Unplugged quiet hobby?
August 28, 2011 2:32 PM Subscribe
Recommendations for a solitary relaxing unplugged hobby?
I live on the second floor above an elderly couple. To pass the time after work and dinner I mostly go online and browse. When I don't do those things, I read or knit.
All these things require my eyesight, which gets fatigued at some point. I'm thinking of buying an ocarina to play on, but when I want to be very quiet during night hours, are there other hobbies which don't require noise or screen time?
I have squeaky floors, otherwise, I'd be doing a lot more yoga and exercise.
I live on the second floor above an elderly couple. To pass the time after work and dinner I mostly go online and browse. When I don't do those things, I read or knit.
All these things require my eyesight, which gets fatigued at some point. I'm thinking of buying an ocarina to play on, but when I want to be very quiet during night hours, are there other hobbies which don't require noise or screen time?
I have squeaky floors, otherwise, I'd be doing a lot more yoga and exercise.
Also, I lived in a creaky apartment over top of people like that and after they saw that I was a very reasonable and accommodating person, they got kind of bold and their noise threshold got lower and lower. Eventually I exploded and told them that they could expect a certain amount of noise between certain hours and they would just have to lump it.
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:43 PM on August 28, 2011
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:43 PM on August 28, 2011
spinning is about as soothing as it gets, and you don't really need your eyesight the way you do with more intricate things. Try a drop spindle and see if you like it?
posted by peachfuzz at 2:48 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by peachfuzz at 2:48 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
(also, it's silent—until you drop the spindle, of course. Do it over a rug until you're proficient if you're worried about noise)
posted by peachfuzz at 2:49 PM on August 28, 2011
posted by peachfuzz at 2:49 PM on August 28, 2011
Get a digital piano with headphones if you want an instrument - you can be as loud as you want and still be in your own little world.
If you're artistically minded, I recommend working with clay. I almost never finish something, but the process is very meditative and relaxing. There's a lot of options out there for messier/cleaner kinds of clay to work with, some that require a whole area covered in newspaper and others you can do in your living room. A cleaner, but similar, kind of experience can be found through making collages.
posted by subject_verb_remainder at 2:56 PM on August 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you're artistically minded, I recommend working with clay. I almost never finish something, but the process is very meditative and relaxing. There's a lot of options out there for messier/cleaner kinds of clay to work with, some that require a whole area covered in newspaper and others you can do in your living room. A cleaner, but similar, kind of experience can be found through making collages.
posted by subject_verb_remainder at 2:56 PM on August 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
If you read, you can write. Unplugged, I'd consider poetry. Plugged (or, at least, iPad'ed), I'd suggest writing anything. Plugged into your keyboard (as suggested above), consider writing music.
posted by SPrintF at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2011
posted by SPrintF at 3:01 PM on August 28, 2011
Baking bread. It takes a few months to get good, then in about a year you will be awesome at it. Your friends and coworkers will eventually bow before you.
Bread baking is a good "turn off my brain" hobby for me that has a very practical side-benefit of yummy bread. I've noticed I can't make a great loaf of bread if I'm rushing or grumpy, so it is truly a buddhist practice. A delicious buddhist practice. Right now I have some savory pizza rolls in the oven that I'm going to have for lunches this week, so it is also a money-saver for me.
King Arthur Flour has some excellent beginner-level recipes on their site.
posted by serazin at 4:16 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
Bread baking is a good "turn off my brain" hobby for me that has a very practical side-benefit of yummy bread. I've noticed I can't make a great loaf of bread if I'm rushing or grumpy, so it is truly a buddhist practice. A delicious buddhist practice. Right now I have some savory pizza rolls in the oven that I'm going to have for lunches this week, so it is also a money-saver for me.
King Arthur Flour has some excellent beginner-level recipes on their site.
posted by serazin at 4:16 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
Seconding serazin and bread-baking: it's enjoyable, it's easy to give away what you produce (unlike, say, if you took up china painting: how many painted china plates can you make before your family recoils in terror at seeing you arrive somewhere? not so with delicious fresh homemade bread!), you can start simple and work your way up to fancier loaves, and I find the kneading is wonderful for stress release --- thump! thump! fold and pound. (This may be why I'm no good at a light & delicate piecrust: I enjoy the kneading too much!)
