Cleaning

Anniebach try to relax little over this or you will wear yourself down and be more open to infection.
Hand washing and surface cleaning are the most important things.

Agree sodapop .Also, unless I’ve missed something, why are you not eating food anniebach?

I am washing my hands. I’m not leaving post for days, I’m not washing my shopping, I’m not changing my clothes she. I come home.

I open post, put the envelope aside in the porch to go in the recycling (a couple of days later, using gloves). I am assuming that the letter inside will not have been touched by anyone for some time, so not bothered about that. I wash my hands after dealing with the post.

I use a dilute disinfectant solution in a spray bottle for all my shopping then it goes straight into cupboards. Then I wash my hands.

I use marigolds when gloves needed (e.g. whilst washing shopping) then spray the disinfectant on them and "wash" my gloved hands in it.

None of this takes very long at all and is intended to kill off any virus that others' hands might have left on it.

In theory none of it is needed as long as people wash their hands immediately after touching incoming stuff and do not touch their face before hand washing, so that they could not have transferred any bugs to their eyes, nose or mouth, through which it might enter the body.

I am doing a bit of a belt and braces though as my DDs have been through so much this year - they do not need a sick mother to worry about.

OP - I think you are overdoing it and making life more difficult than it needs to be. I do understand that it feels like a bit of a scary situation but you really are doing more than enough, so I hope you are able to relax a bit about this.

annie - I do think you are overdoing it - you do need some peace and relaxation in your life.

It would be good if you could try and eat some real food as well as the prescribed meal drinks. Some fresh fruit would be good. And eating can be a pleasure too of course.

The problem with the prescribed meal drinks is that they fill you up so much that you cannot eat proper food.

Please take care of yourself and hopefully have something to eat that you might enjoy.

I am still washing all food before putting away. Anything in a packet jar tin goes in the hall cupboard or stays in the car boot for three days. I still disinfect handles remotes bannister. All towels etc are changed every day. I will do this until social distancing stops.

I open the post and dispose of the envelope, put shopping away, rinse fruit under the tap as I have always done and wash hands after I have touched anything that has come in from the outside. Dr. Fauci said early on that there's no need to wash the shopping so that was good enough for me. I think that hand washing is the key when coming into contact with things and wearing a mask when in closer contact with people.

I'm much more worried about very few people using masks in supermarkets than worry about the virus left on groceries. Shame that such a simple step is not compulsory.

I too would like more people to wear masks. Perhaps they should be compulsory in certain places.
Touching possibly contaminated items is the reason we are told to wash hands thoroughly. Items in supermarkets may have been touched by others. So for me its about minimising the risk.

I agree that masks ought to be made compulsory in shop and that includes the staff.

I havent been in a public space since March and no one has been in my house so cleaning routine as usual, I certainly wouldnt be constantly as I saw on an advert recently for disinfectant!
Post/ groceries? I'm cautious. When all this kicked off I remember being taken aback by the extreme way areas in china were cleaned. I know in UK those with Coronavirus are told specifically how to deal with personal items and likewise in nursing homes linen,incontinence products etc have to be isolated and disposed of in a certain way.
I have home deliveries,fresh stuff is decanted/washed. Non perishable stores for relevant time. Post opened as like many above.
I think in general we should all have some thought to where our food has been. It's not unusual for large storage depots to have rats and for them to urinate over tins. I vividly remember going around a large supermarket and seeing an assistant with a heavy cold blowing her nose and continuing to fill the meat counter!
That I expect is the unknown quantity, we dont know who is handling our food before us. They may be very conscientious and be wearing gloves and a mask or they may not. Same with delivery drivers/postmen I would say more dont wear masks than do and social distancing is variable.
One interesting thought is that if there were no risk why have shopping rules changed so told not to handle goods etc. I imagine something that causes a great deal of inconvenience to retailers wouldnt be done lightly.
With regards to the effects on our mental health it is indeed worrying. My mother bless her contracted TB in her early 20s off her sister who died from it. She was lucky in that she received the new drug that cured it. Sadly however her experiences of the fear and social stigma lived with her for life in the form of OCD and fears of contamination. Growing up I was constantly being told to wash my hands etc. It was hard for her,and hard for us to live with. Fortunately for me I think I achieved a healthy balance and pre covid was of opinion a little dirt never hurt anyone. Recent months have been quite a revelation to me,and an insight into her world.
All we can do is try and find a balance. This is made very hard by lack of reliable information. The government imply everything back to normal and many people are doing just that. Even the governments guidelines however have still not changed but they always add that very quietly. It's not just the UK but many countries experiencing the same mixed messages. I think how you view this is down to the individual. I think individuals are left to make their own decisions regardless of common good. The only way this virus can be controlled would be to crack down on it early with testing and tracking and stringent lockdown and genuine gradual easing or continued lock down. We seemed to have missed the boat there.! I can almost see cabinet shrugging shoulders and saying most people wont be badly affected so lets just get back to normal.
If you are in those groups that are vulnerable or high risk keep following the guidelines specific to you. Those of you who havent been able to get online deliveries and want them now might be time to try again. Slots are starting to appear. If you cant find one contact the supermarket directly. The initial panic is over so you should be able to get something,lots of people are.
For those of you who are shielding, particularly those living alone reach out either here or your local council will be able to offer guidance.
Carry on being careful. My 25 year old daughter doesnt isolate post and groceries,but then the risk to her is minimal. I will continue to do so but with frequent assessment of my own feelings and wellbeing.

