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We've been social distancing for a little over a month now.

It feels like a lot longer.

If you're anything like me, you've gone through all the stages self-quarantine:

- denial

- anger

- day drinking

- decluttering

- OCD-style surface sanitizing

- resolving to get started on that-thing-you-always-said-you-would-if-you-only-had-the-time

- realizing it wasn't just the lack of time that was stopping you

- despair at the prospect of homeschooling your kids while working from home

- and finally: acceptance that this is the 'new normal'

Now that it's been a few weeks, we're settling into our new reality the way you sink into that beat-up old chair you need to contort your body into to get even remotely comfortable.

Trying to do the WFH thing while *attempting* to homeschool a five-year-old has meant unhealthy amounts of screen time for him and a less-than-efficient workday for me ---my telemedicine consults are routinely interrupted by our dog's barking and my son's increasingly frequent snack requests.

And yet, I'm one of the lucky ones. I still have a job, and one that I can (mostly) do from the safety of our home. It could be much worse.

So, it's time to put an end to this pity party and carry on.

I've been on an indefinite break from neatntiny since January; I felt it had run it's course and it was becoming increasingly difficult to come up with fresh topics. That, and I'd picked up another side gig (currently on hold thanks to our friend, COVID -19).

With all this extra time stuck at home, I thought I'd drop by here again.

In today's post, I'll share my quarantine to-do list for stuck-at-home survival.

Our entryway table these days.

Self-Quarantine To-Do List

1. Set up a decontamination station in your entryway, complete with disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer.

2. Get in the habit of wiping down frequently handled surfaces with disinfectant (i.e. door knobs, light switches, handles, mailboxes).

3. Set up makeshift home office and/or home schooling areas.

4. Set up a designated FaceTime/Zoom spot. It should have comfy seating, flattering lighting and face away from clutter-prone areas.

5. Make a schedule for checking in virtually with friends and fam.

Think group chats for efficiency and happy hour to justify your day drinking.

6. Learn how to make some fancy cocktails using the booze you already have at home.

7. Make room in your cupboards for the extra nonperishables you've been stockpiling.

8. Batch freeze meals. If you don't consume them during quarantine, they'll come in handy post-pandemic, when you're all out of domesticity.

9. Make a list of local restaurants still offering takeout and delivery. You can help keep them open with your patronage.

10. Watch YouTube videos on how to cut hair (your own, partner's, kids', pets'...).

11. Download workout apps or follow YouTube channels for home exercise.

12. Make a bucket list of vacation destinations for when travel bans are eventually lifted.

13. Plan your next trip.

14. You've most likely been decluttering over the last few weeks. Sell or donate the aftermath on your local Facebook buy/sell group.

15. Create to-do lists. This is one of my fave things to do -----pandemic or not.

Now that our cleaning lady is MIA, we're responsible for cleaning parts of our home I didn't even realize needed cleaning. I've made to-do lists entitled 'housekeeping,' 'to buy' and 'to sell.' Each moment I'm not doing the WFH thing or homeschooling, I try to address something on the list while indulging in some Netflix. Sort of like the opposite of Netflix and chill...

Being kinda type A, one of the worst things about this pandemic is having your sense of control taken away. What you're going to do and where you're going to go (nowhere!) each day are pretty much decided for you. Writing out a to-do list and crossing off tasks, no matter how insignificant, gives you some agency.

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That's all for now. Time to get out of my pjs and pry my kid away from the TV. Hope you're all keeping safe, healthy and relatively sane. This too shall pass.

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Since You Have Nothing Better to Do:

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