The government advice in the UK as the current COVID-19 crisis continues to assail us is simple enough. Stay home to stop the spread; meaning avoid going outside for anything other than necessary grocery shopping, to exercise, to go to work if you are a key worker and are unable to work from home. The mandatory closure of pubs, cinemas, and non essential shops helps along the advice to practice social distancing. For some, the forced confinement to their home can be seen as a blessing, for others a curse. I fall in the former camp and need not be asked twice to comply. I've slowly put together an interior space that provides me with maximum personal comfort. Living alone I have everything I need; although living in a small space there is much more that I want but simply don't have room for.
Although a natural homebody; literally not being able to go outside has even me finding new ways to use and organise my interior space:
Using the stairs for cardiovascular activity and dusting off my fitness accessories in a bid to actually use them.
Having a second monitor set-up for a more comfortable working from home experience as it's something I'll be doing for a while.
I normally love having things 'out' on my dining table be it stacks of magazines, a puzzle, or various bits of paper (receipts and post mainly) but my new obsession to constantly wipe down surfaces evey hour on the hour means that I have stored them away on a shelf or filed them. Admittedly I should have been doing this.
Same goes for empty wine bottles that I tended to leave on a top shelf and have since put out for recycling.
In short - my home looks tidier and less lived in than normal because I’m constantly tidying as I move from room to room.
I'm still happy with my reading nook and have gotten more use out of it now as a way to relax my eyes from screens and streaming. It just feels good to move to an area exclusively to sit down and read comfortably without distraction.
I've done more than enough rearranging of furniture to be all set for the lockdown and not tempted to do any more which is rather unfortunate as it is a great way to spend a few hours.
I'd luckily also sorted my room scents just a few weeks before 'stay home' was simply a recommendation. Moving through the flat and smelling the lovely fragrances picked out for each space is the simplest of pleasures that heightens my sense of wellbeing. Mood and wellbeing are so fragile under these circumstances.
Nesting while homebound as the spring weather becomes increasingly bright and inviting will no doubt become a greater challenge the longer this crisis continues. Let's hope that by staying home now, we shake it sooner and resume our normal, messy, lived in lives. #stayhome
Because not everyone has a place to call home, even at the best of times; consider a donation to a homeless charity for those even more vulnerable during the current COVID-19 crisis.