9 ways to keep yourself from going crazy at home

The coronavirus pandemic closed businesses, recreation centers and entertainment venues in Las Vegas.

But The Neon Museum is providing a way to visit the Boneyard right from your couch.

A new app can be accessed by phone or computer at neonmuseum.app with the password NEON.

The museum’s app spotlights 25 of the collection’s most popular artifacts and pieces from “Lost Vegas: Tim Burton @ The Neon Museum.”

It also includes fun facts, history and anecdotes about several signs, including the Hard Rock Cafe guitar and the Ugly Duckling, along with those from the Golden Nugget, Moulin Rouge and Stardust.

To keep from going stir-crazy, below are a few more ways you can stay entertained and productive from home.

Take art classes with your kids

Kim Bavington has been teaching art in Las Vegas for kids ages 5 to 12 for nearly 30 years. Recently she started filming her lessons and making them available on YouTube.

Because she has needed to cancel her private and in-home lessons and summer camp, she is live-streaming her art tutorials on YouTube at 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Bavington teaches students how to make their own interpretations of famous artworks such as portraits inspired by Pablo Picasso and soup cans inspired by Andy Warhol.

“It’s important right now,” Bavington says. “Kids are at home and bored. I felt bad needing to cancel, so I just stream the lessons so they don’t miss it.”

Her website — artclassesforkids.com — previews what each day’s project will be and what supplies students will need.

Install a bidet

With toilet paper disappearing from grocery store shelves, now is a great time to upgrade the way you go by installing a bidet. Bidets spray a stream of water to clean your bottom the way that toilet paper does after using the toilet.

For those not willing to completely renovate with a new toilet, bidet seats and sprayer attachments can be installed in less than an hour and with relative ease.

More information can be found at homedepot.com.

Practice yoga

Las Vegas yoga studio 103 Hot Pilates and Yoga has closed, but instructors are posting hourlong guided video classes through YouTube and IGTV on Instagram. Videos include Vinyasa Flow, bootcamp and skill practices.

Complete the census

Completing the census is important. Your response helps to direct billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities for schools, roads and other public services. Results from the 2020 census will help determine the number of seats each state has in Congress and your political representation at all levels of government.

It takes only about 10 minutes and can be done online at my2020census.gov.

Buy houseplants

Filling your home with houseplants can help you feel better, both physically and emotionally.

They help humidify your space and filter the air by consuming carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

Star Nursery horticulture adviser and spokesman Paul Noe says houseplants also can help lessen depression and anxiety and that many people find the practice of taking care of plants to be soothing.

Amateur plant owners can start with low-maintenance hanging plants such as light green pothos or spider plant. Snake plants and mother-in-law’s tongue are hardy and can be placed on a floor or table. These houseplants require only water, a room with enough sunlight that one can comfortably read a newspaper and a once-monthly plant food to keep them healthy.

Catch up your streaming queue

With plenty of time on the couch to spare, dig into the movies and series you’ve been meaning to watch — or haven’t seen in a while. Looking for comforting programming? See more here.

Practice minimalism

Spending more time at home will give you a better idea of which of your belongings you actually use.

Have an old cellphone gathering dust? A folding table buried in the garage? A pair of jeans you never wear? A folder of documents you don’t need?

Now is a time to figure out what you can donate, what you can sell and what may need to be thrown out once and for all.

Pick up a hobby

Staying inside doesn’t mean giving up on your interests altogether.

If you have a guitar or keyboard around, YouTube is a great place to start practicing.

Lean into other hobbies by delving into that new stack of books, perfecting a recipe or working through the cabinet of family board games.

Contact Janna Karel at jkarel@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3835. Follow @jannainprogress on Twitter.