Ten Things to do During "Shelter-in-Place"

We live in a busy society with people rushing to work, speeding through Starbucks, working our shift and then rushing home. Our socialization is primarily digital and every moment typically is allotted an “essential” activity that leaves time for little else.

We have just entered the Twilight Zone, however, and suddenly many of us are in our homes more than we are outside. We have a whole new meaning of the word “essential”. Many states, and most likely, all at some point, have entered a “shelter-in-place” directive that means if we do not have an “essential” job such as healthcare, grocery, delivery or police services, we are at home, trying to figure out how to navigate this new reality. It’s one of the few times that we are being asked to save someone else by doing…nothing. That in itself is a lot for some to wrap their head around.

So, thus…my list. I started thinking of what people could do while at home. I mean, I enjoy Netflix as much as the next “shelter-in-place” participant, but I spend more time scanning to try and find the best show to fit my mood than actually watching anything. I started watching Containment yesterday but then needed a boost so I switched to Brave on Disney+. I’m now looking for one called “Don’t Eat That“.

1. The first and most obvious choice is to organize. Tackle any junk drawers, piles of paper or in our case, the entire junk room. We recently updated our kitchen and one bedroom was still housing rolling pins, bowls and glassware. Most of the items only saw light for a brief moment as they was removed from the cabinet, wrapped in newspaper and stored in a box. They are now…all …gone, given to people on my local Buy Nothing group . I discovered not 1, not 2 but three French Presses. If the power goes out, come see me. If we can make fire, we can make coffee.
2. Take time to clean out needless apps on your phone. Actually ,take time to clean you phone in general. Since it is frequently in our hands, AND our hands are frequently touching just about everything, AND they are used in close proximity to your face, they only complicate the current “stop touching your face” directive.
3. Unsubscribe to any needless emails. I have a junk email account that I use for shopping accounts, or anything that requires an email but I don’t necessarily want to spend reading what is sent. That being said, I probably don’t need to receive emails from Classmates anymore since I graduated from high school almost 40 years ago.
4. Reorganize your drawers using the KonMarie method. Or shoot a little lower and just make sure that everything that you want to keep has a drawer to live in.
5. Add some culture to your life by visiting the opera, museums and historic homes virtually.
   1. Metropolitan Opera
   1. Historic Homes
   2. Paris Museums Images
   3. Famous Museums
6. Visit Nature through webcams.
   1. Adventure Journal
   2. US National Parks
   3. San Diego Zoo
   4. Smithsonian’s National Zoo
7. Learn a new skill.
   1. How to Juggle
   2. Grow Vegetables from Scraps
   3. How to Make Toilet Paper
8. Write handwritten notes to mail to friends. I have a friend that mails me ‘Thank You’ cards. I love receiving them so much that it spurs me to continue to bring her flowers, books, etc. This week, I will send her one. Everyone loves getting mail that is not a bill, a political flyer or a plea for money.
9. Follow some feel good sites that make you laugh or smile. Look through some of their old posts. Here are a couple of my favorites that typically bring me some joy.
   1. The Chatter Blog
   2. Stay Upbeat
10. Explore your beliefs. Spend time journaling, reading and having deep thoughts. We live on a pretty shallow level usually….and sometimes our belief system is based on just what we see on the surface. What is below that? You have time now…open it up and see.

And for a bonus…11.

Stop texting. Call someone. Call more than one person. Call people that you haven’t had time to talk to for a while. Call people that you have had time to talk to but didn’t. Call people that you just miss seeing every day. Call people that may be dealing with depression while they isolate. Call the huggers…they are definitely depressed.

Disclaimer: This list is primarily for the non-remote worker without children in the home. If you are a remote worker with kids, you most likely will never have time to read this, much less watch Netflix. You have my sympathy and respect.

Love to all…stay safe.