Real Talk
By Barbara Lehrer
Barbara Lehrer.
Home sweet home never had more meaning than it does this season. Plan for quiet times to come. Start preparing for scarce visits from friends and family and the boring weekends ahead. The reality is that if you want to stay safe you need to anticipate the winter months and how to stay home and relish life.
One suggestion is to organize yourself and your family. Perhaps a new, larger pantry area, something designated for more storage and fewer trips to the store could be a small project.
In my house, we are trying to create a meeting space in the garage. By taking the outdoor furniture, which we need to store anyway, and decluttering all the outdoor tools that are in the garage now, we are creating a space open to the air. Knowing it will be chilly, of course we will dress warmly and perhaps use a small space heater to share a cup of coffee with a friend – unless it is 20 degrees.
We have rooms in our home we have designated as a living rooms or dining rooms. Why not reinvent them? Take that formal living room and make a true hobby space. Perhaps get a large puzzle table can stay in place (order some puzzles online) or a new game table in a corner to snack and play cards at would also change things up. How about digging out that old Nintendo?
Enjoying your home also means budgeting for a few extra expenses, such as extra oil deliveries. Make sure your septic has been pumped this season; we all know there are more meals right now and thus greater needs all around.
Of course, we are all cleaning our gutters at this time of year and checking the basement walls for any signs of dampness in the foundation. While you are down there you can maybe clean out the basement. It is a cozy storm shelter that has years of memorabilia. Add a little television or radio and spend some time now that you have the time. This will all pay off when this pandemic is history and your cellar is finally decluttered.
Hopefully we will get some fun snowstorms, so get your shed equipment accessible. Shovels and sleds, holiday ornaments and water shutoff valves all need a bit of attention as we go into the Thanksgiving season and the temperature drops. Keep current with the news and be careful when sharing the family dinners. We all want to stay healthy.