We Bet You Never Expected This Weird Method For Beating Summer Boredom

With great power comes great responsibility, and with the incredible freedom of summer break comes the potential for endless hours of summer boredom.

If you've already spent a lot of your vacation just sitting around, prepare yourself for a totally bizarre life hack. You probably won't be thrilled to hear it, but here it is:

Clean your room.

Okay, we totally get that a summer cleaning is likely the last thing you want to do when you're already bored (why add to the boredom?) but hear us out.

(via Shutterstock)

Firstly, if you've been living in clutter city since the end of the school year, we bet you've at least occasionally been overwhelmed by the mess. Tidying up frees your mind from that nagging voice that's been begging you to clear your living space. A happy mind will make for a happy soul.

But secondly, and most importantly, a thorough cleaning of your room is the perfect way to stumble across old memories, half-finished endeavors and abandoned hobbies that are just the thing to fuel your summer creativity. Here are a few things you might run into along the way:

Journals

A lot of us kept journals or diaries as kids, and revisiting them allows us to walk the path down memory road. Whether rereading yours delights or utterly embarrasses you will depend entirely on who you were then and who you are now, but old musings are always worth taking a look. If you're a particularly prolific writer, you could likely spend hours looking through your compositions. If you're feeling particularly generous, you can even share the best bits on your socials. Please?

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Old Phones

Old cell phones are fun, not only because they feel totally outdated in the span of like two years, but also because they're a glimpse at who you were at the time. Maybe your camera roll is full of selfies that now make you cringe and the phone is full of apps that no one uses anymore. Maybe your contact list holds people you've since lost contact with and your lock screen is a pic of your old celeb crush. Cherish those memories!

Stickers!

If you're anything like us, you've probably stowed away a sheet of stickers for a rainy day, only to find that rainy day never came and you amassed a huge collection of awesome stickers over the years. Yes, placing them can feel like a major commitment, but maybe it's time to find a new place to keep them close by so that when the perfect sticky opportunity arrives, you'll know exactly where to look.

Candy?

It's pretty exciting to stumble upon a stash of candy you hid away to consume at a later date, but think before you dive in. That holiday candy may still look totally tempting, but is it worth getting sick over it? Double check expiration dates before you put anything in your mouth, and toss out anything that's at all iffy. Candy costs like $2 at the store, so it's not a big loss if you have to let this candy go.

$$$

Speaking of dollars, a room-cleaning sesh is primetime for finding cash. Maybe you tucked away a bill or two for safe keeping and forgot about it, or maybe you forgot to take the money out of the card after a birthday or holiday. Leave no greeting card envelope and jacket pocket unchecked! You just might find enough money to treat yourself to something nice.

Knick-Knacks

How nostalgic are you? If you stumble on an old teddy bear you loved as a child, do you lean toward putting it on display or chucking it in the trash? Your sentimentality will probably dictate what you do with your old knick-knacks. If you're still attached to the old stuff, consider putting it on your desk for everyone to see. Otherwise, start a donation pile and give it to a local thrift shop. A stranger might end up loving your stuff as much as you did when you were little.

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Craft Sets and Unfinished Projects

Once upon a time, you obtained a craft kit that could make for a really awesome DIY, but you totally forgot about it during the school year and it found its way under your bed or in the corner of the closet. Now that you've got ample free time, dust it off and finally make time to create something. Maybe you were trying to learn to sew or crochet. Now's the time. You might also stumble upon a project that you started but never took the time to finish. It's never too late to jump back in. You just might find a new hobby in the process.

Instruments

Remember when your parents bought you that guitar or flute or keyboard and you tried to learn it for two weeks before you gave up? Now that the distractions of school have gone away, it's time to become a musical master. Go online and watch beginner's tutorials, and don't be afraid to go at your own pace. Practice for an hour a day and by the end of the summer you'll barely believe you didn't know how to play at the beginning.

(via Shutterstock)

 

That's just the beginning of the awesome junk you can find when you take the time to do a deep cleaning of your room. Maybe you'll get totally distracted by something great in the first 20 minutes—and that's okay. You can make a week-long project of finding the weird hidden goodies you totally forgot about.

At the end of your cleaning session, chances are you'll be able to create a big old pile of stuff that's totally worth revisiting. This method may not keep you occupied all summer break, but if you don't have anything else planned, why not give it a shot?

 

Almost ready for your summer cleaning? Click HERE to find out why you should never take summer for granted.