Coronavirus At-Home Essentials

My husband and I had been closely watching the outbreak of the Coronavirus when it started overseas in other parts of the world. When we started getting cases here in Washington we got a feeling it would get worse...and it did. We became the epicenter of the outbreak here in the U.S.

About three weeks ago we decided it would be best to buy about a month's supply of food and essentials as a precaution to what was to come. I want to preface that we did not buy any specific item in huge quantities. I know there has been some shaming towards others for the assumption of hoarding (remember some people might be buying for themselves and an elderly person during a grocery haul). We bought a variety of items at one time instead of a lot of one item.

Here are some of the items we chose to have in the home. Hope this list helps you with your selections.

Pantry Items

• canned foods- Manwich, vegetables, beans, diced tomatoes, tuna, fruit

• mixed nuts, dried fruit, popcorn (for all the movie watching)

• vegetable broth, almond milk

(great to keep in the pantry until you have to refrigerate once opened)

• Preggo, pesto, olive oil

• Coffee

Freezer foods

• Meat

• frozen vegetables

• frozen fruit

• waffles

• pizza

• breastmilk (applies to breastfeeding mamas)

Medication

• Advil/Tylenol

• cough drops

• hand sanitizer

• birth control (for those of you who are going to get cabin fever)

• inhalers

We called our physician’s office to have them refill our inhalers in case we needed them

Tip: call your pharmacy to see if you can get a 3 month supply of your prescriptions

Toiletries

• toothbrush (extra on hand in case you get sick and need to change out a brush)

• toothpaste

• tampons

• toilet paper

• paper towels

• body wash

• hand soap

Misc.

• laundry detergent (may come in handy if you run out of toilet paper and have to use towels)

We needed this due to the amount of laundry we go through because of the baby

• dishwasher soap

• Diapers

We ordered some in case this became a hot item, however we do have a backup system in place because we were about to start cloth diapering (cloth diapering may be something to look into for those who haven’t tried it)

• disinfectant wipes

• board games/video games (have fun with your family)

• books (great time to read)

• Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus & Amazon Prime Video

• ALL the wine (I know I'm not the only wino)

Having the food on hand gives us a peace of mind in case we become ill and we need to self quarantine or if there ends up being a full lock down and curfew. With this said...I have to keep reminding myself the reason I have extra food on hand is for a specific reason. It’s not for stress eating or binge eating because I am bored stuck inside ( I admit I stress eat sometimes). This is a great time to practice mindful eating.

My heart goes out to you and your loved ones. I know at this time everything is unknown which can be scary. Remember it’s important for us to be kind and show some love for one another as we are all in this together.