We've been having a lot of conversations about what's "safe" lately. We're assuming you have been too. We're humans and wired for social interactions and after significant lockdowns in many parts of the country, reintroducing socializing to our lives has been fun, stressful, exciting, and anxiety-provoking. It feels like we're just picking between the lesser of two evils - alone but healthy or together with a risk of sharing a germ. Stay smart and on top of your hygiene.
As we try to find balance, which is what we're all about at RECESS, we've come up with a few ways to safely hang.
1. Stay outside where a) you have room to spread out and b) the sun is awesome at killing germs.
2. The only time people should be inside is to go to the bathroom. We ask everyone to wear a mask inside and we leave Lysol spray, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer in the bathroom and ask everyone to spray/wipe after use. Of course everyone is washing their hands and using hand sanitizer if they're touching any surfaces. When everyone leaves, we spray/wipe all high touch surfaces like light switches, door knobs, etc...
3. Disposable everything. Whoever is hosting shouldn't be touching tons of used utensils and dishes. There are bamboo disposable utensils that are more eco friendly than plastic.
4. Color coded party cups. We were using markers to mark cups but everyone was touching other peoples' cups to see if it had their name on it. Then we realized the only thing that really matters is keeping households separate (not individual people). People already sharing a home most likely are also sharing food, cups, etc...we have lots of colored cups for guests and if we have more than one household at a time, each household gets a color!
5. Reduce food sharing. Have one person serving food while wearing a mask. Less people touching serving utensils, or getting too close to shared plates.
*Disclaimer: we are not doctors or medical experts. These tips are just what's been working for us. Everyone's situation is different so above all else, we encourage you to use common sense and scientific data to make the best decision for you and your household.