Three things to keep, and three things to add

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https://play.ht/articles/7ba3cf95171d

I’m a prepare for the worst kind of person, and that has served me well. When I was running after a toddler in the playground, I was that mom with the bottomless bag and a million things inside. Extra juice box, yes. Bandages, yes. Liter of water, yup in there too. I was like a camel. Although my shoulder still bothers me, I always had what I needed, and was able to help other mommies in the playground.

As my son got older, the bottomless bag became obsolete. Well, the bag became my trunk and work desk. Reusable bags, yes. Shovel, yes, dry fruits, you never know. Co-workers ask me for forks, I open a drawer, and there are ten wrapped with a napkin ready for use.

No Plan is Perfect

It’s a blessing and a curse, but my military training doesn’t come off with the uniform. I’ve been trained to do After Action Reviews (AAR) and I must admit I like to do them. No plan is perfect and it never will, but figuring out how to get it as close to perfect as possible is a thrill. Last week my husband and I AAR our quarantine routine.

He almost spat his breakfast when I said, “Babe, let’s AAR this.”

After taking remnants of eggs from his beard, he shook his head, “Can’t take the Army out of you.”

I shrugged and kept eating. After breakfast, we AAR it.

First, I like to divide things by what’s working and what’s not. I start with what’s working because it usually builds up the ego before we get to chip at it.

After looking at our processes, we decided on three things to keep and three things to add.

The Keepers

1. Maintain a month worth of non-perishable supplies. I have never been a fan of grocery stores or big crowds. Since I became a mom, I maintained a one month worth of supplies at home. This saved me time during the weekend to use for cleaning and relaxing. When I got married, I converted my husband into this habit and it saved us from a lot of hassle. When others were running to their local Sam’s or Costco for toilet paper and wipes, we didn’t. Because we maintained these items and other cleaning and toiletry related products in our home, we were able to ride the toilet paper wave.
2. A day for everything. Although I turned my husband into a monthly bulk shopping guy, I could never sell him on the weekend cleaning routine. For him, this was too much cleaning for two days. Plus, he likes to use weekends for fun and relaxing — which is what they are meant for. Thus, each day of the week has a cleaning focus. His cleaning schedule works even with all of us crammed in the house at once. Monday is laundry. Tuesday bathrooms. Wednesday cleaning surfaces and stove. Thursday first floor, sweep, and mop. Friday, the second floor, sweep, and mop. Weekends our son cuts the grass and picks up poops. The schedule is simple, and easy for anyone to follow and jump in. Now that I’m home, I’ve taken over Mondays and Tuesdays. But, my folding is not up to his standards, so he takes over the laundry after I finish drying the clothes.
3. A time to say hello. I’m very fortunate to have married a family-oriented guy. I didn’t realize how essential this trait would be in a pandemic. Every morning my husband sends good morning texts to our extended family members. The back and forth texting, memes, videos, and pictures can go on for an hour after we have had our breakfast and coffee. While isolating at home, this has become a lifeline that has kept us sane. Simple texts like, ‘Good morning.’ ‘How’s everyone?’ ‘What are you having for breakfast?’ ‘Thinking of you,’ opened up the door for more communication. When we needed an ear or face to complain to, we knew they were there and we were there for them. Through video chat, we welcomed our newest niece into this world, and I’m so happy my husband is social. Having that bridge between the family and us already built, meant we didn’t have to create one during the quarantine. Now we just need to maintain it.

How to Make Things Better

One of the things I learned from conducting and teaching AAR is that we can do assessments while executing the plan. If something is not working I can change as I go. In a nutshell, a plan is a never-ending cycle of assessment, and adjustments, which one does until the wheel stops creaking.

In our household, the goal is to make our home and ourselves as self-sufficient and comfortable as possible. I’m not a doomsday prepper, but I often think of worst-case scenarios when validating my readiness.

The Add-Ons

1. The first thing I thought about that could have improved our lives was an indoor herb garden. I didn’t like how often my husband or I were going out to get herbs to prep our food. Since all our meals are home-cooked, the turnaround to the store for these perishable items was quick. One way we figured could mitigate the constant visits, is to grow the herbs at home. I started an herb garden last summer, but when I transitioned the plants inside for the winter, most didn’t make it and died. I will change this by planting and keeping the herbs indoors. I have already experimented with a heating pad and grow light with some success. This time around, I will make it easier by focusing only on the essentials: cilantro, oregano, basil, peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Since these herbs and veggies make the base for most of our seasoning, it will decrease our visits to the supermarket.
2. Board games and puzzles. Working from home and writing had me in front of a screen for more hours than I care to admit. When I was not conducting business, I was looking at my phone for entertainment, and my eyes dried severely. Board games and puzzles would have been a great entertainment alternative to the blue light. We have Loteria and Monopoly at home, but possibly adding a few more for variety would help. My family is very competitive — okay, I’m very competitive — and we can play for hours, or at least till I get one win over everyone else. We will add puzzles to the games since they are low maintenance, and something all can do self-paced. I can see us competing to see who is going to solve it or place the last piece and complete it, and I already know we will have a lot of fun.
3. Workout equipment. When the gyms closed, I was distraught. I know it was necessary and can only imagine the germs stuck in every piece of equipment there. Fortunately, I have some equipment at home. Bare minimum — 5, 7, and 10lbs dumbbells. I didn’t realize stay at home orders would be this long. After a while, the weights became too light, and higher repetitions tedious. Stores also ran out of gym equipment and didn’t restock, the most I could find after they put the order in place, was a 25lbs dumbbell. I researched adjustable dumbbells and found a model that can go as low as 5lbs and as high as 52lbs. Although pricy, the compact nature of it will save space, and we can adjust the weights to our preference. Since everyone in the house does some fitness routine, the weights will help to keep us healthy and fit.

Habits are hard to break. Having been trained to AAR almost everything, it has become second nature to do it even with my personal processes. Although it sometimes feels silly to do it outside of a military environment — I certainly don’t break into a PowerPoint presentation with my family — the skill has helped us to refine our schedule and procedures. I’m not sure when the next pandemic will be, but my household will be ready.