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Quarantine Prep List

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Quarantine Prep List

If the government is suggesting that you should have two weeks of food on hand I am suggesting that you should have two months on hand. FEMA used to suggest only three days of food and supplies, however, due to their response times during recent disasters they now suggest two weeks of food and supplies.

Buy what you can afford and buy what you will actually use!

It is also important to realize why you need these supplies and what you should do with them. Many are being criticized for buying up all the toilet paper in the country, and all though it is a bit unnecessary it is not totally unnecessary. You want to buy supplies that will keep you at home and comfortable. Going to the store for toilet paper when supplies are low in general and people are upset and hungry is a stupid idea. Look how people behave on Black Friday, and that is for a holiday, not survival.

The list below is your starting point and it will help to cover the basics. You will need to tailor this to your family and their particular needs.

Warning On Third-Party Price-gouging:

There are links n this post that are Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the products I am suggesting. I do get a kickback but it doesn’t change the price you pay. That being said with the current environment a lot of items are really expensive. Use these links to guide you but please search the web and local stores before making a final purchase. Amazon is trying to control this but it is out of hand. N95 masks that were a dollar apiece are now$20-40 bucks apiece. Please just be mindful!

Food

Pro Tip: Buy what you actually eat so you can use these supplies as a “home store” when you are not in a mandatory or volunteer quarantine. The best rule to live by is “first in first out” with your inventory. I write the date of purchase on each item to ensure I use it in the correct order. Once I use an item I add it to our shopping list so our supply remains consistent.

  • Canned soups and stews

  • mac n cheese

  • Dried Pasta

  • Rice

  • pasta sauce

  • Dried Beans

  • canned veggies: corn, green beans

  • Canned beans

  • Chicken Stock

  • Beef Stock

  • canned fruit: peaches, pineapple

  • Top Ramen

  • Chicken Noodle Soup

  • dried fruit

  • beef jerky

  • Tuna

  • Canned Chicken or Salmon

  • Spam if you like it

  • Olive Oil

  • Salt

  • seasonings: pepper, Garlic powder, Italian, Hot sauce, Soy, etc

  • Pancake mix

  • Oatmeal

  • Cream of Wheat

  • Cereals

  • powdered Drinks: think rehydration like pedialyte powder , Liquid IV and Gatorade

  • kid friendly drinks

  • Coffee

  • Teas: add some that are immune-boosting

  • flour

  • sugar

  • Almond milk: It’s shelf-stable

  • treats for the kids

  • Water

  • Mres

  • Freeze-dried foods

  • A Sharpie to date your products

  • Pet Food

    Medicines:

    Medicine is crucial especially any personal meds you or your loved ones need to take. A lot of medicines come from China and that supply chain is currently slowed down so as people get sick meds will start to become scarce. Tell your doctors what you are preparing for and they will most likely try to help you.

    Important point on CoronaVirus: After talking to nurses and doctors they suggested to stock up on Tylenol to help break one’s fever if you get sick. The stress here is it needs to be Tylenol due to the main active drug acetaminophen. They also suggested a decongestive like Mucinex as its a respiratory illness and you will want help in breaking it down and getting your lungs clear. You should just incase have supplies of these for your children as well.

    These medicines will not save you and do not replace professional medical attention. However, these supplies can help you take care of minor issues at home keeping you out of the hospitals as they will be overrun

    MEDICAL ITEMS:

  • Tylenol for fevers:

  • Mucinex for decongestion

  • Back up personal medications: Ask your doctor for a larger supply

  • first aid kit Start basic and grow from there

  • Anti-diarrhea

  • Upset stomachs / Anti-nausea

  • children’s Tylenol

  • Children’s Mucinex

  • Emergen-C- vitamin drink

  • Vitamins

  • Rubber gloves: Be sure to get the right size for your hands

  • Allergy Medicine

  • Pet’s Meds

Hygiene

  • This is where you need to think for a moment on worst-case scenarios and what you may have to deal with. If there’s a major virus on the loose you will need to be cleaning constantly. If someone is sick you will need to be cleaning their bedding and clothes often on top of the normal laundry. For this, you may want to bag up bedding and clothing to keep outside until the washer is available. You might not have regular garbage service so having extra trash bags can come in handy. When cleaning up after a sick person you may want to use gloves or give them an N95 mask to wear while you're in the room.

    Once again, buying extra of all of these items will keep you at home and away from the general population. They are also items you will use throughout the year so they are not going to go to waste!

  • Soap

  • anti-bacterial soap

  • dish soap

  • laundry soap

  • Rubbing Alcohol

  • Bleach

  • Sanitizer

  • rubber gloves

  • googles

  • N95 masks

  • Garbage bags

  • Lysol spray

  • Lysol wipes

  • toothpaste

  • mouth wash

  • hand sanitizer

  • paper towels

  • toilet paper

  • Hydrogen peroxide

  • Distilled Water

Basic Supplies:

What are your daily routines like and what supplies could become limited if your quarantine goes over your estimated time? How can you entertain your kids? What if the family shows up who is not prepared? What basic items can you stock up on so as to avoid having to send a member out into the general public to find that item? Here are a few items we have stocked up on:

WARNING ON LONGTERM FOOD PURCHASE: 3-14-20

Please Note that most longterm food solutions are currently two months back-ordered and folks are price-gouging customers. I recommend buying directly from the companies themselves to avoid third party markups.

Security Preps

You will need to consider your ability to secure your preps and family members. No one wants to think about this, however; it is true that hungry and scared people do horrible things. Invest in some form of protection within the laws of your area and do so today! If you have the chance to train and take lessons so you can handle a firearm or your choice of weapon safely.

Here are a few suggestions based on what’s readily available and effective:

Non-lethal Options:

All In Options:

It’s important to understand that there are thousands of options here and a thousand opinions to back those options up. I am focusing here on the best quality weapon for the price and for how common it is. The more common the weapon the more likely you can find parts and ammo in a prolonged crisis.

  • Handgun: Glock 19- 9mm: Recommended because it’s a reliable workhorse that won’t let you down. Also, it’s a very common round and gun so you should be able to find parts and ammo if needed in a longterm conflict.

  • Shot Gun: on a budget the Mossberg Maverick is amazing. This is a pistol grip foldable stock shotgun for about $269. I hate pistol grips because they pack a punch but in a life or death interaction that won’t really matter. But by having a compact shotgun you can move around corners discreetly in a house and still be ready to fire. If you move outside and have more room you can expand the stock and have a-full shotgun to shoot.

    I would start looking for firearms in these two departments…9mm and shotguns. I own many other styles of weapons however, these are the ones I would suggest starting with. You can always buy a 45 or an Ar-15 if you feel that’s appropriate. Again like all areas of prepping start small and grow from there!



What else would you add to the list?

Comment below