As Quilt Shops are reopening, I have the itch to go back out on the road and start visiting them again, but I want to keep myself and everyone around me safe at the same time. After discussion with my sister, who is a Medical Doctor, and research on the web, here’s my plan.
I travel in a self-contained micro camper. It has a bed, dried hiker food, properly cleaned fresh food, water, a 12V hot pot to boil water, and a portable toilet. That means I do not have to shop for groceries or expose myself to possible contamination along the way, so I am unlikely to contract anything. I also carry a portable sanitation kit.
The Sanitation Kit
Take scrap fabrics and cut into rectangles – most of mine are between 3” X 4” and 5 ½” square. Zigzag the edges – I tried doing a regular hem, but for the size of the pieces, it’s annoying and way too bulky. You do need to finish the edges to prevent fuzz balls when you wash them.
Fold in thirds or quarters, so they are all about the same size. Stuff the stack into a one cup mason jar, or other container that you can seal. I prefer glass, but plastic also works. This jar has 42 wipes in it.
Add 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to soak all of the clothes – it took about 1/3 cup for this jar. You can use a solution of 4 teaspoons bleach per quart of water (or 1 teaspoon per cup) per the CDC website, if you cannot get alcohol. Seal and carry in your vehicle.
I also carry a spray bottle (recycled from pressing spray) of alcohol. Just be sure you label the bottle! You wouldn’t want to press with alcohol, or spray it somewhere near a heat source and start a fire.
Masks are also an essential item to have along – I carry three, since I want to be able to sanitize and let then dry between uses. It is imperative not to touch the outside of the mask when removing it, so that any germs it may have trapped stay on the mask and not the wearer. Do this by taking the ear loops or the elastic across the back of your head, and folding the mask on itself as you remove it. Place it in a zip lock bag or other container. I use a plastic sandwich container so I can easily spray it down with alcohol.
Now that I have the tools, how do I use them?
If I step out of my vehicle, even to pump gas, I have a mask on. When I get gasoline, I use my debit card – but first I take a wipe and clean the pump handle and touch pad, and any surface I might touch. Used wipes go in a zip lock bag to be washed and reused when I get home. When I am done pumping, I wipe my hands, my card, and the door handle – just in case.
If I need to hand my debit card to someone, like at a drive through window, I take it back with a wipe, not my bare hands – the same with change if I use cash. I know a lot of the stores are having their employees wear gloves, but many are not changing between customers. This means if I take the card with my bare hands, I may also be taking the last ten or twenty people’s germs.
I sanitize the card or cash before I put it in my wallet. I also spray the outside of the food bag with alcohol and wipe off my hands before touching my food. Drink containers are wiped down as well, if I get a drink. I tend to drink my own water instead.
When I visit a store, I wear a mask and stay six feet away from people. They used to call people that did this antisocial; now they call us sensible. I wonder if we will ever go back to casual social contact? I carry my fabric out in my hands, and place it in a cloth bag in my vehicle. Door handles, clipboard, and hands are sanitized after putting the fabric away. Fabric goes in the wash when I get home (I leave the washer lid open when I leave home so I don’t have to touch anything), and the bag goes in the washer with it, followed by a soap and water hand wash before touching anything else in the house. I also toss in the used wipes from my zip lock bag.
When I leave the store, as soon as the fabric is put away and door handles are sanitized, I remove my mask and spray it down with alcohol, and I wipe my face with alcohol as well. The mask goes on the dash to dry in the sun, which adds a bit of sterilization – UV is also a sanitizer. Then I wipe down my hands, car keys, and door handle. The only drawback is the constant smell of alcohol in the vehicle, but I think it’s worth it. I could open all of the windows, but then the pollen would come in the car and I would start sneezing and terrify everyone I meet – probably not a good idea!
Finally, when I am back in my own space after a trip, I need to stay in for 10 days – just in case I ran into someone in a shop who was carrying the virus and didn’t know it. Of course, I’ll have all of that time to play with the fabrics I picked up along the way! With all of these precautions – the North American Shop Hop is going on the road again! Stop back on Monday and see where I made my first stop on the new “normal” system.