Great thread.
I'll add a couple more items to the great lists already suggested:
Boxed wine (as opposed to bottles). It can keep for up to a month once it's opened, which is great if you just want a glass or two a day.
Also, Marie Kondo's book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Because if you're quarantined and haven't KonMari'd your house yet that seems like a great time to do it!
Also, maybe some sidewalk chalk. If you can go outside then kids can draw hopscotch on the sidewalk for something to do.
Extra power cords for devices. That way there's enough for everyone if you're all home together.
You had me at boxed wine LOL. I prefer vodka and tequila, which keep forever. ?
Kon-Mari-ing or spring cleaning is a great idea. I will caution everyone though, that since I Kon-Mari'd my house last year, it's happened about 3 times that I went to find something (clothing or object), couldn't find it and then remembered... DOH!
Gardening is also a good idea if you're into that sort of thing. Sunshine and fresh air are always a good idea, and certainly you can wave and talk to neighbors at a short distance without fear of infection. Cabin fever is real. I have a big yard but hate gardening, so I'll just loll outside if we have to quarantine.
Try stocking up with a teenager in the house. Woodchippers consume half as much in twice the time.
I was at the airport today and 2 ladies who had just met were chatting about how each of their Costco's had run out of water and toilet paper.
That was an odd conversation but my whole experience at the airport was odd. Nobody was there. No lines to check my bag, I walked up to the security check point and nobody was in front of me. Not a soul. I even apologized to the TSA agent because I didn't have my ID ready because I am used to getting it out while waiting in line and there was no line. Nobody in line to get food either. Few people in the restroom and so much space without people.
It was really quiet too. It reminded me of a library except for the announcements. Most of the announcements were for people who were missing from planes too. Multiple people did not get on their flights I assume because they kept calling their names warning multiple people their planes were done boarding and they were missing.
Now that I think about it, nobody was announcing standbys.
OMG! No Standby announcements!?! How is that even possible? There are ALWAYS standbys for some flights!
My plane was only half full and when I landed at LAX, it was also quiet there.
Eerie.
If this is the new normal for the foreseeable future, the travel industry is in deep trouble.
Very interesting. I just traveled cross country and back too, and this past weekend airports were as jam packed as usual, including on Monday. I've completed my shopping (basically as if I was getting ready for a blizzard), and I understand the TP thing - you want enough in the house in case, but I still don't get the water thing. As far as I know, COVID can't cause interruptions in water supply or power outages (some still have pump wells, so it would make sense if a storm really was coming).
Living at the very edge of the Cascadia Sub-induction Earthquake/Tsunami Zone, I have kept survival supplies ot foods, water, paper and cleaning supplies on shelves in the garage right by the car for at least three years.
My husband and son/s-in-law hunt/hike/camp so we store their "Camp Cuisine" as well. That includes freeze dried food/home dried fruits etc.in another area with camping and hiking stuff.
We also have big bags of dried beans and rice plus canned tuna, chicken, soups, and lots and lots of pasta to make meals. Camp cuisine is a big deal for them even the freeze dried meals end up added to and make larger healthier meals.
We have a large garden in the summer, our own various apple.peach and plum trees, grapes and blueberry, raspberry, marionberry (an Oregon specialty berry)and logan berry vines . But of course that's late Spring and Summer into Fall crops.
So shelf goods for a month or three and fruit and berries and garden crops for a year if we have electricity for freezers or canning.
As long as we don't get a major illness or the earthquake arrives in half an hour, or a community spread epidemic lasts for a very long time,we are almost always stocked up. We have a woodstove and cut lots of firewood for heat, a well and generator for big natural causes/climate change type emergency. However a big one would turn all of this upside down and backwards to get to!
People who are super stocking up right now may be used to frequent power outages with wells with electric pumps for drinking, cooking, or flushing toilets or they recognize they are more traffic accidents on freeways and highways under stress or panic. If we don't have electricity because power poles or boxes or knocked down then we have even bigger area issues. So staying home, calm, and carrying on are even more crucial especially if we are sick.
But right now for others in Salem, most of our stores have major shortages of disinfecting products or latex gloves. And even though Oregon has 3 potential cases not desths or 9 COVID-19 actual deaths like Washington state with up to 100 possibilities some say based on statistics, people are in a bit of a panic right now as far as grabbing and hoarding more than they personally need.
Many of our grocery and big box stores like Costco were practically desperation ransacked over the weekend according to local bloggers. I'd call it Prepared Panic Prevention at this point but it is still a real thing going on right now.
For me personally, always being prepared for any emergency allows me the peace of mind to spend my days doing things that are more important for my mind/body/ spirit and in being there for my children and grandchildren when they need my time, energy, and strength to help them.
And that includes tonight's meditation on Zoom with @Jeanne-mayell Mind/body/spirit care and rejuvenation!
Finding Humor in our new normal with Covid-19.
