Permanent changes you are making/have made due to CV19

[Lady Florida.]

I can't think of much really. I'll be more aware of the need to properly clean my phone regularly. I was bad about that. I might keep more than just purse size bottles of hand sanitizer on hand. And I like tele-health appointments. I hope they stick around for the kind of appointments where the doctor doesn't really need to see me in person. 

[SKL]

First, I would absolutely love it if people would stop with the non-close-family hugs and handshakes.  I have always hated that!  Wouldn't it be more fun to bow?  😛  But I think the people who initiated that are just dying to get back to it.

Second, I hope that my kids will be a little more serious about hand washing and covering their coughs / sneezes.  Also more personally aware of whether they have anything they might be spreading to vulnerable people.

If I have the energy, I would like to try to be more up-to-date on technology skills, in case we should need them.  I would like to be more up-to-date on everything so that I could adapt to change more readily vs. being buried under a pile of backlog.  I'd like to go back to having time each day for volunteering also.

And I may go back to the frugal mindset of my younger days.  Just knowing how so many people are going to struggle makes it hard for me to waste a penny or a slice of stale bread.

Other than that, I really can't think of anything I will change.  I am not doing most of the things in the OP even now.  I believe you need to have some regular exposure to germs in order to have a healthy immune system.  (Yes I know some people can't do that, but most people can.)

[VaKim]

The only change I will be making is keeping more supplies on hand. I had become a sort of minimalist when it came to groceries and household stuff. No more!

[marbel]

I am oddly fond of the handshake, though I am pretty sure it's not coming back after this.  I won't offer a handshake anymore, but I am not sure I would not reciprocate if offered.  I think it's just something I've always done/seen; my father taught me a proper handshake years ago' we taught our kids. It was just such a normal thing, and outside of illness, I find it quite harmless and charming.

I hear a lot of people (not here, this group seems pretty realistic!) are vowing great changes but I think human nature being what it is, once things are better most people will probably go back to their old ways. Possibly will be an age/generational thing.

Like others have said, I hope to stop being complacent about health and my ability to access certain items. I'll keep more "everyday" type medications around even if I am pretty sure I'll be throwing them out because they will expire before we use them.  I'll probably keep  more canned things like evaporated milk so when fresh is not available we have something.  Just more nonperishable foods and household items - cleaning supplies, etc - in general. 

Also in general, not waiting as long as possible to do certain normal things. Like, oil changes. One of our cars is due now; we're not going anywhere so it's not a big deal, but... what if we had to  make a long drive and could not at least get oil to top it off?  Stuff like that bugs me, we do it all the time.  We assume everything will work normally, always. Updating wills, keeping financial things in order, getting unneeded stuff out of the house, keeping up on house maintenance better.  Actually I didn't used to be that way; my husband is more like that - always believing everything will work out, it's optimism but more than that, I think from having things come easy for him most of his life - and I have come under that influence over the years.

(By "influence" I don't mean he has pressured me, etc. Nothing ominous. Just... I sort of fell into his ways over time. Path of least resistance kind of deal.)

[KungFuPanda]

On 4/5/2020 at 5:50 PM, Quill said:

Now that we are all more aware than ever of germ transfer, what policies or changes are you making that you expect to be permanent? Here are some of mine:

1. No more birthday candles ON the whole cake. In fact, no more everyone singing Happy Birthday with an open cake sitting on the table receiving nine million spit particles as people sing. 

2. I’m seriously planning to bow off hand-shakes permanently. 

3. Short fingernails might be a permanent change.

4. Consciousness of where my hands are and not touching my face. To that end...

5. Wearing my hair back, which prevents my hair from tickling my face. 

6. Wiping down my computer every time I use it. Wiping down my phone if I am going to talk on it.

7. I have instituted a new rule for my family: if one wants to get a cookie from the cookie tin or other type of food where you reach into the container, you must first thoroughly wash your hands. I’m trying to gain the same compliance for going into the pantry or fridge at all, but they forget. 

8. I expect to be less interested in having empty space or to get rid of things. I’m so glad there were certain things I simply was too lazy to get rid of. 

There are probably others, but those spring to mind. 

Oh no. That list is WAY too much borrowed stress for me to incorporate into normal life. I just don’t have the personality to sustain all that past a crisis. 
 

I’m installing a bidet attachment today. I know in my heart I will become a bidet convert. I also suspect that this “entry model” will end up in the guest room and I’ll one day graduate my bathroom to a deluxe model with warm water and a drying feature. 

[hippiemamato3]

The only difference will be that I will keep a backstock of things like toilet paper. Otherwise, I expect life will mostly go back to normal. 

Edited April 7, 2020 by hippiemamato3
typo

[Garga]

Extra food: I had gotten to the point where I only bought exactly what was needed between grocery trips. Now I have 2-3 weeks’ backup in the pantry/freezer.  I might keep that up, though probably not for frozen stuff.  My extra fridge in the basement sometimes gets wonky and we have to take everything out of it and fix it from time to time.  I don’t keep that fridge packed with needed things.  It’s usually where I keep some extra stuff like ice packs for the cooler or to keep bottles drinks cold or to keep some extra butter and eggs. It is packed now, and I’m crossing fingers that it doesn’t die because there’s no where else to put all that extra food.  But for shelf-stable stuff, I’ll probably keep extra of that stuff on hand.

Touching: I really hope that hand shaking at church goes out of style, but I don’t think it will.  I have never liked hand shaking, as you hear too many stories of people who don’t wash their hands after the bathroom, or who sneeze into their hands.  Yuck!  I might just slightly shake my head at the hand shakers and just say, “It’s nice to see you this morning,” without shaking.  

