7 Hobbies you can learn for free while in quarantine

Are you tired of watching TV? Are you getting bored of the same, stay-at-home routine everyday? Have you lost track of what day is it? Break out of the cycle of coronavirus tedium and learn a new hobby! You just might find something you love to do.

Of course, why spend money on learning a new hobby when there are resources online that will help you for free? Check out seven hobbies that you can learn for free while in quarantine.

Learn Photography

If you have a DSLR or are simply looking to get better shots with your smartphone camera, check out Nikon’s online camera school. Nikon typically holds in-person classes, but during coronavirus, they have made a number of their classes free to watch. While some of the classes are specifically targeted at Nikon owners, check out topics like photographing kids / pets, macro photography, and landscape photography to step up your game.

Here are some more free resources to check out:

• Lifehacker: Basics of Photography: The Complete Guide
• Future Learn: Commercial Photography: Still and Moving Image
• BluePrint: Professional Family Portraits
• Alison: 7 Photography Courses
• YouTube: The Art of Photography

Learn Origami

Got a big stack of printer paper or construction paper nearby? Grab a sheet and check out the free, online tutorials for Origami folding at the Spruce Crafts. Great for party tricks and it’s also a fun activity to kill an afternoon with the kids.

Here are some additional resources on YouTube:

• Happy Folding
• Jeremy Shafer
• Tadashi Mori (Make an origami Darth Vader!)
• Kade Chan

Learn Cooking / Drink Mixing

Tired of eating cold sandwiches? Want to give your microwave a break from frozen meals? You really can’t go wrong with the Bon Appetit YouTube channel. There are hundreds of videos that walk you through the steps of making both simple and complex meals.

Regarding drink mixing, check out Steve the Bartender’s YouTube channel. His straightforward style walks you through making delicious cocktails with the most common household ingredients.

Here are some additional resources:

• Binging with Babish (awesome for creative recipe recreations)
• New York Times Cooking
• How to Cook That
• Tasty

Learn a new Language

Adding a second language to your skill set can be ideal in areas where bi-lingual speaking is an important job skill. Or it can just be fun to learn a new language before visiting another country.

We like Doulingo. The ad supported version of the software is completely free (ad-free is $7 a month) and it teaches you reading / writing and speaking the new language. The company estimates that 34 hours of using the app is the rough equivalent of taking a language course at college.

Here are some other resources:

• Open Culture (Great for popular languages)
• Learn a Language (Great for basic phrases)
• Surface Languages (Great for learning common phrases / pronunciation)

Learn Fitness / Yoga

While the stay-at-home exercise equipment market segments has exploded over the last couple years, there are plenty of ways to learn proper fitness techniques and stay active without spending a dime. Fitness trainers have flooded Youtube with free workouts, everything from pilates to boxing.

If you are just getting started, check out the videos at Fitness Blender. With workouts for both men and women, this channel really excels at walking you through the basics. There are tons of options, with varying levels of intensity. There’s even videos that require zero equipment.

Here are some other great channels:

• MadFit: Real-time workouts, all types
• Blogilates: Focuses on core, arms, legs.
• Tone it Up: Focuses on female fitness.
• Yoga with Adriene: Huge variety of Yoga tutorials.
• Walk at Home: Good for beginners, low intensity / no -equipment workouts.

Learn Gardening

Getting outside during quarantine is ideal, even if it’s just spending 20 to 30 minutes outside tending to a new garden. We like the MIgardener channel as they offer general tips videos as well as walkthroughs on what they are planting.

Here are some other great channels:

• California Gardening
• OYR Frugal Gardening: Good saving money tips.
• Urban Gardening: Great for gardening in small spaces.
• Growing Your Greens: Great for food growing tips.

Learn Knitting / Sewing

We were a bit shocked at how quickly sewing machines have sold out on Amazon, during the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps a large number of people are taking up crafting during quarantine?

Anyway, you don’t need to pay for any courses when learning to knit or fix your own clothing via sewing. We recommend the Sheep & Stitch YouTube channel to get started. They offer videos with beginner tips as well as full tutorials on making things like hats and scarfs.  On the sewing side, check out Made to Sew. Excellent walkthroughs on specific types of stitches as well as different techniques.

Here are some other great channels:

• Professor Pincushion: Excellent sewing how-to video collection
• Naztazia: Excellent knitting how-to videos.

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