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Collected Item: “A Daily Routine: Masks Go in the Washing Machine Before Entering the House”

Give your story a title.

A Daily Routine: Masks Go in the Washing Machine Before Entering the House

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

photograph, text

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

The photograph depicts what the washing machine always looks like, multiple cloth masks inside. It has become our daily routine of placing our masks in the washing machine as soon as we get home from public places. Before we only used masks to go to the post office and grocery stores, the only two public places we went with other people there. Now that the June 1st phases of reopening for Oklahoma as begun, we have noticed more and more people everywhere we go. As people are becoming more active and very few wears masks, we've begun having to take multiple masks with us everywhere to remain vigilant and have backups.

Our daily routine now includes placing our masks in the washing machine as soon as we get home and enter from the garage, before entering the rest of the house. If we go somewhere that includes carrying lots of things that touch our clothes, then we will also throw our daily clothes in the washing machine immediately. On one occasion we came face-to-face with a person without a mask that was actively coughing without covering their mouth in the produce section. We skipped purchasing any produce that day and went straight home. On days like that, we would immediately wash whatever clothes we were wearing, to prevent spreading anything in to the house.

Photographs like this are a constant reminder of how our daily routines were completely changed because of COVID-19. Personal story submitted for the #ruralvoices collection. Contributed by Clinton P. Roberts, curatorial intern for Arizona State University, HST 580. #HST580 #ASU

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#ruralvoices, #rural, #masks, #sanitation, #cleaning

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

Clinton P. Roberts

Give this story a date.

2020-06-05
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