How To Love Your Neighbors From Home

Photo by Mathyas Kurmann on Unsplash

Real talk: my wife and I don’t know our neighbors super well.

I know that being friends with your neighbors is supposed to be a staple of hospitality or good will. Especially in the South of the United States. I know that the Instagram thing to do when you move into your new apartment, condo, or house is to bake a pile of wonderful and warm chocolate-chip cookies.

As the cookies are finishing, you write out in cursive or calligraphy a very kind and thoughtful note, the type that Instagram parents give to their children before they go off to college.

With your tray of cookies and letter in hand, you walk right up to the front door, announcing your presence, your peaceful intentions and your excitement for the potential of great and meaningful relationships down the road.

But that’s not how our lives have turned out and I’m guessing that’s not what your life looks like either.

For us, meeting our neighbors has been awkward and way harder than we thought. They have their world and we have ours, and bridging that gap can feel like a daunting task.

And yet, as my wife and I have found ourselves in the middle of this COVID-19 crisis, we’ve been reminded, as have many people throughout the world, that being a good neighbor is one of the most civilized and caring things we can do. Thinking about, connecting with, or even serving the people who live right next door to us can be one of the best ways we lean into love throughout this pandemic.

If you want to jump in on this, join us. We know it can be awkward and a bit rough around the edges. But it also makes a difference, and right now, we could all use a little extra love.

Build a library box

This is one of my favorite ideas I’ve seen because I love books and I believe in the magic of a really great story. Not everyone has a large stack of books at home, so creating a little library for your local neighbors can be a great way to encourage and love the people around you well. If you wanted to get even more creative, you could create a larger box and throw in some puzzles or even put in some board games.

Drop off a kind letter

People still love snail mail. And the best part of dropping off a letter in your neighbor’s mailbox is that you don’t even have to stamp it! If you have younger kids, you can encourage them to make homemade cards or notes for your neighbors. The art and creativity of kids can be a great reminder for us adults that although life is hard these days, small things can still bring joy.

Sidewalk chalk

For people a little further outside of big, downtown cities, it seems like walking and outdoor exercise have gone up dramatically over the last few weeks. From where I sit at my desk at home, I’m looking out at our street and I see some individual or family walking by every 15 minutes or so.

If you have a sidewalk or a driveway and you have some chalk on hand a great way you could serve your neighbors and local community is to go out and write encouraging phrases or notes. Share positivity and hope with your words and create art that brings a smile to the people walking by.

Yard work

There are many people these days who are doing all that they can just to survive. There are dads who have become full-time teachers. There are moms who are now day-care operators. And just think of all the cleaning, groceries, laundry, and day-to-day needs that come up from being sheltered-in-place. For some of your neighbors, yard work may not be high on the list of tasks they are able to devote their time to.

So if you’re out mowing your grass maybe consider offering to mow your neighbor’s yard as well. Offering to help in a small way like this can make a big impact.

Grocery store run for the elderly

Going to the grocery store can be scary, especially if you’re elderly. Most stores have done a great job of setting up a “seniors hour” at the start of the day where the elderly can go and get their necessary supplies. But even that can be daunting. If you are younger and you have elderly neighbors, consider dropping off a grocery store list with items that your neighbors can check off or write in and then go pick up their groceries.

The goal is kindness

Even if you don’t really know your neighbors, you can still think through ways to be kind to the people who live around you. COVID-19 and the resulting safety precautions have unintentionally opened doors for relationships and connections that may have rarely happened before.

Before COVID-19, my wife and I rarely saw our neighbors and hadn’t really made much of an effort. But a few weeks into this shelter-in-place season, we’re working to connect in ways that may seem unconventional or unique.

In our neighborhood, there’s an older gentleman, Philip, who does a lot of communal yard work for neighbors who may not have the capacity or ability. We’ve now introduced ourselves, and we’re looking for ways to get more involved. We’ve left encouraging notes in our neighbors’ mailboxes and have asked a few families nearby if there was anything we could grab for them from the store.

We still don’t know our neighbors super well. Even so, we want them to know that we are here for them and that they are not going through this season alone.