Unparalleled times call for unparalleled measures. As we have entered a period in our lives that we have never experienced before, where our freedom is removed, choices reduced and emotions on high, we really need to get the most out of our homes and make them work for these new times. Your home is going to be everything for everybody that lives in it and everything in it is going to be tested to the ‘nth degree. In light of this, Loop Interiors has dropped its blog rule “no top tips” to bring you some suggestions on what you can do to make the self isolation a bit more 'plain sailing’.
The Sayboat, is a minimalistic, sustainable floating house boat. That’s plain simple sailing. Image Source - Inhabitat.
Your entire family, whatever shape or form that maybe, is set to be sleeping, eating, playing, relaxing, studying and working in your house. Your existing domestic arrangements and systems are really going to be put to the test. This is not like the six week summer holiday period where you can be out and about using your home as a hotel! It’s not a little home mini break where we all sit on the sofa, read books in our Pjs. It’s a period where we have our feet in two seperate worlds, one where we need to function and one where we need to switch off. With rumors of us being in our homes until atleast June, it’s potentially a medium term ‘new normal’. So now is a really good time to assess how your home works (and doesn’t work) and invest some time and effort into making changes to those systems so they support you and your family through this ‘new normal’.
“Stay Home. Stay Safe” Image Source - Canberra Times.
But what sort of changes? Essentially there are two type of change, physical changes such as changing around furniture to make spaces work better and system changes that reduce the daily work load! So you need to focus on two things:
- what you need to be able to do in the house, where and when. Being able to work and study for long period of times is a new addition to the role your home will need to perform. Doing this on the kitchen table is not likely to cut it!
- identify where the potential increased domestic work is and try to eliminate it. Not one to pre-empty your findings but this is likely to be located in the kitchen and the laundry!
Every house is different. As is every family. So rather than give you a checklist, heres a few suggestions that myself and my beautiful friend Rachel Harris has implemented this week in preparation for what ever is to come our way. Please note we have kids ranging from 6 to 13 years old so these changes may not be suitable for your family. If you have any further suggestions or actions you want to share, then please put them in the comments below -
Work & School - Schedule & get help!
You will not be expected to ‘teach’ your kids whilst they are at home. You will not be required to develop activities or lessons for them. The schools will do this and your job as parent, is to get THEM to complete these tasks as requested. Easier said than done! Key to this is having a daily school schedule, which most schools are sending out. Having a routine is REALLY REALLY important for everyone. The kids are used it and it carves the day up into achievable chunks! So agree what that schedule should be, print it out and get it on the wall. Please bear in mind you also need to be realistic. This is all new and novel and you will not get the solid hours of study, especially to begin with. To assist in the transition, organise a study space away from distraction, that has everything they need within arms reach. Make sure the schedule has down time and includes physical activities and fun ‘chunks’ too.
Balancing this with working from home is going to be very difficult, but there is one easy solution which brings benefits for all. It isn’t one that will suit everyones ideals and / or living arrangements. Give up your spare room and get a stranded backpacker / traveller in. There is an entire community out there in deperate need of accommodation and work, as hostels are closing and work drying up. I speak from experience, we have had a ‘traveller’ with us for five weeks. She has changed our lives and is riding out the pandemic with us. There are many websites that can link you up, but one inparticular is called HelpX. This site assists in exchanges, whereby you provide a room and food to an individual / couple, in exchange for a number of hours of work per week. The number of hours depends on the work involved, but as a carer of a child, you could expect 20 hours a week. Essentially, you can turn your spare room into a study assistant for your kid(s) or into anything else for that matter. HelpXers can do a huge range of work within your home, gardening, cleaning, painting, cooking, cleaning, shopping. Clearly once the HelpXer is a part of your household, more likely your family, you will all need to adhere to the guidelines and regulations around Covid19.
Our family of four is now a family of five. Each with our own glass. See below. Image Source - Own
Kitchen - Schedule & reduce use!
Implement kitchen hours. I know this sounds draconian but already I’ve had friends complain about the amount of times the fridge door is open and contents being raided or how they’re a slave to kids eating desires. And we are only one week in! Put up the kitchen hours for all to see and make sure they’re based around the school schedule above (other wise there will be a riot)!! When kitchen is closed, it’s C.L.O.S.E.D. Other measures you can introduce to minimise the grazing and the use of kitchen implements are -
making pack lunches for the day just as if they are going to school. That’s their food for the day.
everyone having their own glass that they reuse all day and wash at the end of the day. You can do this with mugs as well. We found glasses easier to wash than drink bottles.
cook a large dinner, enough to have left overs for lunch the next day. This will save you time and energy.
have a task jar, where easy tasks are put in the jar and everyone takes one out for that day. These can be rotated to fit in with the chore daily focus (see below)
Life Saver - Closing the kitchen. No-one need to eat 24/7. Image Source - Own.
Laundry - reduce your load, increase your floor space!
Let’s face it, we aren’t going to be going anywhere or seeing many people in real time for a while, so our need for different sets of clothes has shrunk dramatically. But conversely, kids are not going to be wearing school uniform, so essentially they now can wear what they want, when they want and change it as many times as they want!!! The aim with laundry is simple, to minimise the washing loads and the amount of clothes that are all over the floor / chair / ottoman. This is achieved by temporarily culling your kids wardrobe (and adults if you feel the need). Let them choose a number of outfits and underwear, probably about four, bag up the rest and place out of reach. Watch your washing pile shrink and bedroom floors appear. Harsh but a life and water saver.
Task Jar. Image Source - Pinterest.
Clean house - healthy heart, healthy mind.
They say that a clean and tidy house creates a positive frame of mind. I have to confess I tend to agree. So by keeping on top of the chores, you’re creating a positive environment to spend your time in. You can focus on one area or one task for each day of the week. The task jar mentioned above can be worked into this weekly schedule to encourage other members of the family to get involved and share the load. Here’s a suggested weekly timetable, but clearly this can be changed to suit you and your family needs -
Monday: Bathroom day.
Tuesday: Dusting day.
Wednesday: Kitchen day.
Thursday: Vacuuming & floor washing day.
Friday: Catch up day OR one off spring cleaning focus (curtains / architraves / windows)
Saturday: Sheets and towels day.
Sunday: Chill!
Making it sound more fun and more important than it is, is key to success. Image Source - Sue Janson
Downtime - It’s ok to be bored!
You don’t need to entertain your kids 24/7. Providing them with opportunities to play on their own really is beneficial. It helps them to use their imagination, be creative and explore their environment (albiet a very small one for now). Being bored is ok. My favourite quip on the “I’M BORED” exclamation is “Great, it means your brain is having a rest!” Boredom brings many benefits such as being able to regulate negative emotions and being able to cope with negative emotions gives them confidence that helps to solve problems. Being bored is, in short, a life skill.
One thing is for sure, very few of us have ever been in this situation before, where our homes gravitate away from being our sanctuary to being more of a prison. Essentially the house is still the same but our feelings toward it differ as our time in it is compressed. The two key difference to this is our lack of freedom to leave and do something else and our need to do a larger amount of tasks in that confined space. We can’t control the first difference, but we can certainly take charge with the second. So to help you get through the self isolation and lockdown stages make sure you, as a care giver, help yourself first by shuffling your space to fit your needs, sharing out the jobs, reducing the need to wash or clean and create a new structure for your family members to live by. Once you’re on a ‘relatively’ stable base your ability to reach out and help others in your wider family and community, albeit from a distance, is likely to grow. Because that has to be one of the most valuable learnings from this whole experience, the importance of family and community.