British weather can be notoriously unpredictable; it seems that we can be in the midst of a blistering heatwave one day and then in the throes of torrential rain the next. Also, isn’t it hugely frustrating when that rain happens to fall just when you had been set for a summer getaway?
If you’d booked time off, but the weather has thrown a spanner into the works, rest assured that a stay indoors doesn’t have to be boring. It can even be productive if you know what to do…
Give your house a “spring clean”
Yes, it’s technically summer rather than spring right now – but, since you won’t exactly be enthusiastic about heading outdoors right now, it’s a great time to do some cleaning.
Cleaning might not seem like the most exciting summertime activity, but look at it this way: if you extensively spruce up your abode now, you can save yourself having to do it later, when the sun is out again and you’d rather be in the great outdoors, catching the rays.
Get reading
Maybe there’s a particular book or magazine that you picked up recently but haven’t got round to reading from cover to cover. A rainy day gives you a convenient opportunity to pick up where you left off; you could even browse the digital shelves of Amazon for some new e-books to download.
Research says good things about the mental effect of reading; it can make you feel more empathic, lower your stress levels and perhaps even help extend your lifespan, says O, The Oprah Magazine.
Reassess your finances
Until you look closely at what your household is regularly spending, you might not realise just how much could be saved each month. Perhaps you’ve stopped using a particular service to which you are still subscribed, or insurance rates have improved since you last sourced cover.
You could also save money by switching to paperless billing or looking for cheaper prescription costs. The whole job of overhauling your finances could take only a few hours of work.
Do some DIY work
If you’ve long noticed how you could improve a particular room of the house, such as by repainting it or putting up a bookshelf, but just kept telling yourself that “I’ll get round to it one day”, the unexpectedly rainy day can be that day!
Nonetheless, a particularly demanding project could take up more than a day of your time. Fortunately, if there’s a homeware store like Pagazzi near you, you could easily head out to buy lighting, mirrors and furniture from there once the bad weather has eased up.
Plan your next getaway
Here’s another way you can look to the future. If you have kids, you could let them choose the location and involve them in researching how to reach it and the activities there, suggests Real Simple. According to research published in The Journal of Experimental Psychology, people planning a holiday are happier than those who don’t, possibly due to the former anticipating their trip away.