TP:  I think just about everyone will keep an extra pack of TP somewhere in their house stored away.  

Masks:  I wish that face mask wearing would become a thing here.  If someone has a mild cold I don’t think they should necessarily stay home, but I would ilke it if they’d wear a mask.  

Commute: I hope that people can work from home more often than they did in the past, like at least 1 day a week if their job is the kind that can be worked from home. 

Otherwise...I’m not sure what else I personally would change.  We aren’t over-scheduled, so I don’t need to make changes there.  Gardening is a challenge.  There’s nowhere in my yard that gets more than 3 or so hours of sun at a time, due to trees and fences and sheds shading everything throughout the day.  

The longer the shortages and forced isolation go on, the more people might implement permanent changes. If the shortages and intense isolation is over in a relatively short time (6 months), then I think there will be temporary changes, but eventually people will slip back into their old ways.  I see there being a few positive changes that last, but unless this lasts for half a year or more, I think people will slowly revert back over time.  

[Shoeless]

I thought of something else that will change.  I want a job, preferably one at the grocery store, where I can help fill curbside and delivery orders, or maybe working at an Amazon fulfillment center. I've been milling around for almost a year without any purpose, and both of these jobs are really speaking to me right now. I think the demand for delivery/curbside pick up will remain higher than pre-COVID-19 levels. 

[lmrich]

On 4/7/2020 at 11:03 PM, Patty Joanna said:

Please don't read this as my picking on you--I'm not!  You had already made your decision, and that's totally great!

I just don't know if I really want to live in a world where we don't dance, and introduce ourselves and pass food, and ... dance.   Maybe what we need to know is that when we come into a dance, we wash our hands, first.  When we meet one another, we bow, instead of shaking hands.  But I don't think I want to live in a world of no contact, no touching, no closeness.  It's a lot of what makes us human.  

((((me to all of you)))). (yes, I sterilized my keyboard first)

 

I totally hope that someone else takes over the charge to lead these classes. I think they are important. It just won't be me anymore (decision made in October 2019). It is too difficult to staff. AND (shh.. don't tell anyone.. I can't dance - at all)  my ballroom teacher can't come back so I am out of luck. We always ended our season with the song, "I Hope You Dance" and I sure hope that one day we return to that. 

Edited April 11, 2020 by lmrich

[marbel]

Here's a permanent change I'll be making - keeping up with my eye appointments. I was due for an exam in September.  Put it off... I had plenty of contact lenses and knew I could wait a while.  Insurance doesn't cover eye exams.

Planned to make an appointment and then received a notice that they were only doing emergency visits now. Whoops.

I have one pair of 30-day-wear contacts left, and my backup glasses are terrible.  I called today to see if they will send me another box; they said my script is too old to fill.  Sorry! So I am out of luck. In the big picture, having to wear my outdated, ill-fitting glasses is not the worst thing. But it's beyond inconvenient for work.  

Honestly, I'm a little surprised that they wouldn't fill it - I have been going there for 12 years so they have a pretty good record of my eye health, prescription changes, etc. But I also can't say they are wrong not to do it. 

So as soon as this is over, I'll get a new exam, and new glasses, and not let this happen again!

[elegantlion]

I'm going to include more of my graphic shirts into my college TA attire. Add a cardigan and a scarf and it will work. 

Other changes? I don't know yet. I also need new glasses, that was already on the list. 

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Glitchy double post

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Suzanne in ABQ
Double post

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We're not really following any of those extra sanitation procedures at home, except washing hands more thoroughly and often (I hope everyone is, but they're mostly grown-ups, so I don't police them). I don't see the point of cleaning things every time we touch them, since we're mostly just here all the time with each other, and rarely go anywhere. Dh goes to work, but he washes up and changes clothes immediately when he gets home. I don't know if he'll continue to do so after this is over.

We carry Clorox wipes in the car to clean our hands after we've been anywhere. We'll probably continue that for awhile.

I'm buying a lot less *stuff*, and I'll probably continue that trend. 

I'm really enjoying NOT having to get my dd to school every morning. I will be glad when she can drive herself.

ETA: We live in the country, and I've only been to town three times in four weeks, so that may contribute to my lack of vigilance. When I do go to town, I feel dirty. If we lived in the city, I would probably be a lot more sanitary.  Plus, I believe we already had the virus, back before it had a name. It ruined our Christmas. (Yes, I know they say it didn't come to the US until February, but they've said a lot of things that weren't true.)

 

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Suzanne in ABQ

[prairiewindmomma]

On 4/15/2020 at 7:24 AM, marbel said:

Here's a permanent change I'll be making - keeping up with my eye appointments. I was due for an exam in September.  Put it off... I had plenty of contact lenses and knew I could wait a while.  Insurance doesn't cover eye exams.

Planned to make an appointment and then received a notice that they were only doing emergency visits now. Whoops.

I have one pair of 30-day-wear contacts left, and my backup glasses are terrible.  I called today to see if they will send me another box; they said my script is too old to fill.  Sorry! So I am out of luck. In the big picture, having to wear my outdated, ill-fitting glasses is not the worst thing. But it's beyond inconvenient for work.  

Honestly, I'm a little surprised that they wouldn't fill it - I have been going there for 12 years so they have a pretty good record of my eye health, prescription changes, etc. But I also can't say they are wrong not to do it. 

So as soon as this is over, I'll get a new exam, and new glasses, and not let this happen again!

My eye appointment was scheduled and canceled due to covid-19. I have good glasses, but I am going to keep a larger stash of contacts!