Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bored and poor? Cheap things to do to get your butt off the couch

I have one main goal for my life - to not look back on it with regret.  I read the poem ‘If I Had My Life Over’ written by Belinda Emmett just before she passed away.  The line I have never forgotten is  I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life’. 

So this blog is to inspire us all (including me) to get off the couch and I know it’s so cliché but GET INTO LIFE!!  There is soooo much to do, to experience.  Understandably though sometimes we need a little creative guidance especially when there are constraints such as money or weather, etc.  So, I will endeavour to provide you with ideas for fun and exciting things to do to ensure that you are really experiencing LIFE!! I may tend to get a little over excited sometimes but hey, that’s the whole essence of this blog – enthusiasm people!!

Ok so the first ‘ideas’ list is for when we want to hold back on the outflow of cashola, moolah, pennies, dough, spondulicks – yep that also means money. 

  1. Pack your lunch. Get a daily public transport ticket.  Close your eyes and randomly point your finger at the train lines and pick one.  Then either go to the end of the line or again, randomly pick a stop to get off at.  Have no expectations and go for an adventure. 
  2. Do something creative – write a poem or song, paint a picture, take some photos.  For a little extra inspiration – do it to give to a loved one.  People always love receiving homemade gifts with a bit of heart.  My partner and I made Xmas cards out of bark last year.  We cut the softer bark into triangles and stuck them on top of each other to make stars.  Then stuck the stars on harder bark that we wrote on. They looked great on presents.
  3. Have a BYO food and drinks party/BBQ.  This can be a small intimate thing – just a few of your close friends or a big thing where you keep the door open and people just come in off the street.  All you need is good music and some plates, cups, cutlery.  You could even arrange to meet up in a park so people bring their own everything.  If anyone plays an instrument, get that happening. 
  4. You can get Frisbees at the 2 dollar shop.  Take them with you to your party in the park or just out with you and your mate – it’s also good exercise.
  5. Board games – get out the old Scrabble board or Pictionary and have some fun that is also really good for your brain.  (Can also get these out at your party).  BTW - Balderdash is also a great game!
  6. Go for a bush walk anywhere, or bike ride along the Yarra (don’t forget to check out the Collingwood Children’s farm), explore botanical gardens, climb the 1000 steps in the Dandenongs, walk into the city by a route you’ve never taken, you get the gist….get off your butt.
  7. Get cultured. Go to the art gallery NGV – lots of free stuff to see free!!
  8. Check out the papers for free events – concerts, festivals.  Beat Magazine is really good for music events. ‘Only Melbourne’ is also a great resource for all sorts of stuff to do.
  9. Cook something you’ve never cooked before and maybe invite someone around to help eat it – depends how confident you are….
  10. Send out some Love!! Think of something you can do for someone else – either someone you know or someone you don’t.  Doing volunteer work is a great experience that I really think everyone should do at some time in their life.  Always thinking about ourselves – well that’s boring in itself.
I went to a workshop with Pat Pattison (song-writer extraordinaire) last weekend.    He has an idea for a song – These are the Good Old Days.   Meaning that one day we’ll be looking back at today saying, “Those were the good old days”.  So we may as well recognise now that THESE are the good old days.  I want to make the most of them.

If you have any other ideas for fun cheap/free things to do please post a comment.  Also if you know any really fun board/games – I’m on the lookout.  I heard Bocce is good?

Live it up peep’s!!


- Yolanda

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