It’s like the ultimate Marie Kondo on your life. Everything has been pulled out of the closet and is now in a pile on the floor. The closet (your life) is clear, free of clutter and wide open to accept the few selected shirts and pants (your people, places, things and routines) that bring you joy and that you personally decide to place back in. The only thing now left to decide is, which items bring you joy and which ones will your future self thank you for keeping out?

What will you allow back in after quarantine?

No matter what part of the country or for that matter what part of the world you live in, you have most likely spent at least sometime under stay at home or a complete quarantine due to the coronavirus and felt the impact of COVID-19 on your life. For me, as of this posting, it was 85 days officially from March 13th when our area began closing down and when it began partially opening up.

We are still under “yellow” which means it’s not exactly business as usual. But then again I wonder if we will ever go back to what we thought of as normal. Only time will tell I suppose.

For most of the U.S., once the virus arrived and the stay at home orders went into effect our lives as we knew them were immediately put on pause. Offices closed. Shops closed. Restaurants and Bars closed. Even outdoor parks and garden closed. Life was on pause.

In a strange way it felt like I was sucked out of life A and dropped into a parallel universe of life B. Or perhaps it was the opposite way. 

As it did for many, my work life came to a complete standstill. Home projects underway came to a halt. Our social life changed from running here and there to sitting at our kitchen island talking to friends at their kitchen island during the magic of a zoom happy hour. My daily life of non-stop out and about stopped. Like a vacuum the Covid Quarantine sucked all people, places, things and routines out of our lives.

I created the Dwell Well Mini-Series to help myself and other work through all the changes and to find inspiration during the time at home. It’s not too late to work through the series in fact it might be the perfect time to do it.

But now, 85 days later we are each faced with the question.

After the quiet few weeks of quarantine, what do I want to let back in?

Whether you currently see it this way or not, we have in fact been given an amazing gift of a full on life changing pause. A complete removal of things, people, places, and routines. There has never been a time like this in all your life, and hopefully it will never occur again but, the choice is now yours.

What will you bring back in? What will you choose to keep out?

There is no right or wrong. It may not even be clear yet what to do.

But I suggest you take it slow. Take this reopening time to write down all that was removed from your life over the last few months good, bad, neutral. Please don’t make a list of only the bad or uncomfortable things. Make sure your list includes all the good things too because those are the items you want at the top of your list to add back in.

I’m asking you these questions as I am asking them of my own life.

I am still writing, reviewing and deciding but what I do know is that it’s not all going back in. I like the space it has created that I am sure to soon fill up if I am not mindful, but I hope I am able to fill it back in with only those people, places, things and routines that bring me true joy.

Want to join me on this journey? I created a printable to keep my thoughts in one place, you can find it here if you like. Life After Quarantine Checklist – What to put back in. What to keep out.