Lessons Learned During a Pandemic

We are all, hopefully, heeding the warnings and cautions occurring in our nation right now.

I realize that many Americans are working; they're considered essential and must report to work on the daily.

I am retired. I don't report to work.  I haven't since June of 2018.

I consider myself so blessed to be in this position, especially since it allows both hubby (also retired) and I to do our part in the measures we are all undertaking.

But, while I typically "stay home" each and every day, don't for a minute think that this pandemic has not affected us.

It has.

But, I'm a glass-half-full kind of gal and here's how I am choosing to look at our current lives.

1 - We are saving more money.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Hubby and I had actually looked over our budget during the beginning of the year in search of ways we could cut our budget in order to gear up for our downsizing move and improve our credit score.

We ate out A LOT.  I didn't think we did until I did the math and was SHOCKED!

I also spent needless dollars at various stores on needless things that did not enhance the value of my life in any way other than material.

While I realize that our contribution to the economy did help in its small way, we were on the road to spending less, which means we can help out more through donations that we are passionate about.

2 - Our food quality has improved.

Photo Credit:  Ella Olsson

Now, don't get me wrong, there was nothing "bad" about the food we ate when we choose to eat out.

BUT...

When you cook at home you tend to eat less (portions typically are smaller) and you eat leftovers more readily than not.

We threw away too much food each month because we didn't consider ourselves "leftover eaters."

Now, we are cooking with intention, using the fresh ingredients that are more readily available when ordering groceries online.

We are trying new recipes, sometimes making 4 servings that will create two meals instead of one.

I've lost weight, but have not been starving myself or dieting by any measure.

3 - We are taking 2 daily walks each day, weather permitting.

Photo Credit:  Daniel Reche

Getting out into the sunshine and walking is a proven way to improve your mental health as well as the physical benefits that are part and parcel with exercise in general.

Hubby, Dixiee (our beagle), and I walk the neighborhood two times every day: morning and afternoon.

We live in a rather small neighborhood, but our walks are just a bit over a mile and a quarter, so we're getting in a 2.5-mile walk in total each day.

Hubby and I are having great conversations about anything and everything under the sun.

We're able to say hello to our neighbors, making sure we are keeping our distance.

Plus, it's been great getting some Vitamin D from the sun as well.

4 - I've taken a break from make-up.

Photo Credit:  Freestocks.org

It has been "freeing" to NOT have to worry about doing my make-up every day.

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE make-up and enjoy playing with it and putting it on.

But, I'm also loving having to NOT put it on because I'm not going anywhere or doing anything other than staying at home.

My face has had a chance to breathe.

Of course, I'm still caring for my skin and making sure to have sunscreen when we are outside, but other than that it's been as naked as a jaybird!

5 - I've found a daily routine that's easy and mindful.

Photo Credit:  Burst

Even though you would think that this "staying home" thing would not really change or affect us because we are retired, think again.

There is a hidden weight over even those of us who are retired during this time.

We too have to stay home, meaning we cannot frequent friends, relatives, local restaurants, or any unnecessary places that we've gone to in the past.

In fact, it feels like we're "being bad" when we get into the car to even pick up groceries.

We are very much aware of what's going on and how it's affecting our daily lives.

We chose to cancel a trip out west to meet with our builder and explore our new city more.

It also impacted our visit with our daughter in California.

I can no longer go on my week-long vacation with the ladies in my family.

And, while I do have a trip planned for early May to go to California with my mom, that is still very much up in the air at this point.

BUT...

Instead of lamenting on those things, I've chosen to create and stick to a daily routine which involves yoga, walking, daily tasks, meditation, and reading.

The "sameness" of each day helps me to cope in my own way and be thankful that we are healthy and happy.

Our greatest wish and prayer is that you too are healthy and happy.

Disinfection in the Kitchen

Many people are home now for longer periods of time and are really jumping into cleaning and purging.

Also, with the virus going around, and with each of us hopefully cleaning more thoroughly, I decided to do a post about deep cleaning the kitchen.

Since my cupboards have already been cleaned out, I'm going to concentrate on the outsides and counters.

Let's get started!

The first thing I do is remove everything from the countertops.

I don't wipe and clean around items; I move them so I can get every area clean.

I use a mixture of Thieves Concentrated Cleaner by Young Living mixed with water in a glass spray bottle.  

This is my everyday cleaning spray as well.

I also use E-Cloths for cleaning.

I spray my cloth generously with the Thieves cleaner.  It's very damp-wet but not soaking.

I always spray my surfaces with the Thieves and leave it on for 10 or more minutes.

Whatever disinfection spray you use, the trick is to spray your area and LEAVE IT WET for 10 minutes or more. (Check the directions on your bottle for specific information regarding your cleaning solution.)

I also make sure to spray/disinfect handles and areas where my fingers touch often.

This includes dials on the stove as well.

With the dampened cloth I thoroughly wipe down all the items that I removed from the counter area.

I wipe the backsplash and any edges and ridges that are around.

I then wipe down the sprayed areas with the cloth and replace the items back on the countertop.

