.......While Working, Studying, Living!
We are living in a stressful, uncertain and downright scary time right now. Because of the coronavirus pandemic most of us are sheltering in place, which turns our home into our whole world.
Home is now our – office, schoolroom, gym, library, restaurant, playroom. Mom, Dad, kids, pets, grandparents, - everyone needs room to do their own thing to stay sane.
Making room for all of these activities can be – FRUSTRATING, especially if your home is small.
So – how to manage our home environment during the quarantine?
1. Create work stations. Figure out who needs what. It’s important to set-up a work space for each person that accommodates their tools, supplies, and space requirements - making sure each item has its own place to live.
It’s a great excuse to sort through the piles on your desk. Use the RAFT method – Refer/Action/File/Trash. Space is limited, so make sure you really use the stuff you keep.
· Refer – if it needs to go to someone else
· Action – create a spot for things that need some action, that you’ll revisit later when you have time
· File – stored somewhere accessible (for paper, preferably scanned and e-filed)
· Trash– have trashcan handy
2. Make Play stations. For kids, this may mean a specific place where they play with their toys. If they’re used to doing this all over the house, decide together where the play area will be and corral everything there. For grownups – play areas may mean where you watch NETFLIX, read, knit, or talk virtually to friends.
3. Cooking/Eating stations. Obviously the kitchen is where you prepare food, but decide on one spot where everyone eats. And don’t let eating bleed into playing, working, or sleeping areas – contain the mess!
4. Sleeping spots. Bedrooms are for sleeping, but may also double as play or work spaces. SO make that bed as soon as you get up so the room is ready for an alternate use.
5. Home school areas. Pull together everything needed to kids to do online classes and homework – laptops, paper, pens, etc. You can identify a box where everything lives when school is out for the day.
6. Re-purposing spaces – creating multi-use, multi-functional areas. Don’t be afraid to make spaces multi-functional! The dining room table may be the home school during the day, and place for crafts or hobbies in the evening. A bedroom may be for sleeping at night, and playroom during the day. The living room may double as a gym or yoga studio in the morning, and relaxation spot in the evening.
THE KEY – contain whatever you need for each activity into one place, preferably portable if your home is small. So it can be easily moved to make room for a different use and be ready to move back for the next time, and the clutter is controllable.
Your challenge is to manage your life with the other people sharing your space with mutual respect, patience and understanding. We’re all in this together and we can make it work!