What we did in LOCKDOWN
WOMAN'S WEEKLY|June 09, 2020
In tough and trying times, some days it’s the little things that make us smile the most, as these women show
GILLIAN HARVEY
What we did in LOCKDOWN

‘I got clever with colour’

Irina Pehkonen, 36, is an analyst living in London. As I look at the colourful, organized books, I can’t help but smile. After a few evenings spent colour coding, I’ve turned a messy bookshelf into a piece of functional rainbow art. It’s lovely to use my creative side – my working life is all about facts and figures, so I don’t often get the chance.

Although many people have time on their hands in lockdown, for me life is more hectic than ever! My husband David, 36, and I are working from home, plus caring for our children, Aija, one, and Aili, six. At the same time, being at home has made me really aware of jobs I want to do.

Those who know me from work would probably think I’d alphabetise my books, but I’m not great at remembering authors’ names. My memory is more aesthetic – I focus on shape, size and colour. Plus, with the bookshelf in our living room, it had to look pretty – and colour-coding seemed a great way forward.

The only wobble I had was when I needed to split two novels by Harper Lee. One was orange and the other white, and it felt strange.

I have over 500 books in the house in total. There’s another shelf I’ll tackle shortly in the home office, plus children’s books in the kids’ rooms. It takes a while to do, but it’s surprisingly satisfying.

‘I created a balloon tribute to the NHS’

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