Things You Can Do in Self-Isolation Instead of Shit-Posting News & Conspiracy Theories

I already know I'm not the only one who is absolutely sick of the fear-mongering posts. Scrolling through social media should be fun but, as with any and all tragedies, it can get dark really quick as we share our concerns and fears with our friends and family. The quarantine, shelter-in-place, and self-isolation is going on for so long (because it must). But it's also creating a lot of anxiety in homebound people, and leaving few places for an outlet. And, the posts are from everyone you know. Some of them are from you. But we're 2-3 weeks into isolation, and we must shift away from fear to surviving with whatever shreds of our mental faculties in tact. What if after all this downtime, you actually felt better as a human being? Don't think it can happen? Well, how about you give your friends on Facebook a break already then?  Here is a list of things you can do in self-isolation instead of shit-posting news and conspiracy theories. Some are broken down for folks who are going through executive dysfunction symptoms.

ACTIVE:

1. Go for a walk/jog/run
2. Ride a bike
3. Go for a swim
4. Download 30 Day Challenge, do a daily routine [ Play | Apple ]
5. Lift weights, or lift something you've constructed into weights

PRODUCTIVE:

1. Go through a closet and pull out all the things you don't need
2. Offer items you don't need anymore for pickup "curb alert" or sell them on OfferUp/Marketplace
3. Go through a closet and organize all the things you're planning to keep
4. Clean the bathroom (even if you just do the toilet today, the sink and counters tomorrow, and the tub the next day)
5. Go through your kitchen, and get rid of things you won't use (even if it's one cabinet, a day at a time)
6. Clean the kitchen sink
7. Clean the cabinets and handles
8. Take everything off the counters, and wipe down the counters
9. Clean out your toaster
10. Clean your oven (don't get fancy and spray that shit that puts deadly fumes into the house)
11. YouTube how to clean something you've been putting off cleaning because it seems complicated
12. Do ALL of your laundry (even if you break it down to sheets today, towels & cloths tomorrow, clothing the following day or days)
13. Replace your bedding with fresh linens or simply make your bed if it has clean sheets on it
14. Sweep or vacuum the floors
15. Mop the floors
16. Clean the inside windows
17. Wash the outside of your car
18. Wash the inside of your car (even if you just remove clutter today, vacuum tomorrow, clean center console the next day, etc.)
19. Prepare your next online shopping "trip" (set up lists on Amazon, Target, Walmart's websites, whatever you're using)
20. Add some apps to your phone to help you with things (sleep apps, hydration apps, fitness apps, etc.)

CREATIVE:

1. Write a line
2. Write a short poem
3. Write a short story
4. Write a novel
5. Write your memoir
6. Create a blog (Blogger, Wordpress), and post your great ideas, or post your conspiracy crap there
7. Write a blog article/journal entry
8. Doodle
9. Sketch
10. Paint 
11. YouTube paint and art tutorials
12. Sew/knit
13. Make something from the pile of shit from which you've been meaning to make something
14. Hang up the artwork you've been meaning to hang
15. Create a separate Instagram for your separate niche intertest(s)

INACTIVE:

1. Have a soak in your hot tub/jacuzzi/child-sized swimming pool
2. Meditate
3. Read an e-book
4. Read a real book
5. Listen to an audiobook
6. Listen to a podcast
7. Find a YouTube channel you like and listen to/watch their content
8. Go through Netflix/Prime/Hulu/Disney+/whatever streaming service(s) you use, and just add a bunch of things you want to watch
9. Watch a show/movie you wouldn't have normally chosen to see
10. Watch a documentary (just NOT one on your wacky conspiracy theory shit)
11. Go back to Pinterest - go through your old boards and organize them. Or join Pinterest, and create an account if you don't have one
12. Create new boards, enjoy some new content to add to them
13. Go back to Tumblr or join Tumblr, and create an account if you don't have one
14. Reblog some pretty pictures and nice words
15. Do an online survey, like back in the days of MySpace
16. Make yourself a cocktail
17. Host a virtual happy hour
18. Do a face mask or do your skincare routine that you've probably been neglecting
19. Practice makeup techniques you've wanted to try out
20. Put on some lotion and nice smelling sprays or oils

STOP, DROP, AND...

1. Hang up the clothing from your clothes chair/rack/shelf/end of bed/whatever...you know the pile I mean
2. Clear your coffee and end tables of clutter, or organize that clutter into neat piles
3. Clear off your dresser and nightstands of clutter, or organize the clutter into neat piles
4. Clear off your kitchen counter of clutter, or organize the clutter into neat piles
5. Clean the mirrors in the bathroom(s)
6. Make your damn bed
7. Go outside for 15 minutes, and get some fresh air and sunlight
8. Have a big glass of water
9. Get up and stretch, step away from the computer/tablet/phone/device, go look out the window for 5 minutes.
10. Gimme 10 push-ups

Let's Just Talk Shit & Drink Perrier

Can we please? 

I have an obsession with the finey-tiny bubbles of Perrier.

It's Not Over Yet - Quit Calling Yourself a Failure

Turn Cheap Bathroom Fixtures Into Painted Cheap Bathroom Fixtures

I just bought a house. The previous owners left me very little to improve upon. This is a lovely little house! It's an 88 year-old Spanish style cottage. Many things are very old-fashioned. So it surprised me to find old fashioned door locks of weathered brass and an awesome farmer's sink with the well-style tap on it in brushed nickel, with brushed nickel fixtures everywhere else. This room really lends itself to the warmth of oil-rubbed bronze (ORB)! So I plan to transition the room over to ORB.

The brushed nickel toilet paper roll holder was one of those one-post holders that inevitably will be dragged down by gravity on the unsupported side. It fell off the wall 2 weeks in. So I looked into getting an ORB two-post replacement. $17.59 was the cheapest I could find anywhere without the complication of special ordering and waiting. 

So I went to Home Depot and picked up their cheapest two-post holder in polished chrome (Best Value brand) for $4.99. Then, I headed over to the spray paint aisle and found Rust-Oleum Universal All-Surface Flat Metallic spray paint and primer in one in Chestnut. They did have an ORB one as well, but it was darker than the shower curtain rod I had already purchased. 

I came home, laid out all the pieces and sprayed them, waited for them to dry, then installed them. One screwdriver and four screws. Done. And now I have the paint to spray over the shelf above the toilet and the light fixture.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World