You cannot see any news today that does not involve the effects of the coronavirus. Our newspaper is full of articles updating us on the latest about it. Our sports pages must struggle to fill their pages with no sporting events happening. All large gatherings are cancelled so there is nothing to report except a cancellation notice. It can get quite discouraging if we let ourselves become down.

Putting ourselves into self-quarantines for two weeks after picking up my son who was working overseas has been a very different experience for me. Though he was not exposed knowingly, we are taking extra precautions to avoid any trouble to others. So, no more organizing people’s homes, volunteering, going to any group organizations like church. My focus needs to be on staying home and making the most of it without getting depressed.

Even if you are not quarantined, everyone on this planet should be spending as much time as we can at home until things are under control. Protecting our health and that of others is of utmost importance right now. Not listening to what the higher ups are saying is irresponsible. The more we all stay inside, the better it will be to control the problem.

This might be the perfect time to dig deep into the farthest corners of your home and get out things that you haven’t seen in years. Do you have games, puzzles, DVD or even VHS movies, CDs, photo albums, scrapbooks, etc., that you haven’t gotten out in years? Why not take this opportunity to get these out?

It is easy to waste away the days knowing we may have many days ahead to do what we want to accomplish. For myself, I need to write a list each day of “projects” I want to complete as it will give me motivation to accomplish something useful. Having a schedule is useful to go forward.

As I am writing this, I realize I am going from taking time to declutter and organize my living spaces to taking time to relax and enjoy the things we have. At this time when we are spending all of this time at home, take time to do both. Get some work done that you have been putting off as well as taking time to stop and smell the roses, enjoying the things you have in your home. But more importantly, love and enjoy the people you have in your life. Whether they live with you or are scattered around the city and country, there are many ways to communicate with them. We are so blessed to have easy phone access to people.

There will be many lessons we will learn from this, many of them difficult, but one of the most important is that our lives and our loved ones are the most precious things we have in our life.

Doris Puls, of D & O Decluttering and Organizing, is a professional organizer whose mission is to make a difference in the lives of the people she works with in homes and businesses. She welcomes your stories about how you are organizing and decluttering during this time. Contact her at organizealpena@gmail.com or at 989-356-9545.