During this time, it is beyond important to take the right precautions in order to keep ourselves and others healthy. What we learn through this experience can help us keep up good habits in the future. When it comes to cleanliness and keeping our homes safe, there are a lot of easy and small steps we can take to ensure we are doing our part. Whether we live alone, with a partner, or with friends and family, we can all take this time to be productive and stay mindful of how to keep our whole household safe. Check out some ideas on what you can do right now, and continue doing later!
First things first, if you haven’t already, head to your local grocery store (wearing gloves and a mask of course), or Walgreens, CVS or Walmart and pick up disinfectant spray. It does not have to be brand name, any type of disinfectant spray that kills 99.9% of germs can help you keep your home safe. What’s great about disinfectant spray is that is can be sprayed on any surface that is able to be cleaned. It’s easy to forget about all the doorknobs and cabinets we grab onto in our own houses, not even just ourselves, but the people we live with too.
We can bring germs in and out of our homes, and it’s important that right now, and continuing forward we embrace better habits than we had before. With that said, be sure to utilize disinfectant spray and all it has to offer – the handles to kitchen drawers that everyone touches, countertops, etc. Cleaning visible, easily dirty surfaces, such as refrigerators, and sink handles is important, and results in everything looking and feeling better.
You need much more than just disinfectant spray to keep your home safe and clean, but it is a great cleaning product to have along with you know, sanitizer, dish soap, hand soap, clorox wipes, lysol, etc!
Discover the joy in taking on mini cleaning projects. It’s true, cleaning can actually be therapeutic and fun. Throw on some headphones, or blast the new Dua Lipa as loud as you want, and find an area in your house to clean. It can be wiping down your baseboards and getting rid of dust, or wiping down all the tables and chairs in your dining room.
If you’re in between Zoom conferences, finally finished that Netflix series, or just looking for something to do, wipe down your computer or phone. Being mindful of what we are touching and bringing onto other surfaces can be helpful now and always. Sick of having that one junk drawer full of miscellaneous stuff? Take it on. Go through it all. Get rid of what you don’t need, and keep what you actually do. Bored in the house and sick of watching Instagram stories over and over again? Clean out your closet, fill up a trash bag with clothes you no longer wear and could donate to someone. Vacuum your room, and under your bed, we all have some mix of bobby pins and dust that should be gone by now. Feel a sense of clarity afterwards and find another project you can do.
Be aware of when and where you are going out for necessities. Now, more than ever, we really need to make sure we know what is actually an essential need. If you have enough food for the week, you probably shouldn’t go back a second time before the week is over. You can keep your home safe by making a shopping list before going out. Looking through your fridge, medicine cabinet, cleaning products, etc. and making a checklist can help you in a few ways.
It’ll allow you to realize that you may not need more than you think you do and it can also help you save money for what you may need on your future trip to the grocery store! Writing down anything can help you get it out of your mind and on paper, whether it is a budget for the upcoming weeks, or just a small list of ingredients you need for dinner that night. If you live with your family or friends and share food or anything else in your house, using a wipe board or writing on a piece of paper what everyone needs can help multiple people from going out to the same place, and save less trips outside.
Utilize all the ways to stay connected virtually with your friends and family. It is not easy for anyone right now to have to be inside as much as possible, and not be able to see some of their loved ones. But what’s most important right now is to remember that there are ways that can help us feel connected to people we cannot see. It is most important to not have any outside visitors into our homes, even if they have been in their house or seem healthy. Stay home and keep your home safe while reminding the people you know to do the same.
We must work together so that the world can heal and we can eventually be reunited with the people we love most. Sending a text, calling a friend, writing an email, FaceTiming, setting up a Zoom call, are modern technology’s ways of helping us not lose connection. We are all missing people but those are a few alternatives to talking and seeing someone in person, it allows you to catch up and see your friends’ and family’s faces! If you are staying inside with your significant other or boyfriend, you can spend this time together by doing some arts and crafts together, playing a board or card game, starting a new TV series, or even learning the Tik Tok dances. Continue to keep your home safe, clean and full of good vibes in the future!
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