I make sure to remove and clean out any dirt, grime, crumbs, and dust in the crock that holds my cooking utensils.

One of the most neglected areas of any kitchen seems to be the microwave.

I clean this weekly using the steam method.

I remove the glass turntable and the wheeled runner and wipe up any debris that is loose.

Using a glass measuring cup filled with water, I place it in the microwave, close the door, and put 5 minutes on the high cook setting.

I start the micro and let the water boil up and create steam all throughout the interior of the microwave.

At the 5 minute mark, I CAREFULLY REMOVE THE GLASS WITH POTHOLDERS AND PLACE IT IN THE SINK.

The inside is now all wet and hot, making it easy to wipe down every nook and cranny of the interior.

Sometimes I put a drop or two of lemon or orange essential oil inside to really refresh the space.

I repeat this counter process on the rest of those areas in my kitchen.

I'm not a big fan of having a lot of stuff on my counters.

So moving and cleaning is quite a bit easier for me.

This is our coffee station area, so I am always having to wipe up coffee beans and spilled sugar.

(Wonder who makes such a mess here?  Hmmmm)

I also take the time to disinfect the coffee maker as there is a lot of handling going on with this needed appliance in our kitchen.

About once a month I run a white vinegar and water solution through the coffee maker and then run a water only rinse through the machine.

This keeps the machine from producing stale coffee as well as cleans it from the inside out.

Once everything is wiped down thoroughly I put it all back.

I purchased this wooden tray from Marshall's a few years back and it's been great to corral all the coffee supplies needed in our home.

Because I was doing such a deep clean I also went through our coffee cupboard above the station and cleaned it out.  I made sure to disinfect the handles and outsides of the mugs and boxes as well.

After the counters were done I decided to tackle the tedious things in the kitchen.

I started with the mug of pens, box cutters, and scissors.

People often forget that these things are handled quite a bit and therefore can carry germs as well.

I laid them out on the counter and gave them a good spray, rolling them back and forth to cover.

I let them air dry while I worked on other areas.

I made sure to wipe down all the electrical outlets.

TIP:  Don't spray the outlet directly.  Spray the cloth and wipe the outlet as well as light switches, leaving them wet.  

Just the counters, the wet spray will help to disinfect if it has time to do its magic.

I took the time to wipe down the baseboards with my damp rag, removing splashes (ugh, how do they get here) and dust.

I used Lysol wipes to wipe down every door handle and drawer knob, again letting them remain wet and dry on their own.

I wiped down salt and pepper shakers and any other decor item that is exposed in our kitchen.

Our doors have lots of fiddly bits and raised areas, which ALWAYS seems to capture drops and drips.

While they are farmhouse rustic with a worn finish - hiding many of these things - they need to be wiped down, especially around the sink and areas of heavy meal preparation

I use my Lysol wipes or a Mr. Clean eraser to really get these edges clean.

Once all the "floor and up" surfaces are clean, I have hubby steam the clean the floors with our Shark Steam Cleaner.

I love this little cleaner because it really does a great job of sanitizing the floor with super hot steam.

And about an hour later...

I was done!

Nothing beats a clean kitchen.

I love knowing that it's also a clean space to prepare our food.

I can't say how long it will remain this way, but I'm happy if I get a few good hours out of it.

Organizing While Home: Revisiting Past Posts

I've seen lots of FB and Instagram posts about people using this time to reorganize, clean, and purge while they are at home during our "Shelter-In" experience.

I thought this might be a great time to introduce or reintroduce some of the blog posts where I did all of these things.

I hope these inspire you.

I hope these motivate you to get started.

I hope these give you a break from the worry and fears that are plaguing all of us right now.

These are in no particular order.

As you scroll through, just click on the links to that particular post and get step-by-step tutorials.

Happy Organizing!

Easy Vehicle Organization

"Spice-y" Organization

Mom's Closet Clean Out

Quick and Easy Organization

Organizing Important Paperwork

Organizing A Well-Used Catalogue

Organizing Your Travel Samples

The Ultimate Yard Sale Prep Guide

Cleaning the Cleaning Closet

Coupon Caddy Organization

Reorganizing My Entry

Packing It In

Simple Car Organization

Puppy Pantry

Pantry Pick-Me-Up

Messy to Organized - A Tale of Desk Mess

The Gift Closet

Meal Planning

Creating A Thanksgiving Planner

Hall Closet Cleanout

The Perfect Purse

Easy & Affordable Handbag Storage

Shew!  That's 22 different posts dedicated to organizing!

Pick one or two to look over.

Leave me a comment if it inspired you to organize a place in your home.

Remember - keeping busy during this time is important for your mental health, especially when it helps you feel and be productive.

Stay safe, well, and happy!

Planning: Fun and Function

Keeping a schedule, especially in these hectic, unprecedented weeks of social isolation and pandemic concerns, is one of the BEST MENTAL HEALTH skills you can have.

I am a planner.

Planning allows ME to have a cognitive overview of my life.

Planning allows me to feel in control when so much of the world feels and IS out of control.

