100+ Free Self-Care Ideas to Help You Flourish in Life

If you need a break from the craziness of life, here’s a list of FREE self-care ideas and activities to help you finally focus on yourself. 

Life is hard sometimes. It can be stressful, overwhelming, or just plain busy. The days seems like minutes and the to-do lists seem mile-long. Anyone nodding furiously yet?

Whether it’s work-life, money, relationships, or something else, everyone needs to decompress and take time to care for themselves. ::enter self-care::

Yeah, I know, self-care is kind of a hippie term now. It’s popular, fad-ish, overused, and some of you may even think it is malarkey. <– I’m trying to keep this blog PG 😉

But it’s so, so important. Taking care of yourself, making sure you are happy and healthy, should always be a priority. The problem is that it can sometimes feel like there isn’t enough time or money to care for, or treat, yourself.

But I’m here to prove you wrong. I created a long list of FREE self-care ideas. I also made sure to include self-care activities that don’t take up a lot of time. Only have 5 minutes? No problem. You’ll find something on the list. So let’s get started.

Ain’t-got-no-time Self Care Ideas (< 5 minutes)

• Exchange a quick massage with your partner/spouse
• Declare a no-chore day
• Light a candle
• Dance it out to your favorite song
• Snuggle with your dog
• Take a break from everyone else; be alone
• Try some aromatherapy with an essential oil diffuser
• Scream into a pillow
• Stretch

Feeling-so-sluggish Self Care Activities

• Go outside for a walk (or a sit) for 10 minutes. The sun (and Vitamin D) does magic to your mood.
• Exercise
• Create a playlist of happy songs
• Schedule your doctor appointments for the year
• Take a nap
• Take a yoga class (my town offers free classes in a local park)
• Ask a neighbor or a friend if they need help with something
• Find a new place to volunteer
• Cook a new-to-you healthy recipe
• Take a dip in the local pool
• Climb a tree…or at least try to
• Walk through a farmer’s market
• Take your dog (or your neighbor’s dog if you don’t have one) for a walk
• Drink 8 glasses of water in one day
• Go for a bike ride
• Go geocaching
• Find and explore a local park you’ve never been to before

Financial Self-Care Ideas

• Create a budget
• Start a spending log
• Create a plan to get out of debt
• Get motivated to become debt-free
• Read a money book (my favorite is this one)
• Open up an IRA account
• Set up a spreadsheet or use online software to start tracking your net worth
• Have a money conversation with your significant other
• Download iBotta to start saving money at the grocery store
• Try to sell one thing on Craigslist or ebay
• Create sinking funds for  your future expenses
• Start a savings jar (or savings account) for something you’ve been eyeing
• Listen to a personal finance podcast to learn something new

I-desperately-need-to-change-something Self-Care Activities

• Create a bucket list
• Scope out a new hobby
• Try a new craft (with supplies you already have)
• Hang up a new painting or swap out framed pictures in your house
• Make a vision board
• Start a gratitude journal to reset your mindset
• Purge your clothes (or your books, or something else you have too much of)
• Reorganize your desk at work
• Watch a make-up tutorial and try it on your face

I’m just-so-stressed Self-Care Activities

• Get creative a make a stop motion video
• Go to an animal shelter and just play with the animals
• Try the Hygge lifestyle for a day
• Listen/watch a comedy show
• Do an arts and craft project
• Do that one thing that’s been on your to-do list forever
• Flip through some of your old photos
• Go on a hike with a friend
• Find a new spot to watch the sunrise or sunset
• Bake a cake
• Go for a long car ride

Life-is-overwhelming Self-Care Activities

• Meditate
• Create a meal plan for the next week (or month)
• Take a bath with too many bubbles
• Play hookie from work (call it a mental health day)
• Create a morning routine
• Create an evening routine
• Get some sun
• Don’t watch TV for an entire day
• Organize your junk drawer
• Clean out your purse
• Read some inspirational quotes and write down your favorite to inspire you every day
• Pack lunch for the week (or do something to make your week better)
• Put your cell phone down
• Have a slow day
• Write down what your ideal week looks like

I-work-too-much Self Care Activities

• Play a board game
• Head to the library and find a good book (or do a bunch of other free library activities)
• Explore a part of your town that you’ve never been to before
• Have a spa day (or hour) at home
• Paint your nails
• Watch a movie (with no multi-tasking)
• Create a happy playlist and dance it out
• Unplug for day
• Listen to an audiobook
• Sleep in
• Swap massages with your spouse
• Try a new hairstyle
• Go to a museum
• Play with origami
• Wear a fancy dress and go full-glam to dinner (at home) tonight

I’m-feeling-sad Self-Care Practices

• Plan a dream trip
• Plan a day trip
• Visit family
• Visit friends
• Learn calligraphy
• Call someone you care about
• Play a musical instrument
• Offer to babysit for a neighbor, friend, or family member
• Send a postcard or handwritten letter to someone special
• Share a happy childhood memory with someone
• Write a list of compliments to yourself
• Write a list of compliments to your partner (or friend)
• Write down the best thing that happened to you this week, this month, and this year

The Importance of Self Care

The one thing in life you can’t neglect is yourself. Yes, you may have a million things to do and it’s so easy to forget about taking care of yourself (or even worse, intentionally not take care of yourself). But you are just burying yourself into a deeper hole of stress, worry, and ultimately an unhealthy lifestyle.

I challenge you to pick one thing (just ONE thing) from this list. Everything on this list is free, and many things don’t take a long time. Money and time can’t be your excuse. You deserve it.

What’s your favorite self-care practice?