In my wildest dreams living through a pandemic was not imaginable. Yet here I am trying to understand it and live through it. The first weeks hearing about the Coronavirus COVID-19 was foreign. It didn't seem possible a virus could actually travel around the world spreading panic with it. Yet I'm practicing Social Distancing recommended by my government to not stop the virus but level it out to a more manageable problem. My rural community has not yet seen a case but they assure us it will.
Already it seems a lot of time has passed but in reality only a couple of weeks since our one grocery store had empty shelves. I still have a difficult time understanding the sudden rush to buy up all the toilet paper and bottled water. It quickly became a joke but as the shelves remain empty with signs limiting how many products you can buy at a time the jokes have staled.
I'm a habitual organizer and planner so of course my mind went to work before I was even aware I was doing it. Since moving to rural Texas five years ago I learned to stock my pantry and supply closet and replenish regularly. We aren't "preppers" by any means, I just don't like making multiple shopping trips for a few items at a time especially since it means a 60 mile round trip to a large retail store. I do also shop locally in our small grocery store for perishables and some odds and ends but online ordering is my friend for most paper goods and cleaning supplies. There are plenty of sites to google for prepping lists, I'll just say I try to keep a 30 day supply of paper goods, cleaning supplies, canned/frozen vegetables and meats and 60 days of medications. I hope that will suffice during the pandemic. Admittedly I'm counting on the panic purchasing of the general population to slow down and store shelves to once again hold what we need. I have faith and pray that will be the case.
Over the weekend I took inventory of my pantry, freezer and craft supplies. Some of that time was spent organizing everything so it's simple to see and use what we have. Some of my time is being spent making meal plans to use what I have efficiently. I had already looked in my craft supplies and made some plans for the grand kids and myself to stay busy during spring break. It helps that the weather is warming up and we'll be able to spend some time playing and gardening outside.
Yesterday and today I've cleaned the windows and opened them up for a nice spring airing. I have a large back porch that needed to be cleared off and cleaned too. I removed some tired items to the trash and some outgrown toys to a storage shed. I pulled out some solar fairy lights from the Christmas box and hung them on the porch that is fun to see at night time. It really makes me smile and feel a bit less stressed. I ordered a couple more strands that I'll hang when they come in a few days.
Hubs built a folding camp style table many years ago that is well used and needed refurbishing so I pulled out a hand sander, gave it a sanding and stained with a mocha color I had on hand. It's just the right size for the smaller grand kids to eat lunch on or set up with play dough or that slime stuff they love.
Tomorrow will be a new day and I'll start new projects. I pray we'll stay healthy and you will too.
