Stay Home & Keep Calm
Our family has been home since March 5 and I know that most of you are in the same situation, working, studying, pacing at home. These are unprecedented times and we are all going through stages of grief in our different ways. So much to feel about this new normal but I wanted to say out loud, “I See You”!
With so many different sources of information, whether it be the News, Whatsapp threads, social media posts, etc, there is A LOT of information being thrown at us and sometimes it’s hard to take it all in. Not to mention the spam of content featuring the hundreds of things you can do while at home, and none resonating for you personally.
You must be thinking, “Oh no, here’s more content of what I can do during this Stay Home Initiative”, but I promise that’s not the case. In my blog this month, I’ve compiled concrete ways you can embrace this new “normal” with ideas and initiatives to keep you inspired and looking forward to when we can return to our daily lives.
Order Takeout
For those that are working from home, I know that some of you are busier than ever, managing your kids and your conference calls so don’t be afraid to ask for help with things like ordering in lunch or dinner from your favorite local restaurant. Here in San Carlos most of our small business restaurants are open for pickup. We know our local businesses could use our patronage during this difficult time, so an order or Gift Certificate purchase would be appreciated, I am sure! If you are unsure of where to order, apps like DoorDash, Postmates, and Uber Eats let you browse through the endless options of local restaurants open for delivery. Our family loves 888Ristorante Italiano, San Carlos and it is a special treat to order the bolognese sauce and pick it up at the curb.
Order Groceries
I have never had so much time for meal planning and preparations. But, I also want to be careful about not going to the market if at all possible. The good news is that avoiding the market is a lot easier with delivery services such as InstaCart, Farm Fresh To You, and my personal favorite Imperfect Produce! Because of InstaCart, I have not had to step foot in a Costco in over a year or wait in super long checkout lines. They also feature Bianchini’s, Target, Safeway, and Lunardi’s to name a few other convenient stores they support online ordering for.
Practice HeadSpace
For my contractor friends who are on hiatus, I know that there is shock, anxiety, and fear rolling around. I have been doing my best to avoid getting sucked into the 24/7 news cycle and trying to limit screen time as things are changing so fast that it is hard to comprehend. I have mentioned this before in previous blogs, but I depend on my HeadSpace App and uplifting podcasts such as This American Life to get my through the day. Let the noise of the outside world disappear, and use these tools to help you focus on your mental health and well-being.
Practice Tidying
Here’s your Spring Cleaning Checklist! Remember when you said you did not have enough time to tidy? With our ample time at home these next couple of weeks, here’s a great checklist recently published on Marie Kondo’s blog and it’s the perfect game-plan for those like me who have a hard time staying still! Get your whole family involved and make a fun group activity with it. Feel free to personally message me if you have any questions and I’d be more than happy to help!
Spark Joy Bay Area is still working with clients remotely with FaceTime and Zoom around accountability as they move through their tidying festivals as well as tackling specific categories (like at home workspaces and student spaces) so feel free to reach out if you or someone you know needs support around these areas!
Still have extra time? Here’s another list of ideas you and your family can do. Wonderful shout-out to my Rector for sharing these:
Go to an art museum. Dozens of Paris museums have put 100,000 images online that are free for unrestricted public use: http://parismuseescollections.paris.fr/en
Watch an opera. The Metropolitan Opera is streaming a variety of shows for free in the coming weeks: https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/coronavirus-the-metropolitan-opera-to-stream-free-operas.html
Go on a field trip. A helpful teacher made a list of 30 virtual field trips from zoos and a farm to mars and the great wall of China: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SvIdgTx9djKO6SjyvPDsoGlkgE3iExmi3qh2KRRku_w/preview?fbclid=IwAR2D9iusp1PqMZLYJZjUEq1effYxPaSBznprbf7lLpw_PMOk3gg1WBqQ1iU
Do yoga on the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral. Grab your mat and join the class here: https://gracecathedral.org/events/yoga-on-the-labyrinth-online-edition/
Walk the labyrinth at Episcopal Church of the Epiphany on the corner of cedar and arroyo in San Carlos: www.epiphanysancarlos.org
Pick up a new workout. Planet Fitness has “home work ins” daily on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/planetfitness/
Head to the zoo. The Cincinnati Zoo has a home safari program where you can meet an ocelot, a porcupine, and a hippo up close. There’s a new live stream daily: http://cincinnatizoo.org/home-safari-resources/
Learn about homelessness. Habitat for Humanity has a bunch of activities for youth available: https://www.habitat.org/volunteer/near-you/youth-programs/resources
Learn about the world. Google has a variety of resources to lead you through lessons about the world, history and more: https://www.google.com/earth/education/resources/
I hope this blog finds you well and the many resources shared above come in handy with you and your family. If you have any questions or need assistance embarking on your Spring Tidying, feel free to email me directly at jane.grodem@gmail.com! I’ll be available, as mentioned above, to help assist virtually.
