COVID Blues (and whites)

So, since it is 2 am and I am still not asleep, I thought I would start a post sharing hints for things that we are each doing to help ourselves cope with the COVID pandemic. Hopefully,  you will consider leaving a comment sharing things you are trying, or practices you have employed during this crisis. They can he household tips, or suggestions on how to stay upbeat while trapped at home, or things that you have tried that are not part of your regular routines or hobbies...

I will leave you with my two ideas.

1.    I read that we are to wash our hands every time we come back into our homes, before we prepare food, before we eat, etc. AND that we are to dry our hands on a paper towel or a clean cloth that is immediately discarded into a container to be laundered later on. Considering that we are washing our hands countless times a day now, that is a lot of paper toweling (which btw is impossible to locate at the moment).  I do not own enough tea towels to dry my hands every time with a clean one, only to immediately discard them. Ditto for the bathroom hand towels.

So, before the actual stay home orders, we were already keeping to home as Al is in the at risk group due to having diabetes and a previous heart attack.  I asked my daughter who is still working (emergency service worker), to pick me up 60-80 cheap white facecloths oh her way home from work. I knew she was stopping for groceries and could get them there.  These are the really cheap face cloths  that sell for something like 20 for $10.

I placed them in a pretty aqua woven basket and placed baskets in my kitchen and bathroom. When ever I wash my hands, I use one of these face clothes to dry my hands. Then I toss them into a smallish white plastic wastebasket that I empty and launder each evening. I chose white for the colour of the face cloths so that I could add bleach when I launder them .

Here is a photo to show you what I mean. The basket is sitting on my island as the light was better there to take the photo, but it actually sits to the right of the kitchen sink. Ditto for the bathroom ones.

And here is a photo to demonstrate better the size of the facecloth and how cheap and thin they are.
If they are thin they dry out faster and don't get that stale musty smell that damp things can get.
I should mention that the basket in the bathroom has a lid, as I did not want the face cloths contaminated by any airborne germs....

2.     My second tip is I am now eating breakfast in the kitchen and then carrying my coffee outside to the back garden and sitting down at the patio table to relax while I drink it. I usually wait do this later in the year, when it is warmer out.  Our area is quite rainy and damp at this time of year,  but I just button up a sweater or jacket and sit and relax. It really helps start my day in a positive manner.

Looking forward to reading your tips.....