Have you relaxed on sanitizing things?

[fla4fun]

I have a decent sized tiled foyer, and incoming packages sit there for 24 hours before opening. That’s about all I have been doing. We have community mailboxes and I drive down on Sunday evening to get the mail (since I know no delivery comes on Sunday) so it’s been sitting 24 hours anyway and there’s no need for it to sit again. I don’t sanitize groceries, but I have always washed my hands frequently during the preparation process. I figure if I try to go totally germ free I may do my immune system more harm than good. I just try to be sensible overall.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We're relaxing a little bit. We still open all packages on the front porch and throw away the boxes/envelopes in the outside recycling can. But instead of wiping everything down, we only wipe down what will be used that day (almost never), perishables get put in the outside fridge for a few days and non-perishables go into the garage or sit in our entry way for a few days. We have a locking mailbox, so mail is gotten when I remember (at least before I need to pay bills) and goes into a bag to sort later. This is no different than normal life though except for it goes in the bag instead of sitting on the counter until I go through it. We do take shoes off at the front door if we've been out & about in them, but we don't change our clothes as soon as we get home or open a package. But we are still doing grocery delivery, so aren't really out in "public" that much. We've relaxed on transferring food from take out containers. I just wash my hands before and after handling them and then wipe down the table/counter where they are. We still wash our hands as often.

 

[Meriweather]

I still wipe my mail down and the surface I sit it on while I go through it.
I wipe down my groceries and other things I buy.
We spray the bottom of our shoes after going for a walk or coming in from a grocery store.
I do not feel comfortable yet, and not excited about things opening up.
I am not "terrified", just being extra careful. We are both high risk.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I didn't do any of the decontaminating processes with regard to groceries or mail. I wash my hands if I go out/after bathroom and when I was able to find sanitizer started sanitizing in the car after shopping. I can't imagine washing my hands a dozen times a day. If I'm sheltering in place what am I touching??

Im still at work and since I work at a hospital washing my hands often is a habit for me. I’ve been doing it for so long that even when I’m home I need to wash my hands often because they just start to feel dirty after a while even when I’m just doing routine stuff at home. Plus I pee a lot so there goes that. Lol

 

[loves to dive]

The first time hubby went to the grocery store way back in mid-March, he brought everything in and I wiped it all down with wipes, he washed his hands and put it up. I wiped down all the counters with wipes. Mail was sprayed with lysol then put on the dining room table for at least 24 hours, all parts of the car that were touched were wiped down, when I went into the office once a week my keyboard, mouse, pen, light switches, door knobs, etc. were wiped down (I work alone 99% of the time), the mail was sprayed and sat for at least 20 min before I touched it again, hands were washed every time I touched something. Now, not so much. We try to buy groceries only every 3 weeks so I just said, nope not wiping them down. He still puts the mail on the table but we don't spray it. Any packages that come get opened on the front porch and the boxes put in bags into the outside trash (our trash company won't pick anything up that is not in bags). I don't spray a darn thing at the office and don't wipe anything down. After I get into the office before I sit at my desk I go wash my hands, after I bring the mail in and finish processing it, I wash my hands. That's it. I do use hand sanitizer after I get my deposit slip at the bank. I don't wipe down my car any more. I just wash my hands a lot. Frankly, if hubby wasn't so worried about it, the mail wouldn't be on the table and the boxes wouldn't be opened outside, I'd just wash my hands. We did get Pizza Hut for the first time a few nights ago, we brought it home and put what were going to eat on plates and nuked it (it was cold already). After we ate we put the leftovers in zip locks like always, put the boxes in bags in the trash and I wiped down the counter. Not much different then what we would have done before except the boxes would have been folded and left in the trash can in the kitchen until time to take the trash out. I rarely use clorax wipes on the counters any more, I just use a rag and spray with a vinegar/dishwasing liquid mixture I clean with anyway. Clorax wipes are too hard to come by so we only use them for things that come from outside that have touched the counters.

 

[disneychrista]

Haven’t stopped but never really started. I think some have gone to extremes. I think there is a fine line between being cautious and being paranoid.

 

[queenofthehive]

Haven’t stopped but never really started. I think some have gone to extremes. I think there is a fine line between being cautious and being paranoid.

Try to look at it as the amount of risk a person is willing to take for their own situation. There is not a right or wrong way. It is just everyone’s level of risk is different. It doesn’t make me look paranoid or you look careless. It is just that our personal levels of risk are different.

 

[adkkev]

Just wondering something ... has anyone actually gotten COVID19 from packages, groceries, or anything like that? Certainly folks working in places like an Amazon warehouse, grocery store, etc., have gotten the virus but we don’t actually know, do we, if it’s a case of the virus being on packaging?

