I just finished my last outside chore — an estate sale to buy books for the Etsy shop — and we are officially on full lockdown mode at Apt. 11D. I showered after going outside. We’ll replace all the towels and wash all major surfaces — door knobs, handles, electronics, car, glasses, sinks, countertops, and so on.

The only way to change the trajectory of this virus in our country is be cleaner than clean and avoid all other people, all the time.

Here are some measures that we’re implementing for surviving social distancing:

• We’re taking a very, very strict approach to social distancing, as is now being recommended by all public health professionals. That means no playdates for kids. No dinner parties. No college kid beerfests. Not even if it is with two or three people. Zero contact.
• We’re cancelling the housecleaner, but paying her anyway. We’ll mail her the check.
• No visits to the oldies. But we’ll all FaceTime with them.
• A key to fighting this virus to have a healthy immune system, so we’re going for two hour long walks/hike every day. Fresh air and sunlight are so, so, so important.
• Know what’s in your pantry, and plan your meals ahead of time.
• Keep in touch with friends and family. Make sure that they have enough supplies. Use the college kids, with their super healthy immune systems, to drop off extra food on the doorstep of family/friends.
• Be aware of the coming crisis, but do not watch CNN obsessively all day. We did this after 9/11, and it was very bad for our mental health.
• Spend the weekend creating organized, clean workspaces for yourselves and your kids. Everyone will be working for home for quite a while.
• Shop online. Keep that economy going. Buy yourself a cute outfit at the GAP. Buy books on Amazon. And when it’s safe, go to your local small businesses and buy twice as much as you usually do.
• As I just told Jonah, anytime you go outside, imagine that everything you touch is covered in poop. When you get back in the house, if you touched people/door handles/been in public zones, shower and put all your clothes in the washing machine.
• I don’t want to alarm people, but we have to be super realistic. They are burying people in mass graves in Iran. They are not treating old people in Italy. Things are going to get really bad here unless we make MASSIVE changes. Like massive.

More to come. This will be updated throughout the day…