Hello!
How are you?
Really, how are you?
We find ourselves in this strange time, this period of uncertainty and fear and I know its hard on all us. Some more than others. But all of us are feeling this wave of anxiety and stress and that is totally normal. I know I've been feeling pretty numb these past few days.
21 days in a long time.
A long time to be home and doing everything by ourselves.
Some of us have never been in for so long. EVER.
And some of us find ourselves doing home chores and cooking for the first time ever...I see people freaking out on my FB and basically nearly dying from ghar ka kaam.
I feel ya!
So I thought, I'd share some tips and trick to make these 21 days a little bit more bearable.
I wanted to share some tips on chores and doing your own household work, I don't know if I've ever talked about it in detail but for nearly 2 years, 2016-2018, my sister and I were without a domestic helper and did everything on our own. It was hard and we are so grateful when we found our current helper. So I know a little bit on how to manage your home and do so without going mad. We learnt a lot in those 2 years and have a little wisdom to share.
I hope this helps anyone who feels overwhelmed with everything.
21 TIPS ON SURVIVING THE 21 DAY LOCKDOWN!
1. Distribute and Delegate Chores: If you're living with people, family or roommates delegate chores. For instance, my sister and I are together and have split up chores between us. We both cook. I do the dishes and clean the kitchen. We take turns with washing clothes. She sweeps, while I mop. This way no one is overwhelmed or overworked. Don't try to take on too much.
2. Sweep Everyday: India is dusty AF. So a daily thorough jhadu is inescapable and one chore I recommend you don't skip, even if your house looks clean, trust me it isn't. Get under those nooks and crannies and sweep away. If you live in a large house, split up the rooms with between folks at home. Maybe each person cleans their own room to keep things fair.
3. Mop Every Other Day: When we were help-less for two years, mopping was the one thing I HATED. Hated with a vengeance. It killed me. And from what I see people on my FB, its killing them too. It's not easy mopping your home and it's hard on your body to squat and mop. So if you're doing a daily jhadu, you can easily do a mopping every other day. Or even once a week if yo live in a not so dusty part of town. My flat can go 4-5 days without a mopping and it does well. But my parents home, on a busy main road needs to be mopped pretty much everyday. So see how dirty your space gets and see how long you can stretch between moppings. Be thorough with the jhadu-ing and easy on the mopping.
4. Get a Spin Mop: This little thing single handedly saved my life back when I did everything on my own. It's a nifty little device to mop your floors, it does a fantastic job, gets your home super clean and is so much kinder to your back and hands. If you can find it...given how crazy things are right now, get it. I have one from Scotch-Brite and I love it. You can find it HERE. There are also several others that are much more affordable. Find one that works for you.
5. Don't Let The Vessels Pile Up: When it comes to dishes my main philosophy is never let your sink fill up. There is nothing grosser than meeting a sink full of dirty dishes and having to wash all of them in one go. I prefer doing dishes as and when I use them. Often I cook the little things while I am cooking, so while my meal is simmering away, I wash the chopping board, the knife and the mixer jars if I've used any. My rule was to wash the dishes the moment I had 5 dishes in the sink. Another dish washing related tip is getting a liquid dish soap, the are much more kinder to your hands and do a better job as compared to the bars.
6. Meal Plan & Prep: Take a good look at your pantry and fridge and decide what to look for the next week. Given we are all working with limited groceries its good to have an idea what we are working with and what all we can whip up with said things. Meal planning also helps when its meal time and you know exactly what you need to do and don't waste time on deciding the menu. Also meal prepping is a good idea, prepare a couple of things before hand, chop some veggies, boil a few pulses, marinate a thing or two. There are so many videos on Youtube that teach you how to meal plan and prep like a champ.
7. Eat Simple Meals: This is not the time for elaborate meals. Even if you have groceries in your pantry and a fridge full of produce, it still doesn't make sense to cook a four course meal. For one, it's too much effort and too many dishes will end up in the sink for you to wash. Secondly, given things are a little bit uncertain right now and you can't leave the house as much, ration your supplies. Make one pot meals and make a simple meal. Do with a little less. A typical Bengali meals calls for rice, dal, two or three kinds of veggies, fish curry, fish fry and chutney and a sweet dish to end the meal. My family normally, when we are all together, eats something like this, ok maybe not 3-4 veggies but definitely a veggie side or two. I've been telling my parents to simplify their meals for ages and now they have to. This is a good time as any to go for minimal meals.