 

[billlaurie]

Still doing the same thing 2 months later. Unbagging then putting groceries away. Wiping the counter off with a wet cloth (with dishwashing liquid), rinsing, then washing hands. No Lysol wipes because I don't have any and plus overuse leads to bacterial resistance. Mail and packages get opened when they come. Packaging is thrown away as usual with no special procedures. I always kept hand sanitizer in the car anyway and use that when I come out of the store. Wash my hands at home the same way I always did, after I use the restroom, before preparing food, after preparing food, and before eating. I "clean" my house the same way (and as little as I can get away with). I don't change my cloths when I get back from the store. I leave my shoes in the garage, like always. So not much different for me compared to my normal day-to-day cleaning/disinfecting procedures. I might behave differently if I had an essential worker or at risk person in the house but I don't so seems unnecessary to go to such extremes.

 

[maxiesmom]

I wear a mask when out, and sanitize my hands multiple times. I have never left my groceries sit, or washed them down. Good Morning America had a virologist on, and she said washing your groceries was a waste of time, just wash your hands after handling them. This is a virus that likes to spread person to person, and doesn't survive very long outside of us. Wash your hands wash your hands wash your hands.

 

[spiders]

I'm still leaving my shoes in the garage. I still change my clothes and shower when I get home from work or the store. I open packages at the porch and the throw the boxes into the recycling bin.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Just wondering something ... has anyone actually gotten COVID19 from packages, groceries, or anything like that? Certainly folks working in places like an Amazon warehouse, grocery store, etc., have gotten the virus but we don’t actually know, do we, if it’s a case of the virus being on packaging?

I don’t believe so. I know the FDA and CDC have stated that there have not been any cases from food or food packaging and that there is no need to wipe down or otherwise try to sanitize grocery or takeout items. I know that YouTube Dr got insanely popular with his sanitizing grocery video so I’m not sure if that started it or cemented it as fact but it seems to be ingrained.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I don’t believe so. I know the FDA and CDC have stated that there have not been any cases from food or food packaging and that there is no need to wipe down or otherwise try to sanitize grocery or takeout items. I know that YouTube Dr got insanely popular with his sanitizing grocery video so I’m not sure if that started it or cemented it as fact but it seems to be ingrained.

I absolutely think his video going viral added to it. But he also said to wash all your fruits and vegetables with soap and water, so...

We did it because we were following the lead of our level-headed doctor friends here. As they've felt it's ok to relax, I felt comfortable doing the same. Now, we're all doing what we're used to and/or comfortable with.

 

[Kitty 34]

I'm still leaving my shoes in the garage. I still change my clothes and shower when I get home from work or the store. I open packages at the porch and the throw the boxes into the recycling bin.

You do what one of my DILs do. She works with some Covid patients receiving dialysis. They're moved to another area as soon as they get tested positive but she just does her routine to be safe for my son and the grands.

 

[Colleen27]

Try to look at it as the amount of risk a person a person is willing to take for their own situation. There is not a right or wrong way. It is just everyone’s level of risk is different. It doesn’t make me look paranoid or you look careless. It is just that our personal levels of risk are different.

Exactly. This isn't something like social distancing rules, where we have to have a society-wide consensus and cooperation. We can each take the steps we feel comfortable with and our decisions only impact the people within our own households, so there really isn't any right or wrong. Just what helps you sleep a bit easier at night.

Just wondering something ... has anyone actually gotten COVID19 from packages, groceries, or anything like that? Certainly folks working in places like an Amazon warehouse, grocery store, etc., have gotten the virus but we don’t actually know, do we, if it’s a case of the virus being on packaging?

Not that has been documented. We're not doing contact tracing on a wide scale so if it had happened in the U.S. it would likely go undetected, but there aren't any reports of it happening in countries that are doing effective and widespread contact tracing either.

 

[easyas123]

Honestly...We never once left our groceries, mail or deliveries/packages sit. We never removed take out food from original packages unless it was something we would have done anyway. Wash hands as often as we always did, although we do use hand sanitizer more I think. Don't change as soon as we get home, unless we were going to anyway. Keep the house straightened up and cleaned up as I always did, some days more than others, some days less! Personally, as a person who is considered 'at risk', I felt it was overkill. And I still worked outside of the home, and hit the grocery stores once a week, give or take.

 

[jlwhitney]

Never started.....

 

[Snowysmom]

I wash my hands frequently and use lysol occasionally on cleaning faucets, door knobs etc. But I have not been cleaning off groceries or anything that I have bought. I do use a sanitizing wipe after using my debit card and entering my PIN. I will probably continue like this for a while. If we travel this year I will be bringing hand sanitizer and utilizing it alot. Plus I will wash my hands alot.

 

[DVCjj]

Definitely have not relaxed on sanitizing. Been even more diligent and careful and will continue to be most likely all year. Aside from hand washing religiously.

 

[KristinU]

i am still sanitizing groceries and handling packages and mail the same cautious way - Nothing has changed. The states might be reopening but that doesn’t mean I can be more lax. It probably means just the opposite because the spread will continue at a faster pace.

This is me exactly. What has changed, though, is my stress level about it. It kind of has become just something that we do now and DH and I have become a lot more efficient with it.