Just a small reminder that you should trust medical professionals and official websites like WHO and the CDC over social media. I am neither a medical professional OR have any affiliation with WHO or the CDC so this information is purely opinion and my experience. This post may contain affiliate links which means I may make a small commission if you purchase through my link.

I would never wish this pandemic on any group of people, but since we are currently drowning in it & I can see via social media that cases are slowly trickling in throughout the United States; I thought I would share some quick thoughts on what has helped or what I wish we did differently before we were put on lockdown for any family or friends who need a little bit of guidance.

Stop listening to those people who are saying it’s not a big deal. Most of us won’t get gravely ill, but since when did we stop caring about our parents and grandparents and immunocompromised loved ones?

We have been on an official lockdown since Tuesday March 9th but have been self-quarantined since the day I flew home from my mom trip to the Canary Islands. We thought it might get to this point & wanted to take extra precautions so we were able to get around a 60 day supply of essentials before things got too crazy. As far as the lockdown goes, we have to carry official documentation with us when we leave our home; one person at a time, and only for groceries, medical appointments or for essential work. Police are posted around the cities checking paperwork whether you are on foot, bike or car.

Of all the places to be locked up, we did get pretty lucky – but it is definitely not a fun situation to be in. In an effort to help here is a quick list of things I would have set up in case you happen to be in a similar situation sooner than later.

• 

• 

Financials:

• Set up automatic bill payments in case businesses close their store fronts.
• If you own a personal business – make sure you have a plan in place to offer refunds, exchanges etc & plan for closure if you own a storefront.
• Return library books or renew them before they expire
• If you own rental properties get in touch with your renters to let them know you will be able to accept late rent in this occasion as many individuals will be out of work.

HomeSchool:

We have been on a virtual learning (home-school) routine for 3 weeks and will most likely be out for the reminder of the school year. We do school at the dining room table for approximately 6-8 hours per day (1 hour a day is spent in a Google Meet with the teacher), taking small breaks to run laps around the house or to do fun activities. While school takes up the majority of our time and energy it has been helpful to have a bit of an art stock in our ammunition. Some things I would recommend having in stock with convenient Amazon links to our personal favorites:

• Play-doh & Air Dry Clay
• Beads, string
• Cardboard Boxes are great for forts & are colorable
• Extra printer paper and printer ink (for school work or coloring pages)
• Slime Kits
• Puzzles for each age group
• Crayons, Colored Pencils, Markers & a working sharpener
• Bubbles <— This refill tub is amazing
• Kids Recipe Books

Travel:

While I wish we were stuck on vacation back in Thailand on the beach (there is no leaving or entering Italy – or even our commune – at this time) it is great to be currently healthy & together. I highly suggest cancelling any upcoming trips you have for at least the next 90-120 days. To check the most currently restrictions on travel because of COVID-19 check the IATA website updated daily. Most airlines are taking a huge hit but also offering free cancelling or rescheduling flights due to the current flight restrictions.

Groceries:

The hilarious memes circulating on social media are all fun and games until you are on lockdown and there are very few grocery stores remaining open and everyone in your town needs toilet paper. I’m not suggesting to go buy all of Isle 11 but maybe just grab an extra jumbo pack of TP. While your at it I highly recommend grabbing a 30-60 day supply of the following/or your families go-to pantry essentials:

• Cough medications/Cough Drops
• Childrens and Adults Ibuprofen and Acetometiphen
• Rice/Quinoa/CousCous
• Pasta and Pesto/Spaghetti Sauce
• Canned vegetables and fruits
• Canned soup and beans
• Bulk meat that can be individually frozen
• A backup of personal hygeine items
• Soap, but no need to go crazy.
• Baby formula, bottles, liners
• Crock pot if you don’t already have one
• Batteries/Lightbulbs
• Gatorade and Pedialyte
• Animal supplies for pets
• Laundry & house cleaning supplies
• Pancake mix (water add-in is best IF you run out of eggs & milk) & Syrup
• Protein Bars
• Nut Assortments

Here are some ‘going stir crazy’ ideas to try and keep you entertained. I’ll try to add ideas as I find or hear of them!

• 12 Virtual Museum Tours offered for FREE here
• FREE Mystery Science activités for school aged children
• Puzzles are a great family activity – we just started a 5000 piece one (no joke)
• Write letters to your local Nursing/Retirement home as they will most likely be closing their doors and not allowing any visitors.
• 3 hours of FREE Scholastic Home School activities DAILY
• Paint Rocks and hide them around your neighborhood
• Finally sit down to learn the Kon Marie method and declutter your home room by room.
• Clean out your email – UNSUBSCRIBE from unnecessary emails
• Here is 80 screen free activities if your home school kids need a break from all that blue light.

If you have any questions or suggestions leave me a comment and I promise to you back to you asap!

I’m sharing our lockdown activities on my Instagram if you’d like to see some of the things we are doing to keep busy!