Feeling at Home when You’re Staying Home

Feeling at Home when You’re Staying Home

Here in New Hampshire, we’re spending a lot of time at home these days. We’re juggling quite a bit inside those four walls – school, work, social and recreational time. And, we’re doing it together while trying to maintain some measure of social distancing. No wonder things are feeling a little cramped.

So, what do you do when your usual routines are a distant memory, and family togetherness is feeling more like a game of bumper cars? And, if you are more of a “get out there” type than a homebody, how do you deal with this new normal? Well, we at Sam’s have a few ideas. If you’re not rushing out somewhere, give us a read.

Separate “work” from “home.” If you’re working remotely, we’ve found it’s best not to skip the commute, at least mentally. It helps to walk away from household distractions and “go” to the office by having some place set up in your home where you can close the door (at least figuratively) and hunker down. If you have kids at home, the same goes for school. Even if it’s a space within a larger room, doing whatever you can to limit distractions (earbuds, anyone?) helps you dial into tasks.

Go retro. You’ll never find a better time to dust off those old board games or a deck of cards – winner gets out of chores for the day.

Don’t forget fresh air. “Stay at home” doesn’t mean “stay inside.” Get out for a walk or a run and enjoy the fresh spring air. Now is a great time to perfect that curveball or dust off the golf clubs and practice your putting in the backyard.

Forget the usual house rules. If there were ever a time to relax standards a bit, now would be it. After all, who are you expecting?  Let the kids build their living room fort – better yet, help them do it. 

Order the good takeout. We know everyone’s crowding the fast food drive-thru, but there are many good restaurants offering more delicious alternatives, and they need your support. Some can even include a bottle of wine, or some beer. If that’s the case, our advice is to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Find your space. You’re going to want to carve out some dedicated space of your own. It might be a corner of the garage or a favorite chair, anywhere you can unplug and take some time. Then encourage everyone else to go find theirs😉

Mentally get away. Turn off the news and unplug from social media. Play your favorite music. Bring in scents that remind you of the places you enjoy. (Not to toot our own horn, but Sam’s hand-poured soy candles are perfect for bringing the outdoors in – picture waking up to the bright citrusy notes of Sunrise; hiking deep into a fir forest with Nordic, or the pure cool clean of air after a rainstorm with Rain.) Did we mention your purchase would support a small New Hampshire business? Win-win.

Try that hobby you’ve never had time for. Craft brewing? Woodworking? There are a ton of online resources opening up right now to help you get started – and many are free.

These times aren’t forever but finding ways now to get more out of staying in will pay off when we’re all off and running again. After all, there’s no place like home (or at least that’s the way it should be).




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