I am someone who hates having excessive amounts of free time with no way to fill it, and as a result, I have picked up a lot of hobbies over the years. If you’re looking for something new to do this year, here a ten hobbies that are easy to start, cheap, and (most importantly) fun.
Puzzles
I personally love doing puzzles. They’re a great way to fill my days in the summer time when I don’t have much to do but it’s too hot to go outside. They can be an independent activity or a collaborative one, and you can do them while listening to music or watching that new show you haven’t gotten around to. Best of all, you don’t have to do a puzzle all in one sitting. It’s really easy to just sit down and put a couple pieces in when you have that five minute break in your day. Puzzles are relaxing, you get to make a pretty picture, and at the end, you can glue them together and display them. You can do a small puzzle, a big puzzle, a puzzle with tiny pieces, a 3D puzzle. You can find puzzles at thrift stores, consignment shops, online, big box stores, local stores. They’re easy to find, they’re cheap, and there are so many options for what you can make.
Crochet
I picked this hobby up over the summer and it’s fantastic. It’s calming and way easier to learn than I thought and now I can make all these fun little things. You can create a variety of things with crochet from tops to scarves to blankets to coasters to stuffed animals. I personally like making stuffed animals but crochet is something you can do a lot with. It’s also really accessible. There are tons of tutorials, guides, and free patterns online plus the library has books with patterns and instructions (all of which are located in the nonfiction section with the number 746.434). I also like crochet because there is a whole community of crocheters online sharing tips, patterns, and their personal projects. It is helpful, inspiring, and just nice to see other people so freely sharing their knowledge and progress in what can be a hostile online world.
Sewing
I was never the biggest sewer, but I know plenty of people that greatly enjoy it. Similar to crocheting, it can be very relaxing and it’s very versatile. You can make a lot of things using sewing, and it’s also a very useful life skill. I don’t personally sew for fun, but I do use my limited knowledge to fix things, like holes in pants or shirts. Sewing is also a pretty accessible hobby, with patterns and tutorials being abundant and easy to find online. This is another topic the library has books on, located in the nonfiction section under 646. Sewing also has an online community dedicated to sharing projects, knowledge, and patterns. Another fun thing with sewing I see a lot online is the ability to up-cycle old fabrics into something new, whether that means combining and customizing old hoodies or making dresses out of thrifted sheets, up-cycling is really fun way to customize and revitalize old things to make them useful again.
Baking/Cooking
Not only is this a fun hobby, it's also a good life skill. Being able to follow a recipe and prepare your own food is very useful, gives you a greater level of independence, and can potentially be a big money saver over going out to eat all the time. Cooking and baking are both things I really enjoy because you have the opportunity to experiment in fun ways and then you get something edible and hopefully tasty at the end. I think the cooking and baking community is better known online (who hasn’t stumbled upon a cake decorating video before?) but it's still a good resource, whether you’re a beginner or just someone looking for new ideas. You can follow online recipes, cookbooks, or throw caution to the wind and make up your own recipe. Books on cooking at the library can be found in nonfiction under 641.5 and books on baking can be found under 641.8. You can even find recipes on this blog for a variety of both sweet and savory dishes. Certain recipes are definitely trickier than others, especially when it comes to baking, but overall it's a pretty easy hobby to get into and it’s definitely one of my favorite pastimes.
Reading
There couldn’t be a library blog post on hobbies without mentioning reading. I love reading. It might just be my favorite hobby, and best of all, this one is completely free thanks to the lovely library. There are books covering everything from fiction to nonfiction, fairy tales to aliens, picture books to the thickest chapter books imaginable, graphic novels to encyclopedias and so much more. I personally love fantasy books because it lets me escape into a different world for a while, therefore escaping my problems, but you can find a book on basically anything you want. If you want to engage with other people in your reading, there is both a thriving online community and plenty of book clubs at the library that you can join. If you’re interested in a book club, I’d definitely recommend visiting the library website and going into the programs tab to see what’s available in your area. If carrying around a bunch of heavy books sounds terrible or you aren’t able to physically make it to the library, no worries, there are a wide selection of eBooks that you can read on the go. eBooks are definitely a space saver if you’re anything like me and books tend to pile up quickly (seriously I’m running out of room for them all). Have trouble reading, don’t have time to pick up a book, or just don’t like the physical act of reading? There’s a solution for that too: audiobooks. Audiobooks are a really good option if you either struggle with reading or don’t have time to read. Basically, there is something in reading for everyone and I highly recommend finding what that thing is for you because books bring me so much joy and I would like you to find that joy.
