In a very short amount of time, the world has drastically changed. Many of you are affected by the current situation, but even in the darkest of times, you are not alone. The Be My Eyes Community is stronger than ever, and we believe that if we stand together - with distance - we’ll get through it and come out stronger on the other side. We want you all to stay safe, and encourage you to stay inside as much as possible. We have therefore gathered a list of both fun and practical indoor activities that can help you pass the time - and they all get a little easier and way more fun if you team up with a Be My Eyes volunteer.

• Clean out your wardrobe. There are few things better than a nice and organized wardrobe, but it’s one of those chores you often have a tendency to postpone time after time. If you have some extra time on your hands, why not go through your wardrobe item by item and decide what to keep and what to donate? A Be My Eyes volunteer can help you recognize the different items so that you can make the right decision. If you have a lot of items to go through, you can divide your clothing into smaller batches and call a different volunteer for each batch. You’ll feel so much better afterwards, and who knows, you might even discover a few pieces that you forgot you had!
  

• Bake a cake. Baking a cake is the ultimate indoor cozy activity! You’ll kill some time putting the cake together, and what’s even better is that you get to enjoy some tasty baked goods afterwards. You can call up a Be My Eyes volunteer if you need some assistance reading the recipe, finding the right ingredients or measuring them up.

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• Play a video game. Whether you’re an experienced gamer or new to the game (pun intended), you probably usually don’t have as much time as you’d like to play video games. Now that you might have some extra time on your hands, it’s the perfect time to have some fun and lose yourself in the game. Even though many games are accessible, it can still be challenging to navigate the in-game menus. Luckily, there’s nothing to it for a Be My Eyes volunteer! If you want to know a bit more about gaming as a blind or low-vision individual, check out Michael’s Community Story.
  

• Cook a nice meal. Maybe you cook every day, or maybe you usually don’t have much time to get down in the kitchen, but times like these definitely call for some nice comfort food. Call up a volunteer to be your sous chef and to help make sure that the oven is set to the right temperature and that everything is fully cooked before diving in. Bon Appetit!
  

• Make your board and card games accessible. Whether you’re cooped up with the roomies or gearing up for a FaceTime game night, you can use your chill solo time making sure all your games are accessible and ready for action. A Be My Eyes volunteer would be thrilled to help you attach braille or tactile markers to cards, sort colored pieces or read the rules so you can school everyone else when the time comes. If in doubt about the best way to do it, check out Norbert’s Community Story.
  

• Go through your kitchen cabinets and fridge. When the supermarket is the biggest trip of the week, you’ve got to do it right. When prepping for your grocery run, link up with a Be My Eyes volunteer to go through your cabinets and fridge and get an overview of what items you already have. That will make your grocery shopping much more efficient, and maybe you don’t even need to go shopping. Or maybe you really, really do.

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• Do a spring cleaning. It’s time to do the yearly spring cleaning anyway, so why not get practical and make sure your house is spotless? Call up a Be My Eyes volunteer to help you check that everything is thoroughly clean or to pick out the right cleaning products.
  

• Look through your photos. At a time where we might not be making many new memories, why not jog your memory with some of the old ones? Going through your old photos is sure to put you in a good mood and leave you reminiscing. A friendly Be My Eyes volunteer can help you describe your photos, and maybe you can even share some of your stories with them! Pro tip: Run Be My Eyes on a second device like an iPad to get help sorting through the photos you took on your iPhone!

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• Do a DIY project. Do you have a DIY project that you’ve always wanted to do but never gotten around to? Well, now is the time! Whether you want to knit a pair of socks or create your own face mask, a Be My Eyes volunteer can surely assist you with the visual aspects. The hardest question is whether to do a nice coat of paint on the door, or build some cool planters first?
  

• Read Community Stories or listen to our podcasts. Staying at home means that you might not have the possibility to catch up with your friends, colleagues or other communities as you usually do. Having a sense of community is more important than ever, and the Be My Eyes Community will always be there for you. You can get a sense of community and maybe even some inspiration of new practical and fun ways to use Be My Eyes by checking out our Community Stories. You can read, watch or listen to the stories in the Be My Eyes app, on our website, or on our YouTube channel. With the extra down time, you might also want to listen to some new podcasts. Luckily Be My Eyes has two of them! The Be My Eyes Podcast discusses all topics related to blindness, sight and the blurry in between with some of the most interesting individuals from the blind community. The Be My Eyes Podcast has a new episode every other week, but there are 15 episodes to binge! 13 Letters is our newest podcast where we talk about accessibility with the most prominent professionals from the field. If you work in the accessibility field or in a company that wants to improve their accessibility, this is definitely the podcast for you. We release a new episode of 13 Letters every Thursday. You can listen to both our podcasts on our website, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher!
  

Even if you don’t have a reason to call up a volunteer this week, why not take a moment to call and thank them for being available in times of need? We’re sure that whoever picks up will appreciate the gesture and the opportunity – and we can almost guarantee they’ll be at home!