SOCIAL DISTANCING TO-DO LIST DURING THE CORONAVIRUS QUARANTINE
I’m sitting in my backyard on a Sunday afternoon in perfect weather with my dog at my side working on this post thanks to my newly installed WiFi extenders (ain’t technology grand?). It’s actually a pretty blissful feeling, and it almost doesn’t seem like there’s a terrifying global pandemic happening all around us.
But church was online only this morning.
I’m waiting to hear from my boss about the future of my hourly-wage job for the next two weeks (or the foreseeable future).
There are 45 rolls of toilet paper in my laundry room.
Things are very very not normal.
I’m a hopeless optimist. (That’s like a hopeless romantic, but less.. well.. romantic.) I absolutely loathe the news and 99% of the time, I would honestly rather just turn it off and pretend all the bad stuff in the world isn’t happening. I feel things very deeply, and sometimes my emotions just can’t handle the overwhelm. That being said, I have tried my best to navigate through this crisis by finding concise, coherent, fact-based information to educate myself without inducing a panic attack.
Admittedly, I started off as one of those people who was like “Nahhh, this isn’t that big of a deal. The flu kills so many more people. What are we supposed to do.. just stop living our lives?!” And here’s the thing. In the grand scheme of things, we don’t know ANYTHING about this virus. So yeah, we might be completely overreacting. But I’ve migrated over to the camp of “Better safe than sorry!” and I’m actively participating in social distancing as much as I’m able to (work excluded.. for the moment). And I’m not doing it for me. I’m extremely privileged to be in both an age range and a state of health that is fairly “immune” to this virus. But I know that there are people around me that aren’t. And I know that I can potentially be a carrier. So I’m doing this for them.
And I’d much rather look like a crazy doomsday conspiracy theorist for a few weeks than be the cause of someone else’s suffering.
This post from @kristenanniebell really got me thinking this morning, so I wanted to include it here, just as food for thought.
I know the whole “social distancing” thing can feel a little daunting to some people. I, personally, am an introvert and I’m actually 100% okay with staying in my little bubble for the foreseeable future. Hunkering down with my parents, my dog, and that backyard owl that keeps waking me up at 2am.. what could possibly go wrong?
I’m planning on being productive, focusing on self-care, taking it slow when I need to, working on some fun crafts, and dreaming big for my small biz all while doing my part to “flatten the curve”. I’ve jotted down a few things for my preliminary quarantine to-do list, and if you’re looking for some ideas to help you get through these next few weeks, here’s what I’ve come up with so far!
Go on a walk and get some fresh air.
I actually did quite a bit of research on this before I added it to the list. It’s the only one that suggests you leave the house, and to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure if the current social distancing or quarantine guidelines allowed it. Good news.. they do. I have a feeling Sophie and I are going to be in REALLY good shape by the time this is all over. That is, if I don’t end up ordering the 5 pound bag of gummy worms I’ve been lusting over.
Support a small business.
Oh, hi. Hello. Small business owner here. This is not a shameless plug to shop MY small business (but you CAN find them here and here, just sayin’), just a friendly reminder that if you’re sitting around online shopping, Etsy is the best place to find some super awesome goodies. Think about birthdays that are coming up - go ahead and get those gifts ordered so you’ll already be prepared for when life goes back to the normal hustle and bustle. Life IS going to go back to the normal hustle and bustle, right?
Turn off the news and watch your favorite feel-good show or movie.
Like I said, sometimes it’s just too much to handle. TURN OFF THE NEWS. I’m personally really excited to catch up on The Imagineering Story on Disney +, and I just heard that HBO Max will have exclusive rights to both Friends AND The Big Bang Theory, so you can bet I’m gonna hop on that as soon as it launches. What are you going to be binging for the next few weeks?
Purge your closet.
I actually discovered Thred Up several weeks ago via my friend @madisonrshort. It’s a great way to clean out your closet without the work of taking photos, writing descriptions, and attempting to sell them. Plus, you can do all of this without leaving your house! Simply order a clean out kit, fill the bag up with high quality items (no pilling, fading, shrinkage, rips, stains, odors.. common sense, basically), schedule a FedEx or USPS pickup, and that’s it! Thred Up does all the work for you, including inspecting, photographing, listing, and shipping.
You’ll get a payout percentage based on the selling price of each item, which you can either receive as cold hard cash or a credit to spend on Thred Up. Any clothes that don’t sell will be donated, so you don’t have to worry about dealing with them again after you send them off the first time. And if you’re not interested in getting cash or credit for your clothes, you can send them in as a full donation instead. Thred Up will automatically donate $5 per kit to the charity of your choice.
I got my kit in the mail a few days ago, so I’ll update y’all soon!
Do your taxes.
As I’m writing this, you have exactly one month to get your taxes filed. You may have heard about the tax extensions being put into place, but this only means that you have an extension on PAYING your taxes if you end up owing any. Don’t make the mistake of not actually FILING them on time.
Call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while or check up on an elderly relative/neighbor you’re not able to visit in person.
Yeah, I get it. I’m a millennial. As a group, we tend to hate talking on the phone. I continually joke about the no-phone rule with one of my best friends. She got engaged over the weekend and we broke the rule for maybe like the third time EVER since we’ve been friends. But hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Hop on Facetime with a bestie.. you don’t even have to talk the whole time.. sometimes it’s just nice to know someone else is still out there. Check in on a high-risk relative or neighbor and see if there’s anything you can do for them. If you’re still able to go shopping, see if you can grab something for them and leave it on their doorstep. A little kindness will go a long way during these trying times.
Come hang out with me on Instagram where I’m sure there will be tons of high quality quarantine content (that was sarcasm), and let me know what you’re doing to responsibly socially distance yourself! And remember.. INTROVERTS, THIS IS OUR TIME!