8. Learn New Recipes: I feel for you if you don't know how to cook and now your cook is on leave and you have to feed yourself and your family. But..honestly, you probably should learn how to cook in any case. Cooking is a basic and essential life skill. You should know how to make edible meals. This is a great time to learn. Start small. Look for recipes on Youtube and start.
If you are a seasoned cook, then this is a good time to learn a few new recipes. I for one am looking up recipes that don't use a lot of fresh veggies, since my stock is pretty low at the moment. So I am learning more about simple chilas and simple rice dishes.
9. Let the Kids Help Out: For those with kiddos, let them help you when and where they can. Let them help with watering plants, dusting, setting the table and keeping their own rooms clean. And if you have kids older than 10, involve them in kitchen chores too. It's a good time as any to pick up some kitchen skills, and they don't need to work the knife, just get them to work the mixer, fetch things from the fridge and even teach them some basic recipes.
10. Do your Laundry Everyday: If you have a washing machine, yay! It makes life sooooo much easier.
If you don't well..join the club! I find that washing your clothes every single day is a good idea, especially if you are hand washing them. Piling up clothes is not fun and washing a ton of clothes in one go is a lot of work. So best to get clothes washes and out to dry every single day. Luckily, now with everyone being home, hopefully we aren't getting too many clothes dirty. Another great idea is each person wash their own clothes and not make it too much of a chore for one person.
// These were my tips specific to household chores. Now on to some general tips and tricks.//
11. Oil Your Hair: Champiiiiii away.
I don't know about you but I only ever oil my hair once maybe twice a month. Being stuck home for 21 days is a good excuse to let your scalp soak up some of that oil. Give yourself a good champi, maybe leave the oil in your hair overnight and wash it off, the best part is if all of it doesn't come off in one go, no issues. No one is going to see your oily hair in any case.
12. READ: Get that TBR under control. Read new books, old favourites, big fat books you've been avoiding. Escape into a good book and forget our world for minute.
13. Art Away: I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying colouring. I luckily ordered 2 new colouring books just before the lockdown and I spend hours colouring away. I am so grateful to have colour pencils, pens and brush pens to colour away. You can draw, sketch and colour and lose yourself in being creative.
14. Watch Old Feel Good Films: A throwback to simpler and happier times. Watch movies that make you laugh, romances that make your heart soar and action that gets your heart racing. I am going to defiantly re-watch some of my utter favourite classics like Padosan and Golmaal and laugh my heart out.
15. Wash Your Make-Up Brushes: They could probably do with a cleaning. And now that we aren't going anywhere or putting on make-up, it's a good time to wash each and every make-up brush and let them dry in peace. I know I should, I haven't washed my brushes in absolute ages!
16. Set up a Work Station: If you are working from home, make a work station away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of your family. Make it functional and cute and comfortable. This also helps in making you more productive, if you have a designated work spot, it will help you focus on your work. Working from bed or your sofa sounds like fun but trust me it's so much better to find a separate spot to get things done in.
17. Video Chat with Your People: Don't let yourself get completely isolated. We live in a wonderful time..when it comes to connectivity. There is no reason to feel lonely, video chat with your friends, catch up, vent and make these days seem not so cut-off. Also, call your parents!
18. Journal: Put pen to paper, write, vent and get this uncertainty and anxiety out of your system. Journaling is so good for you and a wonderful habit to develop. Also, it's a great way to document these funny times we are living in. Won't it be nice to look back at this time 25 years from now and remember how we got through it? You don't have to make it pretty or super aesthetic, you just have to sit and write and clear your mind. But hey, if you want to make it pretty as a picture why not? I do. Use washi tape, stickers and stamps and ink and art and make your journal a work of art.
19. Listen to Podcasts and Audiobooks: A great way to make your mindless chores a lot more fun. You could also blast some tunes and get your cleaning on.
20. Step Away from the News: Don't be glued to the News, of course we need to know what's happening and get updates on the situation but you are not doing yourself or your mental health any favours by constantly watching the News. You don't need this kind of constant information overload. Take a step back.
21. Plan for the Future: Look beyond this madness. It's easier said than done but I am trying so hard to focus on the future and all that I hope to do once this is over and done with. The places I want to go to, the meals I want to eat and the people I want to see. I miss my normal boring life so much. I hope and pray that we find ourselves back in our old lives soon and can all that we've been missing. Travel, go see friends and family, long drives, grocery shopping without fear and worry. Ah!
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I hope you guys are safe and sound and sane.
And hope this post helped even a little bit.
Stay strong folks!
I'll be back with a ton of book recommendations.
Stay tuned.
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