Today, I'm going to share HOW, WHAT, and WHEN I plan.

Let's get started!

First, I plan out each month.  I do this about week three in the current month for the next month.

YES, I use stickers and washi tape and markers; anything that's eye-catching, fun, pretty, and makes my calendar appealing to ME.

Yes, I am a 54-year-old woman and I make NO APOLOGIES for creating cute monthly and weekly spreads in my planner.

They make me happy and the color and details help to always have a visual picture of what's going on in my life.

Keeping a bit of child-like magic in your life is imperative to growing old and stodgy.

Last week's spread

I also plan out each week.  This occurs around Thursday or Friday of the current week for the upcoming week.

There are several things I plan for each week, not just the appointments.

I'll walk you through that as you virtually plan with me in this post.

I have quite a bit of planning supplies, curated from many different stores and suppliers.

No, you don't need this much.

Yes, I have tons, but in my defense, I have used every single item here on my planning cart and love to have options when planning my weekly and monthly spreads.

I've also collected tons of washi tapes.

These tapes are great for just about everything!

(I have an upcoming post focused just on what to use washi tape for when crafting and creating.)

Much of this came in sets of 5 or more tapes, and it's relatively inexpensive to buy washi.

I start by selecting my color theme, stickers, washi, and pens for the upcoming week.

Since this week had St. Patrick's Day in it I went with the obvious greens and coordinating stickers, then added the hot pink florals and other touches.

My sticker books are coordinated (by the manufacturer Happy Planner) into color families and themes, so if you purchased one book you would have things very coordinated to begin with and wouldn't have to pick and choose if you didn't want to or if that isn't your style.

Once I settled on the basic colors and stickers, I pull out the ones I know I'm using and place them on these sheets.

These sheets are actually leftover from stickers that have already been used.

I keep them to temporarily hold my sticker choices without ruining their stickiness.

They also let me see how much I've chosen and how I am thinking about the final product.

I pull out the weekly spread that's already in my planner for the month.

I use Happy Planners for just about everything in my life.  The disc rings allow me to pull things in and out, reconfigure, and create exactly what works just for me.

For years I tried to fit my style of planning into someone else's style and it never worked.

I even tried to create my own planning sheets - UGH!  It was so much printing... I hated it.

Happy Planner has so many different options that I'm able to use what they already have printed.

I pull the spread out and line it up on my crafting table.

I use a verticle spread that has the days running across the top.  There is an option for a horizontal spread through Happy Planner as well.

I line up the top edges.

This allows me to seamlessly create my personal spread from left to right.

When I put this back onto the discs it will look cohesive.

I start by covering the pre-printed "Notes" part on the left of the page.

I like to layer my stickers to add depth as well as to coordinate the color theme for the week.

I also add a washi right on the first line in the spread.

Above that washi is where I coordinate all my weekly appointments and any notes that I want to make about the week.

Some weeks are full of stuff to do outside the house while others may have only one appointment.

Another thing I like to do here is record different life events as they happen.

For example, as this pandemic has occurred, I have made small notes in these boxes as a way to archive what's happening.

Below the washi is where I put my weekly TO DO lists.

I create those lists from Monday through Thursday, adding any additional weekend items to a general box for the weekend starting on Friday.

I like to use my clamp tweezers to place these stickers to keep them in as straight a line as possible.

This week I just alternated the colors, including the check off sticker strips for the items on each list.

I always have our meal plan on my weekly spread.

Here, I used a "Rescheduled" sticker, covered with the "What's for Dinner" as the base.

It perfectly covered those letters and now really sticks out on the overall spread.

I also stuck a few cooking elements with my floral so that too coordinated with the spread by my meal plan.

I usually place this in the lower boxes and side areas that are not used for a specific item.

When placed all together with a few other stickers, meal planning never looked so great!

Happy Planner makes sticker books specifically for food, disconnecting, workouts, work, and a whole host of other topics.

I add a "section" during my week where I take a "break" from technology.

It's very important, especially right now, to take a break from the world for a few hours to regroup and recenter yourself.

Too much stimulation from the outside world can seriously harm your mental health which can harm your physical health. 

The mind/body connection is real and we need to care for both in equal measure.

I always set aside space to record my workouts, daily step count, as well as my water intake in ounces.

I use an app to record my water and my Apple watch to record my daily steps.

Keeping account of these things makes me accountable and keeps my mind focused on what I need to improve upon when staying physically healthy.

I will just put the initial of each day of the week in the box and then record my water and steps next to it.

In about 20 minutes I have my week already prepared.

The only thing left to do is the written part.

I do all the writing on Sunday afternoon once I've finished with the current week.

This allows me to look over the tasks that got completed - if not they are added to the new week.

It lets me review my workouts.

I can plan meals so as not to overlap or repeat the same meals over and over again.

I can feel a sense of accomplishment.

I understand that this type of planning may not be your "cup of tea."  And while it looks intense, it really is quite satisfying and relaxing for me to do in order to manage my time and commitments.

It's one of the ways I "create" my own rules to live by.