How to Survive Social Distancing, Shelter-in-Place + Self-Quarantine
Credits: Tatiana Syrikova via Pexels
2020 has been quite the year so far. We remember just over a week ago joking that we should go out to dinner because we might not have the chance to dine-in at a restaurant for awhile as more & more safety measures are put into place. Little did we know, Los Angeles would mandate that all restaurants, entertainment venues, and gyms must close their doors to prevent the spread of COVID-19 until the end of March, and now we’re on a statewide mandate to stay at home except for essential needs until April 19th. It is now Week #2 and we have a feeling it may extend beyond mid-April.
While we tend to be homebodies most of the year anyway, the shift is still difficult, so we can imagine how hard it must be for the rest of the population – especially for extroverts. The decision to stay home and social distance is the best thing we can all do as a society in order to prevent the spread of this virus, so we’re sharing inspiring ideas to make the most of this time while staying healthy!
1. Practice Self Care & All Around Wellness
MAINTAIN GOOD HYGIENE & KEEP IT UP
Wash your hands for at least 30 seconds. We love the idea of using this time to be still with yourself – do a quick meditation to clear your mind or think of three things that you are grateful for. Be sure to wash your hands before eating, after returning from the grocery store, after unpacking your groceries, and after changing your clothes – especially if you were out and about that day.
Sneeze & cough into your arm or elbow crease or into a tissue. Whatever you do, do not sneeze or cough out into the open air without covering it. We’re so happy that people are being more cautious of this in the times of COVID-19, so we’re really hoping the habit sticks considering it’s one of our biggest pet peeves.
Wipe down your most-used surfaces on a regular basis with a disinfectant wipe – think door handles, toilet flushing handle, tabletops, your kitchen counter, wherever you set down your grocery bags, your car’s steering wheel, your phone, laptop, television remote, and so on. Again, this is something we should all be doing regardless of a new virus or not, so get into the habit now.
STAY ACTIVE
Maintain (or start!) a consistent exercise routine. Yes, gyms & fitness facilities are closed, but there are a plethora of amazing at-home workouts available on YouTube and various apps. Take a look at some of our favorite at-home workout programs & videos: MadFit, FitazFK, PopSugar Fitness, Blogilates, Tone It Up, Yoga with Adriene, Alo Yoga, @whitsich & @rachaelsgoodeats.
Go for a walk around the neighborhood. It’s more important than ever to get some fresh air & a healthy dose of vitamin D. So long as you stay within 6 feet of other people & wash your hands before & after you leave the house, you should be good to go. Challenge yourself to leave your phone at home, since we have a feeling all of our screen time has increased since being stuck at home.
RELAX
Put away your phone, turn off the television & use this newfound time you have on your hands to take care of yourself. Light a candle, add calming essential oils to your diffuser, play a record or ask Alexa to play soothing spa music or smooth jazz, and take time to be still with yourself without distractions.
CONNECT EVEN MORE WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS
We are lucky to live in a time where we don’t have to be physically next to one another to feel connected. Have a group FaceTime with your friends & virtually cheers your wine glasses, call your parents & grandparents, check in with friends you haven’t spoken to in awhile & just tell them that you are thinking about them.
2. Use Mandated Time at Home to Be Productive
CROSS OFF YOUR TO-DO LIST
Now is the time to do all of the things you have been putting off because you didn’t have enough time. It doesn’t have to be all chores-related either! Do anything that has been swimming around in your head so that you can free it from your mind.
SPRING CLEANING + CLOSET PURGING
Yes, we all dread it, but now is the most opportune time to purge & organize your closets. Go bold & pull everything out before putting what you still want & need back in. Or if you’re like us & that seems daunting, go item by item & pull out anything you haven’t worn or used in six months. Try it on or test it out if you think you might change your mind, but if not, it’s time for it to go. Keep a list of anything you decided to get rid of because it was falling apart or discolored so that you can purchase an updated version of those items when the time comes!
3. Use Solitude to Create & Learn
HARNESS your CREATIVITY
This is the pause we needed to find the time to do things that inspire us and breed creativity. Whether for you that’s reading a new book, painting, drawing, knitting, sewing, doing embroidery, making jewelry, or weaving, just do it! We just started following @hellohydrangea & now we want to pick up a new skill we never knew we wanted. And even though we have no idea if we’ll be successful at it, guess what? You don’t have to be an expert at anything in order to enjoy it!
LEARN SKILLS YOU HAVE ALWAYS WANTED
Have you always wanted to learn a language or brush up on your high school French? Download Duolingo & start learning a new language.
Sign up for an online course to develop a skill that interests you – whether just for fun or as a potential new career path. Not sure where to start or what you want to learn? Browse Udemy & Skillshare for ideas.
Do you have an instrument that’s been sitting in the closet or corner gathering dust? Make it your goal to learn at least one full song playing said instrument so that you can bust it out whenever anyone asks you to play!
4. Do Things That Make You Happy
WATCH MOVIES & SHOWS
There is so much content out there & now is the time to watch it! Want to have a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movie marathon? Now’s the time. Want to binge watch every crime documentary available on the streaming services? Please do so & let us know which your favorites are. This list of 40 shows is a good starting point. We haven’t tried it out for ourselves yet, but Netflix even has a Google Chrome extension called Netflix Party that allows you to watch content at the same time as your friends. You can even pause and play for everyone and use the in-window chat feature!