Art
Art is a very broad topic that encompasses a lot of more specific hobbies including painting, drawing, sculpting, crafting, and more. I like drawing and watercolors, but art is another hobby where there’s really something for everyone. It can be as simple as doing a coloring page or as complex as painting a mural, and as long as you remember it doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s really fun and relaxing. Again, art has an extensive online community covering everything from sketching to cosplay and its a great place to go for information and inspiration. The library also carries books on art, which are all in the nonfiction section, mostly in the 700s. If you are looking for books on something specific, I’d search the catalog from the library website or ask one of the lovely staff members. The library also has plenty of arts and crafts related events, including drop in activities where you can pick up the materials and do the project at home. Information on these events can be found on the library website under programs. Art is also a nice hobby to start because it doesn’t necessarily require a lot of materials and it can really be anything you want it to be.
Hiking
Hiking is a fun, relaxing way to get some exercise in and reconnect with nature. There are tons of free trails in North Carolina and you don’t have go very far to see some incredible views. Most hikes don’t require specialized equipment, but if you’re interested in thru-hiking or more difficult trails, make sure to do your research beforehand so you’re prepared and ready for your journey. I really like hiking because it’s a fun way to experience nature and its something I can do with family and friends. It’s good for your body and your brain and its a nice break from the hecticness of the world. Unsurprisingly, the library has books on hiking, located in nonfiction under 796.5, and there is an online community of hikers, especially thru-hikers, sharing equipment, trails, and how they keep themselves safe. A quick google search is a good way to find hiking trails near you because these things are everywhere, and not always in the places you’d expect.
Gardening
Gardening is another hobby that is both relaxing and useful. This one is probably the most expensive hobby on this list and also probably requires the most research, but I think it’s also very rewarding. You put the effort in and at the end you (hopefully) get either some delicious produce or something nice to look at. Gardening is also a good hobby if you’re looking to connect with nature, and you don’t necessarily need a lot of space to do it, since gardens come in a lot of shapes and sizes. Gardening encompasses not only the traditional flowerbed or vegetable garden but also includes potted plants and hydroponics, which makes it easier to fit into your lifestyle. The library has books on gardening in nonfiction under 635 and there a plenty of people online sharing techniques and tips that have worked for them. I would recommend using these resources and others to do some research before buying any materials since it would be really sad to do all that work and accidentally kill the plants.
Learn a Language
Knowing multiple languages is an incredibly useful and cool skill. It also takes time, which makes it a perfect hobby, and can be done really easily with the development of language learning apps like Duolingo and Babbel. I personally allow myself to be mildly threatened by the Duolingo bird into doing my Spanish and Greek lessons, but there are so many resources to choose from and so many languages you can learn. Spanish, Italian, French, German, Greek, Irish, Gaelic, Portuguese, Russian, ASL; if you want to learn it, someone or something can teach it to you. Learning a language is also a good one if you’re really busy because you don’t have to commit huge amounts of time at once. You can break it up to fit your schedule pretty easily, and convenience is typically one of the big draws for language apps. The library has books and audiobooks on learning various languages, but they’re spread out depending on the language, so if you’re looking to go the book route, I’d recommend searching “learning (insert language here)” on the library website.
Magic
Magic just sounds fun. I’ve never really tried it, but my sister did and had a lot of fun. Magic is cool, fun, and really easy to start doing. Well, maybe not super easy to learn, but you don’t need a lot to start. Just a deck of cards and a book (the library has these in the nonfiction section under 793.8) or the internet can get you pretty far when it comes to sleight of hand and card tricks. Magic is just a cool talent to have and while you might not end up as the next Harry Houdini, you can probably confuse your friends and family, and that’s pretty good too.