Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Police are reminding people in lockdown to wear pants when checking the mail

Published Apr 15th, 2020 2:48PM EDT
coronavirus updates
Image: ANDREJ CUKIC/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

  • Police in Maryland issue warning to residents who leave their home without pants on.
  • The tongue-in-cheek bulletin was posted on Facebook, where it has gotten a lot of attention.
  • Getting dressed and maintaining your daily routines is a good thing to focus on if you’re feeling a bit out of sorts while in lockdown, so embrace pants.
  • Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

The novel coronavirus pandemic

has changed our lives in unexpected and dramatic ways. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders are new to all of us, and adjusting to this new (hopefully temporary) way of life can be difficult. For some people that are now spending each and every day at home, pants have seemingly become an optional accessory.

Police in Taneytown, Maryland, aren’t too keen on this new trend and have apparently seen one too many pantsless residents waltzing around outside their homes. In a new Facebook post, the police department issues a friendly but stern reminder that you should definitely wear pants when leaving the house, even if it’s only to check the mail.

I get it. As someone who works from home anyway, I have to really push myself to get up and act like a human every day. That means sticking to the same wake-up routine that I followed when I worked at a large office. Showering and putting on an actual outfit is a chore, but a necessary one.

The freedom of not having to go into work can easily tempt you into slipping on a sweatshirt, grabbing your laptop, and working from the comfort of your own couch. You lose track of time. Suddenly it’s noon and you still look like you rolled right out of bed.

That’s when it happens. You see an alert on your phone. An Amazon delivery! Surely nobody will notice if you just run out to the mailbox in your undies, right? WRONG.

Getting busted by the cops for not wearing pants? It can happen to the best of us, but we’ll pull through this and be better for it.

In the meantime, there are a lot of really good reasons to maintain a daily routine that includes getting ready the same way you might if you had to leave the house. Search for advice on how to manage your mental health during this strange new reality we’re all living in and you’ll see many recommendations, including an emphasis on personal upkeep and maintaining morning rituals even if you’re not leaving the house.

You don’t need local law enforcement to tell you that you feel a bit more “normal” if you start your day by getting dressed. It’s a good habit, but it’s also not the end of the world if you decide to spend a day pants-free. Just remember that the outside world might not be ready to see it.