Often with long posts I start off reading them, then give up as they descend into ramblings.

Yours I read all the way through DorseCC. Good points clearly stated.

Perhaps they should display a 'Do Not Touch' sign! Th few times I ventured into a supermarket I noticed hardly anybody followed the arrows on the floor, (including me) we are so used to wander around, going back if we forgot or can't find an item.

I think you have to do right for yourself and for those around you, for me it would be far more harmful to look at everyone and everything (post, food. parcels, people) as a threat so I don’t, I deal with everything as normal apart from the hand washing and social distancing and thinking more carefully I have been out and about since day one but not with people alone, now I m out with friends but not touching them as I would normally do no hugging or putting an arm out, but with them all the same I still haven’t been in my daughters house or she in mine as they are all at work
I decided right at the beginning that I was not going to break any rules (most have been suggestions only anyway ) and I haven’t... I would certainly follow the being sensible route but I
refuse point blank to get caught up in this panic
If my number has CV on it well so be it just the same as if it has cancer on it none of us can judge we can be careful I don’t take big risks I wouldn’t climb a high ladder any more because it would be a risk at my age but I would climb a two to three step one with a hold handle because I feel safe doing so I wouldn’t swim out of my depths in the sea but I would swim where my feet touch the ground It’s all about using common sense and not getting too frightened to breathe Well it is for me anyway
Life is all a risk

Spot on BlueBelle as I just said on another thread, we can't hide away forever. We need to learn to live and deal with this.

BlueBelle, the voice of reason. Do we wish to live our lives or just exist? I know what my choice is.

Sensible post Bluebelle.

Thankyou Furret have a lovely weekend?

Luckygirl I have to stay on meal replacements until my GP
and the dietician move me on to the next step, it’s on hold
for now.

I am another one who doesn't do any of these. Shopping is put straight away, no wiping of anything. Post and parcels are opened and looked at the same day.
Washing is done the same as always. Worktops and handles are wiped down daily. I am doing no different to what I have always done.

All post lies on our porch floor for 24 hours before being handled, likewise newspapers and magazines.
Grocery shopping is disinfected before being placed in fridge or cupboards. All of my family follow the same routine.
All the cases of covid19 we have heard of have been in vulnerable people who have not left their own homes so, as others have said, can only have come from deliveries to the door.

All the cases of covid19 we have heard of have been in vulnerable people who have not left their own homes

I didn't know that * Harrigran*. So cleaning must be helpful.
I think we can be sensible without panicking.

NanaHev
Relax,you sound ok to me

I wash my hands a lot and also things which are delivered. However, I don't do this for food shopping, nor do I quarantine it. I wear a mask in shops and keep awayfrom others when out. I also wash cloths and towels frequently and have put washing on the line so the sunlight can disinfect it.

Other than that I would not have time to live my life if I did more. I am pretty OCD about cleanliness and tidiness anyway but I feel that some people are getting obseessive.

I think you are being very careful I'm not as good as you. As for the deep cleaning I agree with you it depends how much dirt gets on your wick. I sweep and mop because I have two dogs and light painted floors and clear the kitchen up after breakfast buy fresh flowers etc. Nothing has changed there. There are I notice from books and tvs films etc many people who have a desire to clean when things feel out of control. It makes them feel more in control. I think a lot of deep cleaning is about that. You are hyper-aware of the habits of this stray bit of RNA I should take some lessons from you. There is a difference between washing it off your hands and using a bactericide on everything which is missed by most and certainly by advertisers. I am still using the lovely soaps that have been presented to me in the past and do have to top up on handcream.