Home Changes You Can Make so the Next Pandemic Isn’t Miserable
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If there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past year, it’s that being stuck at home can be seriously damaging to mental health. The toll taken by lengthy lockdowns, important as they were, has left many exhausted and ready to return to normal.
It’s nearly impossible to predict when another new illness will shut the world down as medical professionals try to get a handle on it. Many experts agree that it’s not a matter of “if” when it comes to the next outbreak, but a matter of “when.”
There are some home improvements you can make to help things feel a bit less miserable next time, though. Better to do it now than waiting until the stay-at-home orders start going live, right?
With airborne diseases, it’s often much safer to visit friends and family outdoors than it is to see them indoors. You can facilitate this more easily if you invest in some nice outdoor areas. Sunshine, wind, and more room to move around all make exterior settings much safer for gatherings.
If you have a porch or deck already, all you really need is some outdoor furniture. Otherwise, consider either building one yourself or hiring a contractor to set one up for you. Depending on your home, it might be easier to create a concrete patio than to set up a wooden porch. In either case, you’re going to want sturdy outdoor furniture that’s easy to clean and maintain. Set chairs up far enough apart that no one is too close together, and make sure everyone takes the right safety precautions outside.
If you’ve got to stay home, you might as well like the place, right? Now is a great time to think about making enhancements to your home’s indoor entertainment options. Consider setting up a home theater, using a flatscreen-TV mounted on the wall and a surround sound speaker system to really bring movies to life.
Some people are more gaming inclined and might prefer to beef up their computer. After all, if you’re stuck at home, you might as well have some video games to play! Prices on components like graphics cards and CPUs are high due to high demand and short supply, but when things equalize, you’ll want to upgrade before the next global illness returns everyone to their homes.