With the corona pandemic making different countries to take extreme decisions on how to curb the spread, Ireland isn’t left in the list of countries that have chosen to effect a lockdown. With the ongoing lockdown, most of us suddenly have a lot of extra time at hand than we need. The whole family is home and we get to work from home.
While it is easy to dwell on the negativity of the situation, you can see also choose to see it as an opportunity. An opportunity to finally get to do those things around the house that you have been putting off for so long.
In case you are at a loss of what you think you can do, I have come up with a list that can help put things in perspective;
Set Up Your Home Office
With the lockdown, most of us now have to work from home and a few of us might find this quite hard. This could be because you place your laptop on your bed. However, you couldn’t be more wrong.
This sort of setup will come with a lot of temptations to grab a nap and you will end up not doing much. Apart from this, there is also the matter of it being a bad posture.
You need to pick a spot and place a desk and chair. Make it well lit and also a place where you will not be easily disturbed. Do not forget the extension cord and in the case of conference video calls, make sure the background is presentable.
Disinfect Your Home
With this germ spreading at an alarming rate, you need to protect yourself and your family. One of the few ways to go about it is by making sure your environment is free of germs. You should start with the more frequently touched surfaces first and then move to other things.
In the instance where you do not have access to disinfectants, you can mix bleach and water in a ratio of 4:1.
Repair And Maintenance
If you do not mind getting your hands dirty and have an idea about furniture restoration and such, you can take time out to repair old furniture. Refinish or even repaint an old chair or shelf. It doesn’t have to be much, just a few touches here and there.
While doing all these, you need to make sure you are protected against all incidents. With everyone being home, especially the kids, there are higher chances of accidents happening. And also, with everything happening all around, it wouldn’t hurt to have a good home insurance policy. AA Home Insurance provides full details of home repairs expenditure that you can claim under different covers that will be perfect for your home maintenance and safety.
Re-Arrange The House
With the extra time at hand, now is the best time to go for that redecoration. However, since you cannot go out to shop for new furniture and all, you can simply make do with rearranging the ones you have.
Play around with new positions for the furniture and marvel at the magic you can create.
Work On That Closet
It is a common thing to have a cluttered closet as we are often too busy to ever get to arranging it. However, this is the best time to finally get on de-cluttering that spot.
Arrange the wardrobe to make the best use of the storage space and remove any item you feel you wouldn’t be needing anymore, especially those you haven’t used in a year or more.
Organize Your Documents
Setting up a workspace isn’t enough if you can’t easily get to the documents you need. Create time to arrange all documents, both for work and personal life.
Scan them so you can have digital copies of them on your hard drive or cloud. You should also let the whole family know where the documents are so they can easily locate it in case of an emergency.
Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets
This is the time to clean out your kitchen. Take out all the items in the cabinets for cleaning and disinfect the cabinets. When you are done, rearrange the items on different shelves based on what they are for; canned and dry food, spices, cooking utensils, small appliances, and so on.
Discard any expired item. Place the older groceries in front so you can easily know what you are running out of.
Clean Your Bathroom
This is another spot in the house that just doesn’t get enough love as it can be very tiring and disgusting. However, you can get to it now with all the time on your hands. Clean the wall and floor tiles and do not forget the grout. Pour bleach in the toilet bowl and let it sit for some time. Also do not forget to wash the shower curtain and throw away the old toiletries.
Disinfect all surfaces!
Refresh Your Bookcases
Take time to work through your bookshelf and purge all the books you no longer need. Rearrange the ones you will be keeping and maybe add new ones. You can pack the ones you do not need anymore and donate them. It would help keep a lot of people from being bored in this period.
If you haven’t gotten to this since the beginning of the year, then this is the best time to get to it. It helps prepare you for life after the pandemic and also helps you prioritize.
In case you already have a list, you can always review it and improve it. You can always add things like home projects, things you want to do with your kids, and career goals.
