100 Must-Try Ideas for your self-care Sunday

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What is self-care Sunday? What can I do for self-care Sunday? If you’re anything like the old me, you grab the first affordable facial that you spot at Target in response to someone asking: What do you do on a self-care day?

But in case you missed the memo, self-care is so much more than facials and mani-pedis. Self-care is an unapologetic act of self-preservation.

“Self-care queen”, Audre Lorde said so herself.

You deserve a day to unwind and experience a “weekly reset”. And that’s exactly what a self-care Sunday is. Fortunately, you don’t have to go about crafting a self-care Sunday all by yourself.

Here are 100 self-care ideas that’ll pamper your mental and physical health. These feel-good activities are both unconventional and conventional ideas for boosting your inner and outer wellness.

So grab your journal or planner, and get ready to jot down some self-care activities for this Sunday. You’ll be glad you did.

But first… a brief history of self-care

Although self-care seems to be everywhere today, it hasn’t always been this way. The idea of self-care took on a new vitality in A Burst of Light, a book by Audre Lorde.

Written after she had been diagnosed with cancer for a second time, Lorde talked about self-care as a radical political act.

“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence,” she wrote. “It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

Lorde’s ideas about self-care were picked up by many in queer, feminist and activist circles. A quarter-century after her death, this radical queer theorist has become a go-to lifestyle guru.

Lorde’s increasingly widespread recognition is very likely because of continued political shocks that have made even relatively privileged people start to feel that the world is against them and the best they can hope for is to endure.

Whether your self-care Sunday is an act of self-defense or an act of pure relaxation, a weekly reset is a gift that you more than deserve.

Now on to the list.

