This week, 3 out of my 4 children are home sick from school with what my doctor is euphemistically calling “a virus.” I don’t know what virus it is, and the doctor did not offer to test them, so we are waiting it out at home. Good news is, their symptoms are (at least so far) really mild; fever, sore throat and cough, but nothing severe.
Bottom line for me is that I am home from work, looking for projects around the house so that I can keep busy, keep myself from worrying, and feel productive. Here are a few project ideas in case you, too, are at home unexpectedly with plenty of time on your hands…
- Clean out kids’ clothes. Believe it or not, my 6 year-old still had a drawer full of shorts in his room! I spent this morning clearing out the last of his summer clothes and replacing them with turtlenecks and long pants.
- Sort through winter coats. Another project I tackled this morning was our coat closet. (Interestingly, I counted 10 blue jackets that belong to my husband. Need to bring that up with him.) Anyway, I set aside all the coats that the kids have outgrown and also all the adult-size coats that neither Larry nor I have worn in the last year, and I will donate all those to charity. The coat closet now looks neat and organized.
- Update photo albums. We still have piles of pictures from last year, not to mention this year, that need to be put into albums. I already bought the albums so have everything needed to get this project done.
- Sort through the toys. With the holidays coming up soon, now is a perfect time to go through all the toys and throw out or donate everything that the kids have not played with in the last 6 months.
Do you have any additional project ideas to share?
And for all of you who are also home with sick children, I wish your families all the best for a speedy recovery.:-)
My daughter is home with the same “virus” too. Fever, coughing, ear infection. Hopefully tomorrow is the last day. Hope that everyone in your house feels better soon too!
Hope your kiddos feel better soon!
Another good thing to do while you’re home twiddling your thumbs (ha!) is to do a once-over on various home maintenance things that you typically overlook.
- clean out your drier filter with a vacuum hose (reduces fire risk)
- change HVAC filters
- make a list of little things you need to get at the hardware store to complete ‘random’ projects (in ceiling light bulbs that need to be swapped, door knobs that need to be tightened/changed, etc.)