Listen, it’s a weird time. We feel it too. It’s easy to go down a spiral of despair when you have an itch in your eye that you know you shouldn’t scratch and you’ve already finished every episode of The Office. Twice. But now’s not the time to give up. There is still plenty of good stuff to do while you’re cooped up at home. Good and fun, we promise.
Do good for your community
A crisis always puts extra pressure on the people and places that are already vulnerable. Luckily, there are ways that you can support from home. For example, food banks could use extra donations right now, specifically financial gifts. Shelters and disaster relief organisations would appreciate a little extra love too.
It’s also a really stressful time for the small business owners in your community. Is there a theatre that you really like? Consider getting tickets to a future show. Buy gift vouchers from the small shops and local restaurants in your area. If you can, it’s a nice way to show your support and keep your neighbourhood artisans afloat.
Do good for your people
Check in on your friends and family – it can feel really isolating when you’re, well, isolated. A global pandemic may not be the reason FaceTime or WhatsApp were invented, but boy it sure is useful in times like these.
You don’t have to only have serious conversations (although those can be nice), you can have all sorts of virtual fun. You can play charades, cook dinner together or have a dance party! Prop your phone in a mug, put on the most joyful songs you can think of and get down with the get down. Bonus points if you’re wearing socks that slide across a tiled floor – trust us, it’s just as fun as you remember.
Do good for yourself
We’re not going to tell you to eat your veggies (we may or may not have stockpiled Haribo), but do try to take care of yourself. Move your body, if you’re up for it! You may not be able to make it to your usual exercise spots, but sites like Pop Sugar Fitness have really fun (and free!) classes that you can stream online.
Let yourself take advantage of this quarantine – take a nap without guilt or get a head start on spring cleaning. Maybe you’ve avoided natural deodorants because you were afraid of being stinky. If you’re working from home for the foreseeable future, now’s the time to get those toxins out of your life for good.
We’ve compiled this list because we hate feeling helpless and we know that our community loves to help as well. It’s been so humbling to see how you’ve reached out to us and one another with such kindness while we’ve been out of stock. But if you only want to focus on taking deep breaths, that’s totally cool too. There are millions of ways to react to all this and, unless you’re selling hand sanitiser on the black market, you’re handling it just fine.