Marvelous upper-body workout too if you make enough, plus your house will smell heavenly. (Do not get a bread machine though: that takes away all fun parts and lets the machine do 'em.....)
posted by easily confused at 4:42 PM on August 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
Marvelous upper-body workout too if you make enough, plus your house will smell heavenly. (Do not get a bread machine though: that takes away all fun parts and lets the machine do 'em.....)
posted by easily confused at 4:42 PM on August 28, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'm a big fan of papercraft. Not origami, but the cutting and gluing of paper models. There are TONS of free patterns online and all you really need to get started is some elmers glue, a printer and an exacto knife.
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 5:29 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by ThaBombShelterSmith at 5:29 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
I have recommended it before-make chainmail. It takes a mind boggling amount of time. Seriously. Like the kind of thing it would be great to do in prison. I like listening to NPR or some kind of podcast while doing it. If you are so inclined it makes you a value artisan at SCA or LARP groups. You can even make kinky and/or artistic things with it, and sometimes even regal. You can still bake bread and make this stuff while you are rising dough or doing the actual baking.
posted by bartonlong at 6:57 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by bartonlong at 6:57 PM on August 28, 2011 [2 favorites]
You mentioned eye-fatigue, which makes this kind of iffy, but painting miniatures? When I was younger, I painted miniatures for the game Warhammer 40k. The models are, on average, about an inch tall, and if you check out the Games Workshop site (I'd link to it, but my work computer blocks anything that has any mention of games), you'll see the amazing level of detail they get up to. If you get interested in the game enough, you might even be up for using your models as an army. Lots of hobby shops have days and space set aside for various table top games. A warning, though: it can become a very expensive hobby. Lots of fun, though.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:11 PM on August 28, 2011
posted by Ghidorah at 7:11 PM on August 28, 2011
How about learning another language? Interacting with an audiobook wouldn't be any louder than talking on the phone or to another person, so presumably wouldn't bother your neighbors.
Also, if you have the space and the pieces aren't too small to aggravate your eyestrain, large jigsaw puzzles are great.
Or you could teach yourself chess. I'm sure there are podcasts out there.
This one might require more visual activity than you want, but beading? If you plan your pattern in advance, you can use your non-looking time to string the beads.
Nthing baking. The bonus is that you can share the fruits of your labor with your neighbors!
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:28 PM on August 28, 2011
Also, if you have the space and the pieces aren't too small to aggravate your eyestrain, large jigsaw puzzles are great.
Or you could teach yourself chess. I'm sure there are podcasts out there.
This one might require more visual activity than you want, but beading? If you plan your pattern in advance, you can use your non-looking time to string the beads.
Nthing baking. The bonus is that you can share the fruits of your labor with your neighbors!
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:28 PM on August 28, 2011
What about knitting and/or sewing?
Spin biking is a form of exercise that won't squeak your floors.
posted by hepta at 7:41 PM on August 28, 2011
Spin biking is a form of exercise that won't squeak your floors.
posted by hepta at 7:41 PM on August 28, 2011
Learn how to bake bread, bribe become friendly with your neighbours, and then negotiate good times for floor squeaking. :)
posted by titanium_geek at 2:07 AM on August 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by titanium_geek at 2:07 AM on August 29, 2011 [1 favorite]
Drawing or painting? Juggling soft things? Whittling?
posted by platinum at 2:36 AM on August 29, 2011
posted by platinum at 2:36 AM on August 29, 2011
I love linoleum (linocut) printing. and if your print is intricate it can take a while to make your cuts. Don't want to deal with paints? Try paper cutting .
Sorry I am not sure if you are a guy or a girl, but a spa routine is nice? Manicures, pedicures, plucking, masks. You could do little DIY projects like jewelry making?
posted by xicana63 at 10:26 AM on August 29, 2011
Sorry I am not sure if you are a guy or a girl, but a spa routine is nice? Manicures, pedicures, plucking, masks. You could do little DIY projects like jewelry making?
posted by xicana63 at 10:26 AM on August 29, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bonobothegreat at 2:36 PM on August 28, 2011