My friend in Az went to Costco this morning . They were out of toilet paper, paper towels, rice, beans, water bottles and hand sanitizer. As she was walking out of the store, she noticed 2 individuals. One had a cart full of isopropyl alcohol and the other a cart full of Vodka. This article which ran yesterday from USA Today and The Arizona Republic ( our local paper) would explain why.
It is titled:
Can't find Purell or other hand sanitizers? Here's how to make it at home with vodka or rubbing alcohol
Oh my goodness! :D
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=cat%20hicks&epa=SEARCH_BOX
You still can't make this stuff up.
Piggybacking on what I posted above, comes this from Tito's Vodka.
Austin-based Tito’s Vodka appears to have spent the last 24 hours notifying a number of fans on Twitter that its spirits don’t contain high enough concentrations of alcohol to properly fend off germs.
“As soon as we saw the incorrect articles and social posts, we wanted to set the record straight,” a spokesperson for Tito’s said in a statement provided to The Dallas Morning News. “While it would be good for business for our fans to use massive quantities of Tito’s for hand sanitizer, it would be a shame to waste the good stuff, especially if it doesn’t sanitize (which it doesn’t, per the CDC).”
The company’s social media team, commendably, has identified tweets suggesting the use of Tito’s in homemade hand sanitizer recipes and replied with recommendations Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Per the CDC, hand sanitizer needs to contain at least 60% alcohol. Tito’s Handmade Vodka is 40% alcohol, and therefore does not meet the current recommendation of the CDC,” Tito’s Vodka tweeted.
To add to the Covid-19 humor: When I was searching online for 91% isopropyl alcohol, I saw the following Q/A posted on a particular site:
Q: How many are calories are in it?
A: You know that stuff can make your internal organs bleed from the inside, right? It's not the type of alcohol you drink. Doing so could have dire consequences.
Q: Is 91% strong enough to clean a bong?
(No answer for that one!)
Also refilled as many human and pet meds as I could.
Some of it is in the house and some of it is in our storage shed, not to be touched til we need it. I plan to grocery shop as usual unless and until we can't. I didn't bother with water, we're in a big city and water supply shouldn't be affected. Keep in mind that in a pinch, Amazon will probably be able to continue delivering dry goods, certainly things you don't find in the store you can order now.
To echo @laura-f, I'm really not worried about the water supply right now. It hasn't been turned off in Wuhan, so I think it's fairly unlikely to be turned off in most places.
However, the global supply chain is HEAVILY dependent on China for prescription medications. If you or someone you love depends on prescription meds, please consider getting an extra refill right now. It may all be fine, but if shipments are delayed for a while, this is likely to be one of the biggest issues. (This was actually one of the biggest issues on the table with the "hard Brexit" since the UK imports most of its prescription meds from Europe).
I'm not terribly worried about most emergency supply issues, but that one could be big.
^Yes, this is great advice that I think some people might miss in their preps. I just called in a premature refill for both of my son's meds. Is it possible to call in two refills at the same time for a single prescription though? Or should I wait until after I picked the ones I just called in up?
For those who want to stock up on regular prescription meds: Most insurance won't allow you to refill it in less than 28 days (presuming each refill has been monthly).
BUT
There is one loophole: Tell them you are traveling (I know, lolz) and you need extra supply because you'll be gone at the next refill date. The pharmacist can relay this to your insurance and get a waiver. ONCE. You can't do that every month, but at least it will give you a 2 month supply for co-pays instead of full price.
Haha good one!
Not too sure that fibbing is the best insurance, we already have people stealing masks (which don't keep us safe just others safe from our coughing and sneezing in others faces) from hospitals and clinics and pumping hospital sanitizers (which are effective but not as much as hand washing is) into their own vials and bottles.
They are critically removing access to personslly important tools for those severely immuno-suprresed like cancer patients coming in for chemo and radiation treatments.
I understand worry and trying to prevent personal shortages but according to the tv news in Portland Oregon all you have to do is call your doctor and theoretically he/she will inform your listed pharmacy to extend your current prescriptions during this crisis.
Tito's tells customers to not use their vodka for hand sanitizer. But i have made my own using far less expensive ingredients!
So for all of you worried about the availability of hand sanitizer it is quite easy to make your own and no..not with Tito's Vodka which is currently trending in social media.
Tito's only contains 40% vodka and you need to have alcohol (preferably isopropy) that Is at least 60-65% alcohol.
Should I run out of my store bought supply, and as a backup anti-bacterial home cleaning product ( for all my doorknob, refrigerator and toilet handles previousky posted about not fogetting) I made a couple of jars of my own several days ago with products I had on hand.
The recipe is so easy! Simply mix isopropyl alcohol with any aloe gel. Half and half of each.
No kidding that's all it takes. The alcohol kills germs and the aloe vera protects your skin from drying out or cracking with repeated use.
And you can just add your own essential oils for either their antiseptic or healing properties if you wish!
