Read through fun-things-to-do-when-bored