How to live well and respect your budget while sheltering on site – Homestead – Bangor Daily News – BDN Maine

By Sam Schipani, BDN Staff •
April 6, 2020 1:00 a.m.

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Since April 2, on the orders of Governor Janet Mills, all directors are required to stay at home, with a few exceptions, such as obtaining essential goods or performing jobs deemed essential during the month of ‘April. This has put people in an unfamiliar place to live, cook, study and perhaps work from home.

The home stay order has been around for some time for Maine, with several states adopting similar orders in March. But, despite everything, many Mainers still wonder how to deal with the problems of everyday life, how to manage budgets and more. In addition, some students find it difficult to juggle homework while proving to be the home school instructor for their bored and trapped children.

[Our COVID-19 tracker contains the most recent information on Maine cases by county]

Whatever your situation, we have compiled our tips and advice on how to thrive while taking shelter locally during this unprecedented period.

Have fun without breaking the bank

While everyone was probably spending a little more time than usual on our laptops and TVs, it doesn’t have to stretch your budget. The entertainment possibilities are endless without subscribing to another streaming service. Check out these free entertainment options, from live social media concerts and art festivals to virtual museum tours and zoo livecams.

Hack homeschooling

lfort | BDN

BANGOR, ME – OCTOBER 24, 2001 – Seth, 15, and his mom Linda Williams work on Algebra 2 at the kitchen table. Linda educated her four sons at home, Seth being the last.
Linda Coan O’Kresik / staff

Okay, maybe you are less concerned about hacking home schooling than survival, but you were always there to help. Set a schedule for your new students and follow these tips from parents who have been home school long before coronavirus to make sure your kids don’t fall behind in school.

Celebrate when you can

Courtesy of Geoff Bell

A Zoom surprise birthday party for Geoff Bell, coordinated by his sister and girlfriend, is illustrated.

Finding joy in the small moments will help this difficult period to pass even faster. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday while away from society or toasting on another day that is survived in quarantine, try to make special moments even under these unusual circumstances.

Try a craft project

Sam Schipani | BDN

Bags for seamless t-shirts.

Did you finally want to understand how to use this sewing machine? If you’re short on supplies, here are a few craft projects you can try with items you probably have around your house, from seamless tote bags to recycled planters.

Plan your garden

Square foot gardening foundation | BDN

Square foot garden. (Courtesy of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation)

Although it may seem that eons have passed since the start of social distancing, the gardening season is fast approaching. Take this time to plan your garden. You can even grow vegetables quickly from the comfort of your home if you are looking for a fun project that will boost your fresh produce stores. If you’ve never gardened before, what better time to start? Here’s what beginner gardeners need to know to get started.

Practice self-sufficiency

lfort | BDN

Although they appreciate occasional luxuries like take-out pizza or breakfast at a local restaurant, Donna, on the left, Gerry and Pete (not shown) remains self-sufficient. The three use solar energy, fetch water from a well, and grow and store most of their food. News photo by Stephen M. Katz Edscan AdvStyle

Today more than ever, people want to live more independently than perhaps before. If you are one of these people, but don’t know where to start, here are some tips from family heads on how to survive social distancing. Having a large plot with a rustic and historic property is not even a prerequisite for living in a more sustainable and independent way. Here’s how you can start homesteading from your apartment.

Get the kitchen

Keivn Bennett | BDN

Bich Nga Burril adds some cooking wine to her “My Diet Chicken” as she cooks it in her home kitchen in Winterport on Thursday December 15, 2011. Burril has published her second cookbook with Vietnamese recipes. (Bangor Daily News Photo by Kevin Bennett)

Cooking is like a craft project, a chemistry experiment and a boredom breaker, all wrapped up in tidy packaging that you can eat, nothing less. Spend some time in your kitchen trying new recipes. Maybe you can jump on the internet craze to make sourdough bread (or, if you want to turn the tide and don’t want to wait two weeks, bake this super easy beer bread and delicious).

DIY essentials before returning to the store

Sam Schipani | BDN

Sam Schipani pouring cream into a jar to make butter.

Part of the on-site shelter is to go out as little as possible for essential services. Before you start shopping again, try replacing your staple foods with homemade blends using items you probably already have in the house. This applies to cleaning supplies (although be careful when combining certain chemicals) as well as kitchen items. Even a hand sanitizer and if you are feeling adventurous or desperate, toilet paper can be improvised to space your trips to the store.

When you go to the store, be safe

lfort | BDN

MAINEFOCUS – 11/30/2016 – Father Abbot resident Robert Smith pushes a basket in the food aisles of the Save-A-Lot grocery store in Dover-Foxcroft one day in late November. Smith voted against the 2016-2017 School Administrative District 4 budget in the November 8 election because this 51-year-old man is disabled, unemployed and on food stamps earning about $ 750 a month. He is already struggling to save money every month to pay his taxes. Micky Bedell | BDN

Taking trips to the grocery store is one of the essential cases where you are allowed to leave your home for at least the next month. Try to make food last as long as possible and be creative with your recipes, using simple substitutions for the ingredients you lack. If you’ve exhausted your grocery stores and DIY and replacement options and need to shop, make sure to do it safely.

Take it easy with yourself

If you are not productive during this time, don’t worry. I know we’ve sent a lot of new creative projects to try, but it’s a pandemic, after all. You are allowed to just listen to your favorite singing songs that you have heard a thousand times; ignore the pressure of social media and prepare foods that make you feel better, damn sourdough; or take long unproductive bubble baths in complete silence.

Let’s go through this together. Listen to public health officials of course, but if not, all the steps you can take to protect yourself while seeking the greatest good are sufficient.

Watch: 6 Ways to Prevent COVID-19

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