50 Free Ideas You Can Add to Your Self Care Routine
When people think of self care, their first thought may be to automatically assume that means spending money. Face masks and bath bombs have become popular self-care items, however, they don’t need to be the only way we practice self-care! What if I told you I had a list of free self care ideas you could add to your self care routine.
Related Post: 7 Ways to Incorporate Gratitude into Your Daily Routine
What Is Self Care
Self care is the act of preserving and recharging ourselves. Self care means different things to different people, and will not always look the same for each individual. How you practice self-care may look very different from how I practice self care.
One thing I think we can agree on is that self care does not have to break the bank! Nor does it actually have to cost us anything. When we’re practicing self-care on the regular, it can become pricey to continuously spend money on these items. If you’re like me, budget friendly options to anything are always a sensible solution!
Below you will find a list of 50 free self-care ideas that can be incorporated into every schedule and lifestyle! (Because lets be real, self-care needs to happen whether we want to spend money or not!)
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50 Free Self-Care Ideas
1. Go for a walk (bonus if you can bring your dog or a friend!)
2. Tidy a corner of your house
3. Call a friend or family member
4. Sit down and plan your week (planner optional but definitely recommended!)
5. Read an old, favourite book
6. Take a nap (how can you resist?)
7. Do some research: find a new recipe to try out or a DIY project
8. Pick a day and spend it hiking (check out parks and trails nearest to you!)
9. Create a new playlist (for the gym, of your favourite songs, whatever!)
10. Meditate or practice deep breathing
11. Stretch your whole body
12. Go through your closet and get rid of anything you no longer wear (bonus points if you donate to a friend or shelter!)
13. Play with a pet
14. Home spa day! Take a long bath or shower, shave, soak in the tub, etc. Pamper yourself from the comfort of your own home!
15. Volunteer/give back to your community (find a local animal shelter or soup kitchen)
16. Make a bucket list
17. Start a journal! Make a list of journal prompts! (Or if you can’t think of any, check out this list of prompts here!)
18. Wash your sheets (there is no better feeling than going to bed on clean sheets *drool*)
19. Start a new show on Netflix/streaming site
20. Make a budget! (Not only will this not cost you anything, you’ll end up saving money! Click here for easy money saving tricks!)
21. Make a cup of tea and cozy up on the couch
22. Just do nothing (sometimes you just need to lie down on the floor for a while no?)
23. Draw/use a colouring book!
24. Go out and explore your city (window shopping is free)
25. Tend to your garden/pull weeds
26. Sit in a lounge chair with a good book and enjoy the sunshine (nap is optional)
27. Visit your local library and find new books to read
30. Have a glass of wine
31. Make a list of 5 affirmations for yourself
32. Take a long hot shower
33. Clean your makeup brushes (this makes me feel like I have my life together)
34. Write down five things you’re grateful for
35. Make a master to do list (check out how to make the best to-do lists here!
36. Take a break from social media (turn off your phone for a few hours and get a much needed break!)
37. Go for a drive (of course crank the tunes)
38. Watch a sunset
39. Start a blog! (You can start a free blog using WordPress or other platforms!)
40. Learn something new (scour the internet or check out a Youtube tutorial!)
41. Get up and dance. Shake it out in your bedroom (bonus points for bringing out the hairbrush microphone!)
42. Have a friend over for a low-key afternoon
43. Re-organize your make-up/beauty products
44. Look through old pictures and savour the memories
45. Go on Pinterest and get inspired! (Lets be friends… click here!)
46. Go for a run or workout
47. Go to bed early (truly nothing better than this)
48. Make a pile of things you don’t like/don’t work anymore and get them out of your house
49. Check something you’ve been meaning to do off your to do list!
50. Scour the newspaper and do one of the puzzles inside!
Takeaways
Self-care is important for our own self-preservation and well-being. We don’t always have to spend money to achieve self-preservation! I am not a licensed therapist, I merely believe in the importance of self preservation and personal well-being.
Although I am not licensed to help with mental health concerns, if you find you are struggling with your mental health, click here for access to helpful resources. Remember you and your mental health come first!
Let me know if you found these tips helpful/if you have any awesome FREE self-care ideas you use on the regular in the comments!
I love how you brought so many ideas to light! Great post!
Beautiful post. I think self-care is so important! So many of us don’t know how to do it or where to start. i struggled with that in the beginning. It’s also helpful to remember that self-care can mean so many different things. I love your suggestions that involve planning/organizing/cleaning because to me that’s great self-care! I feel a little bit productive and then allow myself guilt-free indulging in the lay-around-and-do-nothing portion of self-care.
Great post!
Jessica | The Unplug Initiative
Yes to all of these! Sometimes I like to spoil myself with a homemade sugar scrub as I usually have the ingredients in my kitchen anyway or start printing photos with my instax printer and putting them in frames, changing out older photos, etc. I really like this list. So many great ideas on here! Also, weirdly video games can help. I’ve always enjoyed them and sometimes it helps focus your mind on something else, even if it seems lazy, but then isn’t the whole point to just re-focus?
Thank you for this inspiring post. I’ve already got napping and wine drinking down so the rest of these suggestions should have me covered for the rest of the year
Some really good tips in here! I didn’t think anyone else thought of tidying/cleaning as self care!
Some really good ideas in here! I didn’t think anyone else thought of tidying/cleaning as self care!
Fantastic ideas and bonus that they are free!
Donna |www.lifeasmrsjones.com
Hi angel,
What a beautiful post! This is going to help so many! And your blog is so beautiful!
Love Casey x
http://www.casestreetx.com
Great post! As someone who is very serious when it comes to improving self care! I can’t stress how positive and great this post really is! I hope at least one person reads your post today and feels better about themselves and their self care 😊❤️
Ashleigh | http://www.thestoryofashleighdavis.com
Great ideas. I do spend time in my blog which I count as self care, but I need to try some of the others on your list. I think writing down the things I am grateful for is an important one.
Self care is so important, definitely got a load of things to take away from this. Thank you x