With child care centers and schools closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, parents and other caregivers are spending more time at home with their children. Depending on the size of your home, having everyone in the house together for months on end can easily feel overwhelming. This is especially true for students engaged in distance learning or parents trying to work from home. Luckily, there are certain steps that you can take to make your home feel more spacious and inviting during this trying time.
Spruce Up Your Entryway
The humble entryway has taken on new levels of importance during the outbreak. Before the pandemic, you may have just hung up a coat or tossed off your shoes, but now, you’re likely finding yourself searching for a place to store your mask or sanitize your hands before coming inside.
Many people are optimizing their entryways by creating sanitizing areas and makeshift mudrooms. Even if you don’t have a large entrance or hallway, you can still use up your wallspace with hooks and utility boards. A neater entryway will make disinfecting from your time outside a whole lot easier, especially since it’s being suggested that we should thoroughly clean our shoes after outings.
An organized entryway is especially helpful for children, who benefit from organization and routine. Try out some IKEA hacks for fun entryway tools like dot wall hangers or repurposed spice racks. Even a simple bench or shelf will give you a place for gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. Make sure to keep the area regularly swept and mopped for optimal germ control.
Set Up Kid-Friendly Areas
The loss of school or expected daily activities can be overwhelming experiences for children. They’ll enjoy a sense of familiarity and comfort when they have their own, kid-friendly area to complete at-home school work. If possible, set them up with a desk and available school supplies for a calm place to focus. You can hang a calendar or home schedule and even include favorite books, music, craft ideas, blank journals for writing, and homemade calm down jars.
While your kids are home, you can also enlist them to help you clean and organize their bedrooms. You’ll all feel better with a fresh room and everything in its proper place. Maximize floor space for indoor exercise (check out GoNoodle!) by using more wall and closet space for storage.
Make the Most of Your Outdoor Space
We all need to get outside, and even the smallest outdoor spaces can be sanctuaries with a swept deck, live pants, and outdoor toys. Use bins and labels to organize playtime essentials like chalk and basketballs, so that your kiddos can easily find their favorites. Have terrific grass space? Go ahead and use this time to create your own family garden. This is a great time to think about adding fun things to your yard, like a basic swing set or a playful tire swing for much needed fun outside of the house.
Optimize Your Home Office (and Your Time)
If you have a dedicated office space to complete work-from-home tasks, consider setting up a quiet corner of the room for your child to play, study, or relax while you work. This way, you can both spend time together while working on your own, separate tasks. Plus, your child can get a glimpse into what your workday is like. Are the distractions too much for you to concentrate? If two adults are home, you could also try “taking shifts” with the children. For instance, one adult can watch the kids in the morning and work in the evening, while the other adult watches the kids in the evening and works in the morning.
Don’t have a home office? Pick a spot in your home with a neutral background to put a desk or even a coffee table. This way, you’ll have an easy place to video chat with co-workers, clients, and bosses.
Get Creative
Make these long days feel a little bit shorter with just a touch of creativity. Have a toddler? Pick a blank wall in your home and tape contact paper sticky side-up for a DIY sensory board. Add safe textures for your little one to stick and unstick, like big pom poms or large paper shapes. Move around furniture for older ones to have a dance party in the living room. It’s understandable to change up your home to suit the circumstances of quarantine.
Dreaming of New Windows?
With all of this extra time at home, bright windows and warm sunlight has become even more important to families. Shenandoah Shutters handcrafts beautiful, hardwood plantation shutters for homes in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Plantation shutters are special window treatments, because they allow the homeowner to filter in and out sunlight using the parallel slats of the shutter (called the louvers). The result is the perfect mood lighting for every room in your home.
Plantation shutters have extra benefits, too. They are known to increase a home’s resale value and make homes more energy-efficient. Since they have no cords, they’re safer for babies and young children. Plus, you’ll love the added home protection that plantation shutters offer. Thanks to the way that the louvers are designed, you can enjoy the sunlight and views from your home without sacrificing privacy.
Choose from traditional or contemporary plantation shutter choices. We even created our own, patented Softedge design for more flexibility over unique windows, like casements and tilt-ins. Our plantation shutters are available in stains, creams, or custom colors. We use high-quality American woods, including yellow poplar and basswood. You can even request a specialty wood, like mahogany, cherry, or oak. All of our plantation shutters are finished with a gorgeous, silken lacquer finish for maximum aesthetic value.
Schedule an Appointment for Spring Plantation Shutters
At Shenandoah Shutters, we’re one of the few window treatment providers to include a warranty on both the plantation shutters and the lacquer finish. We provide free design estimates and consultations for homeowners. Contact us today for more information on our plantation shutters, or to schedule an appointment.
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CALL US: 1-800-733-1549