Lockdown: Discover Great Things To Do Around The House

Since almost everyone around the globe is in lockdown and affected because of this Corona virus pandemic, let us all discover things to do around the house. Things in and outside the house may overwhelm you and the entire family at first, that is okay and understandable… it is indeed overwhelming. First and foremost, calm down and pray. Pray for guidance and protection, and be grateful that the family is together and that everyone is in good health.

If you are a family with kids, it is really important to explain to them this different kind of situation we are facing. Ensure them that as a family, you will protect and help each other in facing the so called “new normal”. Teach and show the kids the proper hand-washing and sanitizing. Educate them about social or physical distancing, proper use of face masks and alcohol, and the cough and sneeze etiquette.

Another important thing we should do as family, is to report or inform the parents if anyone is feeling ill. It is best too, to have the DOH COVID-19 emergency hotlines printed out and posted or saved in the phone contacts list.

When the lockdown started here in the NCR (National Capital Region), my husband and I secured food stocks, cash, face masks, and alcohol supply first. And then he opted to work from home. As for my part time jobs, I have been working from home since 2011, so I just basically kept going. Work from home set up is not new to me but it was not always easy-peasy.

After securing all those I have mentioned, and our jobs too, we sat down and started to realize and discover the many things we can actually do. I mean, we HAVE to do now that we have the time and I have their hands (including the kids) to help. Here are some of the many things we all can do during this lockdown period.

THINGS TO DO AS PARTNERS

Clean and disinfect the walls, windows and floors. There are numerous disinfectants available in the market today, but because of the limited supply and high demand during this pandemic, it is best to use a better alternative which are already available in the house.
Clean the electric fans, air-con filters and even the exhaust fans. This lockdown happened during summer, so having these essential things cleaned is definitely a must.
In the kitchen, wipe clean and disinfect tables, chairs, the oven, the pantry shelves, counter tops, the stove top and all the kitchen utensils and stuff you might need to use.
Deep clean the dirty wall and floor tiles in your bathroom. You can maybe learn how to make bathroom fresheners too.
Locate things inside the house that might need a repair or a repainting job. Now is the time to save some money by doing it yourself (DIY).
Clean the rain gutter as well, as it becomes problematic when clogged. Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning Cary gives a lot of tips on how to effectively do this.
Sort out and declutter your closet, storage, or shed. You may want to set aside stuff that you are ready to let go. It is time to donate old-but-wearable clothes to charity. And ditch out the rag-looking ones. It’s better to do this now so you don’t get clutter a lot in need to call a removal company.
Since we are in a lockdown, it is the best time to wash your shoes too. There is no other place to go as of now. Aside from the shoes, I actually took the time to also bathe my daughters’ stuffed toys. I have expected to see my daughters throw a lot of hugging at them (stuffed toys), to be honest.
Also get the roof checked, and do repairs when necessary.

Besides ensuring that the house is clean and virus free, being in lockdown does not have to be tiring and boring all the time. There are many things you can do for your self improvement, for family time, and to release stress and anxiety that may have been brought by the pandemic and by the fact of being in lockdown. A new hobby might be the start of a new business venture, who knows?

THINGS TO DO AS FAMILY

Make use of your oven by learning how to bake, if you still do not know how. Instructional videos online are available – cookies, cupcakes, pizza and breads. It will be fun do this with the family.

Another fun thing to do in the kitchen while on lockdown is to cook. This is fun especially because you get to serve the family something you cooked from scratch. A new foreign recipe would be a good idea, right? Recipes are readily available online. Take this chance too, to let the kids learn about measurements.

Lockdown gives you plenty of time that you can actually spend sleeping (resting, of course!) or learning something new – foreign language, to be exact. Ever wanted to learn Korean, Japanese or Spanish language? Now is the perfect chance to study it yourself or with the kids online.
Start a blog. You may have an interest in writing, in photography, plants and any other hobby you may want to share your knowledge thru a blog.
Speaking of plants, and a clean home, you may want to bring in some indoor plants. These may serve as decorative pieces and air purifiers too.

Why not grow your own food? This pandemic has made a lot of us realize how important it is to grow our own food as the government has advice to lessen going out as much as possible (to the markets and groceries included). Grow, harvest and serve sufficient healthy greens at and from the comfort of your homes and build a healthy immune system.

Learn how to sew fitted washable face masks with filter pockets. Patterns and how-to videos are readily available on YouTube and Pinterest. It is best to teach the kids the proper way to wear, remove and wash the masks too.

THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR KIDS

- Interact with your kids. Different ages, different needs and interests, let us not disregard that. You can read books together or complete a 300 piece puzzle. Play board games, master the Rubik’s cube, beat each other in chess and solve crossword puzzles. Watching their fave TV shows is a good bonding time too.
- Guide the kids with their unfinished school projects, exams and worksheets that might have a submission deadline, in case they weren’t able to finish the school year yet.
- Set limits for the kids’ gadget use and encourage them to either play musical instruments that they may have or write a poem/song. I requested my girls to search and learn how to play using their ukuleles, the song “Memories” by Maroon 5. We were all singing while they play. That was joyful.
- Watch a documentary or musical (online) with the whole family. We did this when Ang Huling El Bimbo, The Musical was uploaded on YouTube and went available for free for 48 hours.
- Volunteer or start a fund-raising campaign to help out poor families that are affected by the pandemic and by the recent Typhoon Vongfong (Ambo).

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Paint. It is said to be that painting has several emotional and psychological effects in a person – so is this lockdown, right? Might as well contradict the bad effects of the pandemic with the benefits of painting. My elder daughter who is into painting, joined #ItsNoJokeAcrylicApril on Instagram.We had an extra yard of canvas cloth and created 5″x5″ DIY canvas boards for her to use. She posted her finished painting on her IG account, HeyItsKea_. Unfortunately, we did not have enough cloth to use for her to finish the whole month’s prompt. As soon as the lockdown is lifted and the textile stores open, we will sure order canvas cloth online.

This list can go on and we can enumerate a few more things we all can do while we are at home and in lockdown. But then, the most important thing we should do is no longer to be discovered – pray. Continuously pray for ones family and for the world’s healing.