10 Ways to Stay Occupied During Quarantine
Right now,
there are many people that are all staying home from work and school due to the
spread of the corona virus. Many places have already enacted the shelter in place.
Most people aren’t used to all this free time between work and all other social
activities – but there are plenty of things that you can do from your home that
can keep you occupied during this time.
1) Audible
has released children up to young adult books for the public to be able to
listen for free
2) Donate
blood. Right now, blood centers are more desperate for blood now
more than ever. Because people are staying home (which is a good thing) they
aren’t going out to donate. Just because we are in a crisis doesn’t mean that people
don’t need blood. Blood isn’t just used for traumas. They are used for cancer
patents, people who have internal bleeding, ulcers… So, if you are starting to
feel stir crazy, please consider saving a life and donating blood.
3) Sort through
your closet. This is something that I like to do once or twice a
year anyways, but this is the perfect time since there is plenty of time. Look
through all your clothes and take out any clothes that no longer fit, are worn
out, or that you no longer wear. When deciding whether you should keep the article
of clothing ask yourself if you have worn it in the last year – if you haven’t
you probably won’t wear it in the next year. If you are keeping it because it
holds sentimental value separate it from your everyday clothes and make a
special place for odds and ends that have meaning for you. (P.S. You can do
this while listening to the free audible!)
As you are sorting through your
clothes separate them into three groups: keep, give away, and throw away.
Please consider donating your give away clothes to somewhere like the
Christian Service Center or the Salvation Army so they can go to someone in
need (after the corona virus craziness is over). If you are needing some extra
money due to corona (or any other reason) there are also several places you can sell
your clothes on too: Plato’s closet, Postmark, threadUP.
Throw away items,
depending on the material, can be re-purposed as rags. Then the items that you keep
should be reorganized to maximize space and so you can actually find that shirt
you’re looking for first thing in the morning! 😊
4) Stay
active. This can mean anything that you personally need it to,
but movement is important. "Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy. And happy people don’t kill their husbands.”
So,
ladies (and gents) lets not kill the opposite sex and be happy. Go outside and
take a walk around the block or play in the backyard with your kids and / or pets
so you can get some fresh air and sunlight as well. Social distancing doesn’t
mean you have to stay cooped up in your house! You can also follow workouts off
the internet. There are so many workouts of all types and intensities on YouTube
that you can access for free to follow to from the comfort of your home.
5) Adopt or foster a pet! There are a lot of people
that are giving their pets up to their local animal shelters because they are
afraid their furry friend will give them the corona virus. This is false information!
You cannot get the corona virus from your cat or dog! If you are able, please
consider getting with your local animal shelter to help our furry friends out
by giving them a forever home or fostering them until they can get their
forever home. I also realize that this is not something that every family is
able to do, I know my family can’t – but it is something to consider and spread
the word about!
6) Sort
through your pantry. Not only does this help you get rid of any
thing that might have expired, it can help you take an inventory of everything
you’ve got. With everyone panic buying the shelves at the grocery stores are sparse,
so you only need to get what you really need. Go ahead and throw away anything that
has gone bad, then reorganize the pantry with the things that will expire first
up front. You can even use sticky notes in each section to tell you what you
have, how much of it, and when it expires.
7) Rest. For those of us who can stay
home and be away from the corona virus, this is an unexpected time that God has
blessed us with to rest. You might not know or feel like you need this time,
but if God has gifted it to you, you probably need it. Even if you are having
to take care of and/or home-school your kids or are working from home (or being even
more realistic for a lot of people BOTH), remember to give yourself some time
each day to rest. Set a timer for an amount of time that is good for YOU and
let that be your time of rest for the day where you aren’t worrying about getting
your work done, or helping your kids with their school work, or anything else
for that matter.. This can be taking a nap, reading a book, doing a devotional,
or just having some quiet time (kids can participate in quiet time too 😊).
Consider doing some meditations. Like
the workouts, there are many guided meditations for all duration's and topics on
YouTube that you can access for free. There are also meditations to help you
relax into sleep that can be used even when you’re at your busiest - I personally
really like the Abide Christian meditations for this purpose. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClSf95kSFthb2NNHle4a7fw/videos
The only
disadvantage to accessing the guided meditations on YouTube there can be
occasional ads, like there is on any video.
8) Write letters! Because of everything that is going on
right now it is best for the elderly not to get out, and not all of them are
very good with computers. Since they are unable to get out and do their regular
activities (coffee groups, bible studies, game nights, getting hair done…), they
are probably feeling pretty lonely right now. I would be willing to bet it would
make their day to see that you took the time to write them a letter and ask how
they are doing.
Don’t type the letter either. Take
this chance to work on your handwriting and write your letter to them with a
pen and paper (or a card!) it’s much more personal that way, and it is something
that they can save as something special. You never know, you may just become
pen pals with them.
Now if you know someone who is
stuck at home who is good with computers, go ahead and chat with them or do a video
call. Things like Facebook messenger are much faster, especially when seeing if
they need anything. Or if you can do a video call, there is nothing like
getting to see the other persons face when getting to talk with them!
If you are reading this in the
Abilene area Disability Resources has currently closed the campus to visitors
and volunteers for the safety of the folks, but they would love it if you and
your kids would send them cards with jokes and pictures. They could also use board
games, crafts, DVD’s, paints, activity books, markers, or anything that you
think the folks might like while the campus is on lockdown. You can send these
things to:
Disability Resources, Inc.
C/o Holly Holmes
PO Box 1880
Abilene, TX 79601
You can also follow them on Facebook
@Disability Resources, Inc. for more opportunities to serve and to get updates
on the folks!
9) Try out a
new skill! You can take this chance to learn something new – and it
can be almost anything you want. It can be drawing/painting, knitting/crochet,
calligraphy, yoga, an instrument… The list could go on forever! Do something
that will make you happy, and something that you’ll be happy you did/learned
when life goes back to normal. Or, if it’s just something that makes you calm
and happy right now – that’s fine too.
10) Get creative! For this
last idea I have in this post is for you to write a short story about your favorite character
getting sick in the middle of their story line. It doesn’t matter if it’s a
character from a book, movie, TV show, video game! They don’t even need to be sick
with corona, but illness is a part of life and we can turn this time of stress
over illness into something a little more positive. Just imagine one of the Barden
Bella’s from Pitch Perfect having a cold during competition! I’ve given you the
conflict for the situation, now you just have to figure out the setting and
solution!
Okay, we have made it! Those are my 10 tips for getting through the quarantine/social
distancing during this corona virus pandemic! Please everyone, stay safe; wash
your hands, use hand sanitizer. Although I think it's important to remember Tito's vodka has made a public statement that their vodka doesn't make good hand sanitizer, so don't waste it pouring it on your hands when you could be making a cocktail!
P.S. I also want to thank all our health care workers out there who are working hard
during this time! Y'all are amazing!
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