Is Your Luxury Home Prepared For The Pandemic?
Will You Be Ready if There’s a Second Wave?
Did you get caught?
Caught without the supplies required to weather the initial pandemic shut-down? Did you think that one day you’d magically have the time it takes to stock a household for more than a week? Did the day-to-day tasks just keep getting in the way?
Well, you’re not alone.
We all thought we were ready for anything, with everything from CPR-trained staff to certified fire extinguishers. Most estates are prepared for natural disasters — earthquakes, floods, fires — stocking plenty of provisions and maintaining clearly mapped-out procedures. But Covid-19 has taught us all a thing or two about emergency preparedness.
Welcome to the new reality of essential supplies. Short on toilet paper. Really? Out of flour. No way! Yeast was never on my grocery list. And hair dye — not in a million years! Yet these items caused shopping mayhem last spring.
I, for one, never anticipated I’d be hunting frantically for extra yoga equipment and exercise clothing, let alone art supplies, puzzles and board games. By now we are well acquainted with our preferred online tutors and exercise instructors. Lord help us if the internet goes down.
Working from home also has new meaning. Zoom exploded — from 10 million a day to over 200 million in just three months! As a result, older-model computers, monitors, microphones, video cameras, ear buds/headsets and office furniture instantly became high-priority replacement items.
Even if no one in the household was sick and the virus seemed a distant threat, many estate managers and senior housekeeping staff members scrambled to check thermometer batteries, medication expiration dates and the availability of face masks and surgical gloves.
The Wall Street Journal provides a full check list here.
We must also level up our housekeeping and sanitizing procedures.
Here’s a great video to help you assess your cleaning procedures:
Laundry likewise has taken on new scrutiny, handled now with gloved hands and washed in hot water. Hampers must be sanitized. Replacing trash liners and discarding trash bags must be performed with gloves (masks have become a given).
Additional CDC guidelines are provided here
Although an estate manager’s job is to expect the unexpected, Covid-19 has put everyone to the test. At least we’re all in the same boat, figuring it out together.
What have you learned from the pandemic and how will you change your emergency-preparedness plan to reflect it?
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I hope this was helpful information!
xo
Kelly
