How to prepare your house for future lockdowns
Just months ago the idea that much of the world might find itself forced to remain indoors as much as possible would have seemed absurd. But in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, lockdown was deemed a necessity. Some have taken to the new conditions, considering them not very much different from life previously, while others have found the adjustment very challenging.
And the fact remains that we do not yet know enough about the virus to say with any certainty that this lockdown will be the last one required. All we can do for the moment is be prepared for that possibility, and ask ourselves: if we were forced to go into lockdown again, how could we better prepare our homes?
Here we take a look at what you can do in order to prepare your home for a future lockdown scenario.
Home exercise
For those of us confined to smaller properties during lockdown, you can’t help but look on with jealousy at those people on Instagram getting in a few laps of their home swimming pool. And while the cost of a personal swimming pool has reduced significantly in recent years, they aren’t necessarily affordable or practical for everyone.
However, under a future lockdown, finding easier ways of getting exercise at home is a must. Now could be the time to find some space for an exercise bike, or even building a home gym in your unused garage, you can look for some home gym advice here if this interests you. This could make it far easier for you to get a better variety of exercise in the event of a future lockdown.
Entertainment and socialising
Another aspect of lockdown that has been a challenge for many people has been the level of boredom that it has created. Streaming TV series on Netflix and playing that old copy of Monopoly might have sufficed for the first couple of weeks, but as time goes on, those under lockdown begin to crave more.
It is a great idea to ensure that your home is set up to provide more inside entertainment options, whether that is through technologies like the Amazon Kindle or physical entertainment such as a pool table. Better still, invest in options that make it easier for you to socialise. A proper microphone and high-quality camera make video calls with family and friends far nicer than on grainy phone screens.
Food storage
One challenge under lockdown came in the fact that families could actually benefit from a lot more space to store food. Lockdown conditions made it preferable to visit the shops as little as possible, but for those households with limited freezer space, it could be challenging, only being able to buy a week’s worth of food at a time.
Why not equip your kitchen with a full-size freezer so that you can store more frozen food in the event of another lockdown becoming necessary? You might find that this actually means you can more easily live through lockdown.
Outdoor space
If you are lucky enough to have a garden, you have a ready-made outdoor space that can provide you with respite from your house during the day. But were you really able to make the most of it during lockdown?
Your outdoor space can be many things: a play area, a BBQ station, a sunbathing deck, but you will need to make sure that it is properly set up to accommodate your needs. If you have felt cooped up during lockdown, having a better outdoor space could be the very thing that you need to make the whole thing more bearable.
Plan ahead
Some things are more unpleasant to consider than others, but it is better to be prepared for them rather than be caught out. So, if the scenario presented itself and we were forced to go into lockdown over the Christmas period, would you be prepared?
Of course, part of the challenge of Christmas is the catering for large family gatherings – which may be less of a problem in lockdown. However, it is still a good idea to be prepared for any eventuality (especially considering the challenges of product availability in the early stages of previous lockdown).
The key thing is not to go out and panic buy a whole Christmas-worth of food to put in the freezer, but rather to gradually plan throughout the year.
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