Corona Virus is knocking, Prep List for getting ready to stay home! Quarantine! What you should buy.

   

(Scroll down for list in bold italics)

     Who would have ever thought that something like this was going to be in our lifetime? It all seems a bit surreal to me but I forced myself to think clearly and take this all seriously! I wanted to go grocery shopping to make sure we had at least 2 weeks solid in the Pantry or more. I knew I wanted to make things familiar to eat as it might be a long haul before things are back to normal and also Nutritionally Dense while being yummy. Keeping ourselves not compromised in areas that we can control.

     

     As soon as this looked like something the entire country was going to have to deal with I started to take care of how I lived my days. Yes, washing hands, staying away from crowded place etc. But Living more conscientiously to my self. I made myself go to bed at a half way decent hour and wouldn't allow myself to jump out of bed when I first wake up if it wasn't close to the 8 hour point. I usually can go with 5-6 hours, but really thought it necessary to not stress my body in the usual way.
The next thing was stay hydrated. Coffee in the morning and then basically dehydrating myself till I was thirsty was not healthy and again, stresses your body. I needed it to be able to fight anything it came in contact with so I paid attention to how much water I drank and since I hate just drinking water I was drinking extremely diluted juice and sparkling water most of the day. Making myself go and drink a glass of still water in between.  I also have tried to eat the High Vitamin C fruits, take Echinacea, and curb my sugar intake. I wont' say I don't eat a cookie or dessert but I have so limited myself as I know that Sugar is probably the worst thing we consume without a thought.

 Next thing I did was to sit and think about meals I make that are mostly out of a can and start to put together a grocery list and menu.

Black Bean Corn chili
Salmon Cakes
Spaghetti Sauce
Coconut Corn Thai chowder

* Canned food and  Staples that have long shelf life
Beans
corn
spaghetti sauce
Canned Tuna and Salmon
coconut milk
chili packages
tomato sauce and diced tomatoes
Pasta
rice
Canned fruit
I don't like canned vegetables so I would buy them frozen
Flour
sugar or substitute
baking supplies, baking powder, soda and yeast
cocoa powder
chocolate chip
brownie mix
(I wanted to make sure I had stuff that I can bake cozy things)

I thought about fresh Fruits and vegetables and none of them will last very long except a few. rutabagas, turnips, potatoes, carrots, celery and beets. Winter Squash, butternut, acorn etc. Fruits that are high in Vitamin C Oranges and Grapefruit and Keep Well like Apples

*Fresh that keep longest:
Potatoes
carrots
celery
beets
turnips
rutabaga
butternut squash
Acorn Squash
Sweet Potatoes


Next frozen foods
I bought a few pizzas at Aldis and put those in the freezer, other frozen vegetable like peas, green beans, brussel sprouts.  And a few quick meals in case I am sick and the family has to figure things out. Frozen Ravioli, Yaki Soba (from Costco), Fish Sticks and French Fries, Veggie Burgers, Hot dogs.

*Frozen Foods or things you can put in your freezer
obviously if you are used to eating meat every day that needs to be considered. We don't so...
Pizza
Green Peas
Green Beans
Brussel Sprouts
Ravioli
Yaki Soba (from Costco)
Veggie burgers
Hot Dogs 
Fish Sticks
French Fries
and any other thing you usually purchase


Don't forget  Dog and Cat food and their treats.

Bottled water, sparkling and still. I have a large Aqua Rain Water Filtering system that we use on occasion. I looked to see if I could get replacement filters for it and they are hard to find and seem to be more expensive than I remember. So, We will use what we have that aren't that old anyway.

Coffee Creamora bottled juices kool-aid a few sports drinks for electrolyte replacement like Gatorade.

*Beverages:
Coffee
Tea
Instant lemonade, kool aid, Iced Tea, Tang
Electrolyte Replacement like Gatorade
Bottled Juices

Don't forget Eggs, milk (maybe powdered milk just in case)  yogurt, sour cream, whatever you use on a regular basis...cheese. 

I also bought cold/flu medicine to help with symptoms, made sure I had fever reducing and pain relief like ibuprofen. I also stocked bandaids, Neosporin, burn ointment etc and other meds that I wouldn't be able to pop into the store to get in case. Life happens and sometimes at the most inconvenient times just didn't want any stone unturned

*Medical  Supplies
Ibuprofen
Tylenol
Bandaids
neosporin
cortisone
burn ointment
cough medicine
Mucinex
favorite cold and flu stuff 

 Batteries, flash lights, if you use oil lamps for power outages make sure you have oil, candles, matches. We are in a tornado prone area and this is Spring so, we can get wicked Thunderstorms that knock out power.

*Odd Supplies
Batteries
flash lights
oil for lamps
candles
matches



Toilet paper, Kleenex (also a good substitute if you run out of toilet paper) Paper towels, paper napkins.

* Paper Goods
Toilet paper
Kleenex
paper towels
paper napkins
diapers
wipes

Lysol cleaner, Bleach (You can dilute this and put in a spray bottle with a few drops of dish liquid and make your own surface cleaner).  Laundry detergent, diapers, dish liquid

*Cleaners
Lysol cleaner and spray
Bleach
Laundry detergent 
dish liquid/ or dishwasher detergent


I also made sure I had all the toiletries I needed in case this lasted longer than expected and the restocking of shelves started to become a problem. Shampoo, conditioner, face soap, lotions and bought liquid soap in pump bottles for the bathrooms. we usually use bar soap but thought this may be a better option.

*Toiletries
Shampoo
conditioner
face soap
lotion...especially hand lotion with all that washing
liquid hand soap
toothpaste
New toothbrushes to switch out from having the flu to being on the mend.

I do want to take this stay at home opportunity to pick up some of the things I have always meant to do or hobbies I haven't taken the time to do for awhile. I plan on practicing a little on the piano (as much as my family can stand) I am in the middle of crocheting a baby blanket and have just found scrapbooking to be relaxing and fun to me. I have a pile of books I have been meaning to read. and there are also rooms in the house that I have wanted to paint or remodel or repair that I can do. We also have all the streaming services on TV.

What I don't want to do is stay on the computer and pour over the news of how devastating it all is. I don't want to keep my head in the sand but I don't want to obsess either.

So, that's it, Keep Safe out there!