Analog living in spring offers so many fun and device-less activities. Springtime brings forth new life in the trees, and flowers, and even animals. Everything seems to come alive outside. In this post you’ll be inspired to try some different activities for adults and children alike outside and inside that don’t require a screen!
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Get an analog living accountability buddy
If grandma or great grandma did it, it’s likely considered “analog living” or perhaps even “ancestral living” now. Life, or our attention span, has become wrapped up in devices and screens to distract and/or numb us.
Have you talked about analog living, slow living, or intentional living with a friend? Have you shared with her a reel about going back to the 90s or something cottage core related? Well, send this to her and ask her to be your analog accountability buddy and check in with one another every few days or each week to see how it’s going. Ask what she has done “off line” this week.
Back in the day, ladies had “calling cards” they’d leave at one another’s house when she stopped by and no one was home. Consider it yesteryear’s text message. Maybe we don’t stop by unannounced but do send that text message and ask how it’s going for her and share your own analog activities. Bonus points if you can get together for an analog living activity to share.
Did you know there is a movement right now called Reconnect Movement where this 23 year old is starting gatherings for social events that are phone-free? Because we can’t do life without being glued to our phones and/or attempting to capture every moment to post later.
Remember that analog living in the spring of 2026 isn’t about throwing away our devices completely. It’s about choosing something ELSE over a device or screen first.
Outside
Earthing, grounding, touching grass
A millennial might say “snap back to reality”. Gen Z and Alphas would say “go touch grass”. I think I got that right.
But the point is this:
Get outside. Reconnect with life. Get your bare feet onto the actual grass and dirt. There’s plenty of science to show our human body connect with the earth in a myriad of ways.
Ditch the digital for dirt. Your body and brain will thank you.
Porch Sits
Porch, balcony, deck, front stoop, boardwalk, etc. sits in the sun, fresh air, and breeze.
No music, no devices, no podcast, just the outdoors in your face.
I’ve always wondered why old folks sit on the porch so much. I get it now. It’s something we never should have stopped doing!
Reading and/or playing outside
Grab a book for yourself, a playdate for the kids, and get outside.
Sit in a chair to read while the kiddos play.
Did you know it can take 45 minutes for children playing outside to figure out WHAT they want to even play? Usually it’s a game or an adventure but their creativity doesn’t kick in until about the 45 minute mark. Giving in to the “I’m bored”, “there’s nothing to do here” complaints too soon could ruin their adventure. Give the kids time to explore and get creative in their boredom.
Read alouds
Reading aloud to your children is enjoyed even by teenagers!
Grab a chapter book from the library or your collection (maybe even one y’all haven’t read since they were little!) and read it outside on a blanket or the porch steps or the balcony.
Picnic lunches
Nothing fancy. Just some sandwiches, chips, snacks, and a water bottle on a big blanket or large towel outside in the grass for lunch or snack time.
Kids and adults love it.
Because it is spring, perhaps take note of the pollen count in your region. For Northeast North Carolina, mid-March through later April is heavy on the yellow dust and so we keep our foods inside during those times for meals.
Arts and Crafts
Take these things outside when you can! Arts and crafts are top tier analog living in the spring time. Working with our hands during arts and crafts time is necessary.
Painting a nature scene or allowing the kids to play in a mud kitchen.
- thrift pots, pans, and spoons
- give them a bucket of water and some dirt
- dirt: if you need to buy it, consider a bag of organic compost or raised bed soil
A fresh sketch pad and colored pencils and a God-inspired imagination will show up in the created design on the paper or canvas. It’s hard not to be inspired to create when outside in Creation.
Slime is best played with outside too!
Hang laundry outside
Even if you do not have a clothesline to hang wet laundry on to dry, you can still hang laundry outside.
Use clothes hangers or drying racks moved outside. Again, pay attention the pollen count that day.
Fresh air and sunshine has a way of freshening, brightening, and sanitizing that no washer or dryer can compare to. The scent of line dried clothes is hard to describe but definitely wonderful and clean.
Gardening
Spring is the perfect time to start a garden. Gardening is probably the greatest analog living in the spring activity you can do! And it comes with lots of tasty rewards.
There’s plenty of research out there too that show how beneficial it is to our mind, body, and soul to get our hands dirty with soil.
Big in-ground, garden beds, container gardens, or just a herb garden in the kitchen windowsill is fine!
Sow some seeds and grow some greens.
This time of year is also great for foraging. Be sure to use reputable foraging books to assist you. Unsprayed dandelions are prevalent and make a wonderful citrus-and-honey-like jelly.
Inside
Host a Club
- Supper Club
- Book Club
- Bible Study or Small Group
- Handmade Club
- Puzzle Club
- Afternoon Tea Club
- Coffee Club
Big Saturday breakfast
Pull out all the stops with the Saturday breakfast. Bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, waffles, French toast, fresh bread, jam, pastries, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, fresh squeezed orange juice, hot coffee… is your mouth watering yet?
Go wild and have a massive breakfast. And know that lunch most definitely will be skipped today!
Analog living in the spring doesn’t have to take much. It simply takes intentionality to do something without a screen.
Trips
Weekend adventures:
- farmers markets
- U-pick farms
- parks and zoos
- local farm visits
- festivals and Plow Days
- feral farm days with your friend who has an actual farm with animals (let the kids and the animals run feral!)
Extra analog living in spring ideas
Hyper fixate on a new skill or subject
The time we spend on Pinterest or TikTok watching other folks learn and share a new skill should be put on doing that OURSELVES.
Maybe it’s knitting, crocheting, cake making, painting, baking, soap making, whittling, candle making, wood working, and so much more.
Now is a great time to hyper fixate on that new hands-on thing and hone your skill while analog living in the spring. Your future self thanks you for learning a new (but likely old) skill.
Handmade gifts for all this year!
How can I get outside more when I work from home or in an office?
Excellent question. The fact that you’re here reading this means you WANT to unglue from your computer screen.
If you work from home or are stuck in an office building daily, there are still ways to get outside! You MUST be creative.
Most jobs give you a 15 minute break here and there throughout the work day and you must get a lunch break… even if you work the graveyard shift.
Use those times to get yourself outside. Even if it is dark. Even if you work in the city.
- take a lap around the work parking lot if it’s safe to do so (grab an accountability buddy/work partner to come with)
- walk to your car to get something
- take the long way around the building to get to the break room or cafeteria
- leave your desk and walk outside, around the house, down the driveway, etc.
- choose to eat your lunch at your desk WHILE working and use your break to walk outside
- eat your lunch quickly then take an after lunch stroll with your remaining break minutes (this will also kick start your metabolism after your meal)
- rainy day? Find a window. Take a look outside. Find the nearest natural thing (a tree, flower bed, grass) and stare at it. Sure beats staring at mind-numbing 10 second videos.
Pin this for inspiration!
Follow along for seasonal analog living ideas
If you’re feeling the tug to put down the screens more often and do something with your hands, welcome! I feel the same which has encouraged me to write these types of posts. For you AND for me.
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