100 Must-Try Ideas for your self-care Sunday

1. Sleep in! Such an easy way to set the tone for a relaxing day.
2. Or try a morning skin-care routine (Can’t go wrong with some rose-water toner and a splash of cold water.)
3. And make / buy a delicious coffee drink, boba tea, or green tea.
4. And drink 64 ounces of water, and “embellish” your water with lemon and cucumbers.
5. Do a deep stretch routine or yoga session.
6. Make a fun breakfast (like chocolate chip pancakes or a smiley-face smoothie bowl).
7. Burn some incense, a candle, or a wax warmer.
8. Make a self-care board on Pinterest and fill it up with ideas.
9. Read a self-love book.
10. Go for a walk.
11. Take yourself on a date.
12. Go to a park.
13. Go to a local garden. (Y’know, to stop and smell the roses and all that jazz.)
14. Fill in a self-love workbook.
15. Do a word search or crossword puzzle.
16. Work on a puzzle. (Brownie points if you frame it.)
17. Bullet journal or junk journal. (They may look like nouns, but I promise you, they’re verbs too in the journaling community.) Check out these 10 pages that should go in EVERY self-care planner / journal.
18. Make your planner pretty.
19. Plan out your week, month, or future. You don’t have to if it stresses you out, though.
20. Try out the self-care box that Oprah Winfrey herself shouted out. Known as TheraBox, it features one research-based therapeutic activity to help you wire your brain for more joy, plus 6–8 self-care “wellness delights”.
21. Exfoliate your skin.
22. Drink a homemade detox.
23. Do some karaoke by yourself (guilty of doing this on many occasions).
24. Dance like nobody’s watching… ’cause nobody is 😉 no shame in shutting your blinds to make sure, though.
25. Scrapbook.
26. Play an instrument.
27. Go to a library or Barnes & Noble.
28. Go to Target (it can be oddly therapeutic, don’t ask me why).
29. Read or listen to something spiritual.
30. Call a friend or family member (bonus points if you haven’t talked to them in a long time. I’m a sucker for reunions.)
31. Accessorize your digital space. New wallpapers, aesthetic icons, and all that good stuff.
32. Clean up your digital storage. I promise you, you don’t need that screenshot from 11 months ago.
33. Clean your desk space. (Hey, don’t look at me like that, cleaning is therapeutic for some people.)
34. Take a bubble bath. (You knew this one was going to be on here.)
35. Go for a drive. Ditch Google Maps if you’re a real dare-devil. But um, keep your phone charged up, so you can use it on the way back.
36. Give yourself a mini makeover.
37. Plan something; be it a girls night or family day.
38. Go to Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or another craft store to unlock your inner creativity. Have a set budget though my friend, craft store finds are addictive.
39. Do a craft.
40. Paint something.
41. Redecorate a room in your home.
42. Try a “no-buy” redecorating challenge.
43. Make an out-of-ordinary lunch. Whatever that looks like for you.
44. Bake something.
45. Write. A poem, memoir, an autobiography– go crazy.
46. Order yourself a self-care box (preferably ahead of time so you’ll have. it in time for self-care Sunday). Here are 10 transformational self-care packages for women.
47. Color in a coloring book.
48. Install some self-care apps on your phone or iPad. Check out these 10 must-have apps on your iPad for becoming THAT girl.
49. Install some self-care plugins on your laptop’s browser.
50. Deep condition your hair, either with a DIY or a store-bought mask.
51. Read a personal development book. Check out these 10 books for young adults to get their life together.
52. Prayer journal. (Again, this is a noun and a verb, even if Oxford doesn’t say it is).
53. Gratitude journal.
54. Meditate or listen to ASMR.
55. Treat yourself to a self-care bath subscription box. This self-care package will make you fall head over heels in love with showering. (If you don’t already LOL)
56. Try out the ever-so-famous HopeBox. Through high-quality self-care, this package is deliberately designed to alleviate worry and create hope.
57. Let this self-care Sunday serve as day one of a month-long guided audio practice by Silk + Sonder.
58. Try out a wellness planner with proven self-help layouts.
59. Write a letter to your future self.
60. Write out a self-reflection.
61. Cook a fancy-dancy dinner.
62. Go plant-shopping. Those azaleas aren’t going to buy themselves.
63. Take a nap with the window partially open; not open enough for a body to get in 🙂 These kinds of naps hit especially different in the summer.
64. Go on a picnic– even if it’s just in your backyard.
65. Sip something on your porch.
66. Make a vision board. Who cares if it’s not the beginning of the year? The rest of your life starts today, honey.
67. Go on a photo shoot. All you really need is a smartphone, but an extra person will come in handy for snapping those bomb angles.
68. Give yourself a manicure or pedicure.
69. Give yourself a facial. Put one on overnight, and it’ll easily let you carry over your self-care Sunday to a self-care Monday.
70. Write someone a letter.
71. Go to the library.
72. Have a book-a-thon and read all day.
73. Junk journal (a great use for old magazines!)
74. Get a massage.
75. Go get your brows threaded.
76. Get a professional manicure or pedicure.
77. Make a DIY mask and apply it to your hair.
78. Make a DIY mask and apply it to your face.
79. Mix up some essential oil concoctions; being sure to have water bottles and diffusers on hand.
80. Make a DIY sugar scrub for exfoliating your lips or skin.
81. Assort outfits out of the clothes in your closet.
82. Make mood boards.
83. Build a notion page (bonus points for aesthetics!)
84. Go sit at a park.
85. Go on a day trip to the beach or a large lake.
86. Visit an art museum.
87. Go somewhere local that you’ve never been to. Preferably a unique concept.
88. Upcycle your clothing.
89. Learn a new hobby or skill.
90. Explore a hobby you used to have.
91. Knit, crochet, or sew something.
92. Listen to a motivational podcast or TED talk.
93. Listen to an audiobook.
94. Go through old photos.
95. Play around with a new makeup look.
96. Try embroidering on an old piece of clothing.
97. Download apps designed to help you get your life together.
98. Go window shopping at a nice outdoor mall.
99. Assemble out of comfort zone outfits and put on an at-home fashion show.
100. Watch a class, or rather, learn a skill on Skillshare or Masterclass. Let Gordon Ramsey teach you how to cook or Lewis Hamilton teach you a winning mindset.

Conclusion to 100 Must-Try Ideas for your self-care Sunday

There are lots and lots of things that you can do on your self-care Sunday. Any mix of these ideas is more than enough to fill 16 or so hours of pure ‘me-time’ bliss.

So treat yourself, beautiful. Spend some time by yourself on yourself. You won’t regret it.

And you’ll be a better person to those around you.

If a single day out of the week isn’t enough for your self-care needs (and trust me, it isn’t), then consider starting a self-care ritual that lasts a lifetime.

If you’re dreaming of more productive, more focused days so you can get everything on that to-do list done and then some…

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