Good old handwashing for 20 seconds is best and if you use hand sanitizer of any kind it had to be thoroughly applied scrubbing hands and in between fingers AND left to dry naturally.
Don't use a towel on your hands after use of any hand sanitizer thinking you dry them like you do with soap and water. You'll run the risking of removing some of it before it does its removal of germs process.
@michele-b It's it half alcohol, does that meet the requirements for the solution to be 60-65% alcohol? I went to CVS and they were out of both, but I found 100% aloe gel online and a gallon of rubbing alcohol. I'm going to add the essential oils I have left over from the essential oil craze I got into a few years ago.
@michele-b et al: About mixing your own hand sanitizer: this morning my pharmacy told me that the alcohol should be approx. 70% ethyl, not isopropyl. She said the latter can be toxic. Has anyone heard that? I know that ethyl is what is used in the sanitizers they sell.
Perhaps the toxicity she mentioned has more to do with the amount you use?
Some sites have said 3/4 alcohol but others said half. All 3 of my alcohols from different stores were all 70% alcohol to begin with. So i followed the best advice source at the time which said 1/2 @60% It said stronger or larger amounts were too drying for constant use on hands and cracks in the skin were not good for other germ issues.
Use your own judgment probably rules as even medical sites aren't agreeing and morning news shows and talk shows are filled with trending hearsay that proves inaccurate.
Yesterday one tv hostess repeated that someone said was eyes are the main thing to protect so to wear eyeglasses.
I quickly looked that up and she misspoke though medical goggle glasses are used by professionals working in epidemic situations from serious contact with these viruses as well as in other occupational professiond like toxic spills or contamination of course. However to some extent regular eyeglasses do protect from spit during talking as sometimes happens but they would not protect the other two--the nose and the mouth.
Eyes, nose, mouth are equally receptive as far as I could find trying to look that one up! But I'd think for respiratory., diseases the nose would be far more likely to receive quickly acting respiratory germs really and truly.
Too many personal variables I guess including trending passed on things!
But that actually now reminds me that a family member constantly exposed to germs in his profession was told by his doctor after constant staph testing to use a q-tip gently dipped into clean new tube of neosporin used only by you-- so as not to pass or receive different germs among family members--and gently apply to the inside opening area of the nostrils.
So I had ordered isopropyl alcohol and Aloe, but after I read about the problems of ending up with either too low a ratio of alcohol or blistered, cracked Hans, I turned around and canceled the order. Because I'm home most of the time, I'm going for good ol' fashioned soap and water which they say is best. I am excerpting this article here. I like to final sentence (see end):
World Health Organization says:
The World Health Organization has official instructions to make a disinfecting hand sanitizer to use in medical settings, but it's not written for the average prepper to use. It requires using sterile water, an alcoholometer to measure the concentration of alcohol in the final product and glycerol (also known as glycerin), which isn't as easy to track down at your local drugstore as aloe vera gel. It also does not recommend including any dyes, essential oils or other fragrances because they could cause an allergic response -- a lot of DIY recipes call for essential oils to mask the smell of alcohol.
So what should you do instead?
Wash your hands. The CDC and WHO both agree that's the best thing you can do right now to protect yourself from getting sick, either from coronavirus or anything else. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds, many times per day -- after you use the restroom, before and after you eat, before and after you prepare food and in many other scenarios.
Also avoid touching your face in general, but especially with dirty hands. Most everything you touch throughout the day is covered in germs and if you touch your mucous membranes (lips, nose, eyes) you can spread viruses and bacteria into your own body.
I don't advise it, but if you are determined to make your own hand sanitizer (and can actually find the ingredients to do so), avoid any recipes that do not use at least 60% alcohol.
Otherwise, just wash your damn hands.
I mentioned this before, I am doing so again.
I am speaking beyond basic rations right now.
Have some things art home which you enjoy doing.
Art, photo printing paper, yarn, cards, tools, gardening supplies and so forth. Do something fun, something to relieve stress. What are your hobbies, especially ones you don't have the opportunity to explore often. If you decide or are forced to stay home, do them.
If your college kids have to come back early, connect with them. Let them teach you something you don't understand about technology. Make a family project together.
If you have children of any age, now would be a great time to journal about your life. Things you did growing up and so forth. A gift to them to pass down for future generations.
When I get back from my trip tonight ( I really would rather not be on an airplane today but that is for a different post perhaps) one of my goals is to begin documenting my thoughts and experience about this virus. Because of these Coronavirus threads, there is a great timeline of information (who, what where when why and how) things went down, how this group shared information and planned and how people felt. It might be of interest to future generations or just me. But It will be interesting.
Have any of you thought about documenting this historical experience that is bring the world together and on the same level ground? You might want to think about it. Your great-grandchildren might thank you for your efforts one day.
Great ideas, but aside from reading books, there's nothing indoors of interest to me. I live in SoCal, so I figure it'll be ok to jump on my bike and go for a ride. That way I get exercise, fresh air, sun, and no one breathing on me nearby.