Stocking the cupboards in the event of a pandemic in the USA

[Anonymous]

I have vitamin C to ward off scurvy in the long term!

[Anonymous]

For those with little kids I would add diapers and wipes to the list. We usually buy a lot of them anyways so we don't have to worry about running out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those with little kids I would add diapers and wipes to the list. We usually buy a lot of them anyways so we don't have to worry about running out.

Unless you're at the cusp of going up a size...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those with little kids I would add diapers and wipes to the list. We usually buy a lot of them anyways so we don't have to worry about running out.

Unless you're at the cusp of going up a size...

We keep some of the next size around too. If you're close between sizes you can always just switch to the bigger size. At least with the ones we buy there is overlap between the sizes.

[Anonymous]

I’ve stocked up - fortunately I can afford to do it. I’ve bought things like 10 lbs rice, big container oatmeal, dried lentils, tuna, PB and pancake mix. If this hopefully all blows over, I’ll donate the stash to a food bank.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think DH is turning into a preppier-lite. He bought water storage containers last week and I think we have like three liters of water a day for each person for three weeks in our basement. I don't even know where in the basement because I haven't looked. He talked to me this morning about building up our stocks of canned food. I'm not a prepper person and think this is all quite silly. But, for marital harmony and to calm his anxiety, I will be slowly buying extra canned food. At least it doesn't go bad quickly so I'm sure we'll use it regardless.

I didn't even think about flour and beans, etc. That's a good add. I'll include that on my list.

Preppier lite? So khakis and pastel polo shirts but he draws the line at Vineyard Vines?

Well, in a crisis like this it's important to at least have a pair of Jack Rogers sandals at least.

[Anonymous]

I have bought some extra things this month- everything we will use eventually. Toilet paper and other personal products, double my usual coffee purchase, some extra pantry staples, restocked all my cold/flu/medications. If we do need to quarantine, we will be set for awhile. If nothing comes of it, we will just use up the supplies in our normal course of business.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think DH is turning into a preppier-lite. He bought water storage containers last week and I think we have like three liters of water a day for each person for three weeks in our basement. I don't even know where in the basement because I haven't looked. He talked to me this morning about building up our stocks of canned food. I'm not a prepper person and think this is all quite silly. But, for marital harmony and to calm his anxiety, I will be slowly buying extra canned food. At least it doesn't go bad quickly so I'm sure we'll use it regardless.

I didn't even think about flour and beans, etc. That's a good add. I'll include that on my list.

Preppier lite? So khakis and pastel polo shirts but he draws the line at Vineyard Vines?

Well, in a crisis like this it's important to at least have a pair of Jack Rogers sandals at least.

It's actually the perfect time to pull out the Jacks. They are uncomfortable to walk in, but if you are confined to your house they work well. Hopefully the weather is a little warmer before this hits.

I'm preppier-lite's wife. He just started wearing his dress shirts under a fine knit sweater for casual days. Everything is going sideways at our house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think DH is turning into a preppier-lite. He bought water storage containers last week and I think we have like three liters of water a day for each person for three weeks in our basement. I don't even know where in the basement because I haven't looked. He talked to me this morning about building up our stocks of canned food. I'm not a prepper person and think this is all quite silly. But, for marital harmony and to calm his anxiety, I will be slowly buying extra canned food. At least it doesn't go bad quickly so I'm sure we'll use it regardless.

I didn't even think about flour and beans, etc. That's a good add. I'll include that on my list.

Preppier lite? So khakis and pastel polo shirts but he draws the line at Vineyard Vines?

Well, in a crisis like this it's important to at least have a pair of Jack Rogers sandals at least.

It's actually the perfect time to pull out the Jacks. They are uncomfortable to walk in, but if you are confined to your house they work well. Hopefully the weather is a little warmer before this hits.

I'm preppier-lite's wife. He just started wearing his dress shirts under a fine knit sweater for casual days. Everything is going sideways at our house.

Watch out, the next step is embroidered pants - not sure what would fit with the pandemic theme. Something travel related like a cruise ship or an airplane?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Water, cans of food, dry goods like cereal.

No need to run out today! This is just something to keep in mind if coronavirus cases in your state start to spike. It might never happen, so relax for now.

- microbiologist.

Could you recommend medications/medical supplies to have on hand?

We recently moved from overseas so I'm starting almost from scratch. I realized today I don't even have a thermometer. I do have cold and flu medicine and fever reducers/pain relievers. Would you recommend rubber gloves in case you're dealing with an ill family member? What cleaners will kill the virus? I read on the norovirus thread that Clorox wipes don't kill norovirus. Would lysol be better?

[Anonymous]

If you have kids in college, are you telling them to prep a little? I venmo'd my 19 yo some cash and a list and told her to go to Target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am delaying the purchase of frozen vegetables. We eat fresh vegetables because I hate canned and frozen. I don’t want to stock up, then end up throwing it out if we don’t get an outbreak here.

I did stock up on meats, paper products and personal care items. I need to go to the pharmacy and refill some things.

We don’t buy bottled water, and I don’t plan to start now.

You don't have to buy bottled - you can just buy a large container like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Poly-Bagged-Carrier-Collapsible/dp/B001QBZI90/ref=sr_1_7?crid=3A4X23MI5N0EM&dchild=1&keywords=collapsible+water+container+5+gallon&qid=1582744728&sprefix=collapsible+water+%2Caps%2C346&sr=8-7

I think it's unlikely we'll need to super-prep, but the reality is that it's going to take one cluster of cases to trigger a quarantine.

[Anonymous]

Let's face it. We have snow days when it's 45 degrees outside sometimes. There's a chance we will illogically shelter in place for a couple of weeks.

Re MEDICINE: i have a sick child and went to the drug store yesterday. They were very low in pain meds. I don't think it's prepping. I think a lot of kids are sick though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Water, cans of food, dry goods like cereal.

No need to run out today! This is just something to keep in mind if coronavirus cases in your state start to spike. It might never happen, so relax for now.

- microbiologist.

Could you recommend medications/medical supplies to have on hand?

We recently moved from overseas so I'm starting almost from scratch. I realized today I don't even have a thermometer. I do have cold and flu medicine and fever reducers/pain relievers. Would you recommend rubber gloves in case you're dealing with an ill family member? What cleaners will kill the virus? I read on the norovirus thread that Clorox wipes don't kill norovirus. Would lysol be better?

Clorox hydrogen peroxide wipes do kill norovirus. As does plain, diluted Clorox.
https://www.amazon.com/Healthcare-Hydrogen-Peroxide-Cleaner-Disinfectant/dp/B07483F161/
https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2017/12/norovirus-clean-up/

No a microbiologist, but I play one on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have kids in college, are you telling them to prep a little? I venmo'd my 19 yo some cash and a list and told her to go to Target.

When a hurricane threatened my kid's college, they just declared in the morning that they were closing the dorms at noon and that students should activate their "personal emergency evacuation plan" . You might want to check if your kid wrote such a plan, and prepare yourself to drive and collect them if they are close, or make alternative arrangements if they are studying far away.