KEEP YOUR WEEKENDS
It can be easy when working from home to see everyday as the same and not take time to yourself on your well-deserved weekends. Try your best to stick to your normal routine and shut the office door and close your laptop on weekends. Of course, feel free to do anything necessary or timely, but just because the weekends you might be used to are on pause, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have 48 hours to yourself after a long, full week.
AVOID NEGATIVITY WHENEVER POSSIBLE
Social media can be a welcome distraction, but it can also breed anxiety because you don’t know what type of news, warnings, or hysteria you will get. Instead of going to Instagram automatically whenever you have a free moment, switch the habit to visiting Pinterest for pretty inspiration that give us a much-needed break from the news! We think it’s likely the only social media app that isn’t filled with horror stories and constant reminders about the current events. If you aren’t already following The Inspired Abode on Pinterest, now’s your chance!
5. Do What You Can To Help
SUPPORT LOCAL RESTAURANTS & SMALL BUSINESSES
Order takeout or delivery directly through your favorite restaurant or via ChowNow. Most delivery platforms charge restaurants upwards of 30-40% in commission on each order, but ChowNow offers restaurants a low flat-fee with all orders commission-free!
Buy gift cards to your favorite shops, nail salons, clothing boutiques, hair salons, and restaurants that may have already closed up shop or not. Small businesses are hurting right now, so when possible avoid the chains that will survive & help the smaller guys.
DONATE WHAT YOU CAN
Meals on Wheels provides warm meals to senior citizens who aren’t able to visit the grocery store themselves. Not only do volunteers drop off a warm meal, but they also provide a warm, human interaction that might be the only visit the seniors get that day.
No Kid Hungry always works towards ensuring no kid goes hungry, but especially in the time of this virus with school closures, No Kid Hungry is working with the government and school systems to figure out how to keep kids fed with healthy meals while school is not in session.
American Red Cross is always in need of monetary donations, but more than ever there is a need for blood donation since so many blood drives have been canceled due to the virus. It’s also a great way to find out your blood type if you don’t know it!
Some of Our Favorite Quotes to ease the anxiety & fear
Everyone loves a good quote, right? With so much negativity & fear across social media these days, we have appreciated the light, inspiring content that others have been sharing as well. Yes, this is an uncertain time. It’s heartbreaking how many people have lost their lives or have been affected by this new virus. But for the majority of us, we must do our part in flattening the curve while also staying positive & embracing this new life of stillness.
“When this is over, may we never again take for granted a handshake with a stranger, full shelves at the store, conversations with neighbors, a crowded theatre, Friday night out, the taste of communion, a routine checkup, the school rush each morning, coffee with a friend, the stadium roaring, each deep break, a boring Tuesday, life itself. When this ends, may we find that we have become more like the people we wanted to be, we were called to be, we hoped to be, and may we stay that way – better for each other because of the worst. ”
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently. And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal. And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”
“With this open time you do not have to write the next bestselling novel. You do not have to get in the best shape of your life. You do not have to start that podcast. What you can do instead is observe this pause as an opportunity. The same systems we see crumbling in society are being called to crumble in each of us individually. The systems that taught us we are machines that live to produce & we are disposable if we are not doing so. The systems that taught us monetary gain takes priority over humanity. The systems that create our insecurities then capitalize off of them. What if we became curious with this free time, and had no agenda other than to experience being? What if you created art for the sake of creating? What if you allowed yourself to rest and cry and laugh and play and get curious about whatever arises in you? What if our true purpose is int his space? As if Mother Earth is saying: We can no longer carry on this way. The time is now – I am remind you who you are. Will you remember?”
“I can’t wait for a years time, when all of this is a distant memory and there is a corona baby boom because all the lovers were lovin. And there is a rise in small business because all the entrepreneurs had a moment of stillness and creativity. And all the children remember nothing but a time when all the mums and dads were at home and drawing and playing board games and we remember it as the time we all got to stop and be present. We will remember the time our health was our first priority and people learnt new ways to use fresh produce to feed their families and we were all forced to think outside the box and dream up new things, and reinvent old ways and for once even amongst the chaos there was community, there was a global rise in togetherness and the streets were quiet but our homes were bustlin with love and laughter. That time is coming... soon just like other crises before it this will all be a distant memory, a thing we soon listen to our children discuss in classrooms, a once was; that we share with our grand babies. So to you – I know it’s unsettling but focus on the silver lining, we are in this together and there’s so much beauty to see. ”
We hope everyone is staying safe & healthy in this uncertain time. We also hope this gave you some ideas for how to fill your days at home! If you need more ideas, we’re also loving these ideas that we’ve seen in the past week: gathered by Bon Appetit, your one-stop shop for all related things via Shine. And as always, we’d love to hear how your coping & encourage you to post your own ideas in the comments!
Don’t forget that we’re now offering e-design services to spruce up any room in your home, so if you want to take advantage of any of the sales going on right now, learn more about our design packages here!