26 Lovely, Fun, FREE Things To Do During The 2.28 Economic Blackout

Have a wonderful day whilst giving $0 to autocrat billionaires!

I bet you already know that February 28th is Economic Blackout Day, right? It’s an opportunity for us to remind our current administration and the 11 companies that control pretty much everything that they’re not the only ones with power. We can vote with our dollars and we’re not afraid to withhold them.

But we don’t believe in the “overly virtuous lunch" in this house. (A.k.a. Denying yourself and your needs so completely that you ‘over correct’ in the other direction.)

We can boycott billionaire-owned big box stores and host our friends for a “what’s in the pantry” dinner party.

We can skip the $15 lunch out and eat a giant bowl of buttery popcorn in front of a favorite comfort movie.

We can funnel our dollars towards locally-owned businesses and have exactly as much fun as usual.

1. Take a nap

But, like, a really good one. Turn on some white noise, change your pillow case (it gives you that ‘new sheet’ feeling with less work), take off your bra and spray a bit of lavender or eucalyptus essential oil onto your pillow.

Sidenote: rest can be a revolutionary act - credit to Audre Lorde!

2. Give yourself a mani or pedi

Add a few drops of essential oil and body wash to a pretty bowl of warm water and soak your extremities while you watch an episode of Only Murders In The Building. If you don’t have a manicure or pedicure set, push your cuticles back with a wet washcloth. If you’re feeling fancy, exfoliate with a brown sugar body scrub and slick on a few coats of a color you love.

3. Re-read a favorite book or rewatch a favorite movie

Resist the urge to treat yourself to a new book purchase! Trawl your local library the way you’d trawl a used bookstore or just re-read one of your favorite ‘comfort reading’ books. If you still have a dvd player, see what DVDs your library has - so vintage!

4. Make a complicated, decadent recipe with ingredients you already have on hand

This homemade pasta doesn’t require a pasta machine and I bet you already have the ingredients for this chocolate souffle, these meringue cookies, or these homemade crackers.

5. Take a hot bath

Add powdered milk. Or real milk. Or flower petals. Or Epsom salts or bubble bath. Turn on your favorite mellow music, light a few candles, and stay in the tub so long you wrinkle and raisin.

6. Build an impeccable playlist

Make a playlist of all your absolute favorite music, choosing not to care if it’s thematically similar, segues nicely, or is ‘embarrassing.’ My favorite playlist goes like this: Dolly Parton, Vampire Weekend, Kasey Musgraves, Ke$ha, Beirut, Everclear.

7. Host a clothing swap

Invite your friends to bring their gently used clothes to your place rather than Goodwill. Make a snack platter of what’s in the pantry, put on that impeccable playlist you put together, bring out all the full length mirrors you have and everyone will leave with new outfits!

8. Have quality time with an animal

If you have a dog, take them on an extra long walk where they can sniff everything to their heart’s content, take them to the dog park, or try one of these DIY enrichment ideas. If you have a cat, see if they like those Youtube Cat channels or make them a DIY toy with something from your recycling bin. Give them a good brushing or bath and have a glamorshot-style shoot with them.

And if you don’t have a pet, see if your pet-owning friend would lend you theirs!

9. Take an aimless walk WITHOUT YOUR PHONE

Getting out into nature is lovely and calming and centering. Getting out into nature without the temptation to tweet, update, or Instagram about it is exponentially more lovely, calming, and centering. I’ll do it if you will.

10. Make a DIY face mask

It’s a cliché for a reason, that reason being: it’s awesome. You probably have everything you need for a face mask in your kitchen right now.

11. Go for a drive

Do you live near a body of water or a mountain/bluff/large hill-type thing? Go for a drive near it or on it. It’ll be sweet and relaxing and refreshing. Promise.

12. Watch a Youtube makeup tutorial and experiment

Do you, too, have a whole drawer of lipsticks and bronzers and eyeliners you’re not using? Have a search through Youtube and see if you can find some new ways to use them. Do you know how to contour? Do a real, serious cat eye? I don’t. Let’s learn!

13. Fill your travel mug with something delicious and walk around your city’s fanciest residential neighborhood

One of my all-time favorite activities is watching people and making up stories about them. Second favorite activity: going for ‘house walks’ with my BFF and making up stories about the people who live in said houses.

It’s also fun to ogle design choices and decide if you, too, incorporate an orangery if money wasn’t an issue. (I would!)

14. Devote some time to self-pleasure

AHEM.

15. Go for a nice bike ride (weather permitting)

Not to get exercise. Not to tire out the dog. Ride someplace pretty and scenic and not overrun with other cyclists. Ride at a pace that feels easy and good and notice what’s happening around you.

16. Listen to an awesome podcast

No, but really listen to it. Lay down on the sofa, open your ears and just soak it up. Like everyone else, I love This American Life and Normal Gossip.

17. Go window shopping

This is almost as fun as actual shopping. Pack yourself a travel mug of something sip-able and then wander through your city’s swankiest shopping district. Peek into the windows and imagine where, exactly, you’d wear that avant-garde cape that costs $3,000.

18. Visit a free museum

I bet your city has heaps! Or at least they have a few free nights each month. Here in Minneapolis, The Walker is free every Thursday evening and The MIA is always free!

19. People watch

A few of my favorite people-watching places: the airport, any public transportation hub, any downtown area during lunch hour or after work, flea markets, farmers’ markets, anywhere near a stadium on a big game day.

20. Take time to do your hair and makeup

Even if you’re not going anywhere. Every time I take the 10 minutes required to apply eyeliner and curl my hair I’m floored by how different I look and how confident I feel.

21. Watch a Youtube dance tutorial

Youtube dance tutorials are The Actual Best And Most Fun. No one ever has to know what you look like when you’re twerking! You can just keep rewinding and re-trying till you either a) get it b) pull a muscle from laughing at yourself.

(True story: I once performed the “Call Your Girlfriend” dance at a friend’s annual lipsync party … and only 15% of the people in attendance were familiar with the song and dance. Everybody else just thought I was wearing a fuzzy sweater and doing backwards somersaults, like, for fun??)

22. If you already have a gym membership, go there and take advantage of the non-athletic stuff

I mean, you can also go to the gym and work out but I don’t think that’s much of a treat, do you? Does your gym have a sauna? Or a hot tub? Go have a soak or a steam!

23. Draw a friend while they draw you

You’ve seen this social media trend, right? The results are usually hilarious and / or heart warming. We did this on a girls’ trip this fall - one of us went to art school, the other three of us … didn’t. It was so fun and bonding!

24. Play cards or a board game

A fun fact about me is that I refuse to play games that take longer than 60 seconds to explain!!! This means I will pretty much only be playing Pictionary, Scrabble, or Taboo and that is fine.

25. Use your gift cards

The average American has $175 in unused gift cards!! Whoever gave you that gift card already spent that money - so if you don’t use the gift card, you’re essentially donating that money to the company! This is your permission to dig out those gift cards and go spend them, today.

26. Shave your legs and put clean sheets on your bed

This is probably the best any of us will ever feel in our entire lives.

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It probably goes without saying that a one-day boycott probably isn’t enough to cure what currently ails the U.S. It took 381 days for the Montgomery Bus Boycott to affect change.

We don’t have to boycott everything forever and none of us are singularly, personally responsible for cleaning up the mess that we’re currently living through.

AND it’s nice to give our wallets and shopping carts a break from time to time.

I want to hear from you! What’s your favorite $0 way to spend your time and energy? What are your plans for February 28th?