Basic Pandmeic Preperation or Whats in your pandemic prep bag?

a reply to: face23785

"Prep" for most of us, is a little extra every time you shop; something that builds over time. If you are able, buy the things that you already use, and stock up on them. In some cases, you can save money buying things in bulk. If your finances don't allow it, then add a little more each time.

Thing about the things that you wouldn't want to, but could do without. Get more of the stuff you can't do without. My Darlin' and me like Charmin Ultra Strong. In normal times in the Cayman Islands, it might be rare every now and then. It is normal for us to have six -12-roll packages at any one time. These days, we have two dozen 12-roll packages. We have also considered what we would use in the absence of TP, and have voted for the time -honoured tradition of a washcloth that was often washed in the sea. We also have 120 rolls of Fiesta TP in the shed, which was purchased 15 years ago, and is thought to be just barely better than 600 grit sandpaper.

A lot of "prep" is thought. It is thought about how to do normal things in unusual times. Is fire important if you lose power? Can you make fire? Is a box of 'strike-anywhere' matches a good investment? What is the most efficient nutrition price-wise for your situation? Rice? Beans? Soy? Can you buy it in bulk? Is it something you regularly use?

Think about going through your normal day in the light of not making contact with people. Think about your normal day if there were no power, or you couldn't drive, or if the internet wasn't working. All of those things are currently thought to be improbable, but we really don't know. Much of "prep" is mental.

Please feel free to PM me if I can help further. ;o)

a reply to: argentus

This is all good advice. I've got some supplies, but only enough to last a week or two. I live in a rural area, so some things I could go out and get from my surroundings, food and water, firewood, etc. are all plentiful around me. Probably my biggest weakness is medical supplies. Getting the VA to give me extra medication to keep stockpiled is not gonna happen haha.

a reply to: FredT

When prepping for any emergency you should look at 3 things: home, vehicle and foot.

Home: unlimited supplies
Vehicle: limited to the size of your vehicle
Foot: what you can carry

An example would be water. You can have a 10000 gallon cistern but if you need to leave your home, you can't carry the cistern with you. If your vehicle breaks down, how much water can you carry or can you purify water (ie lifestraw).

Based on my experience taking care of sick people, there are some things I would stock up on. It really applies more to people who are staying at home rather than people in the woods. But most people are probably planning on staying home and just stocking up for possible supply shortages. Some of this stuff might seem silly or obvious but they're issues I had to deal with.

1. Do not underestimate how messy things will get. Forget about being "green", get disposable everything. You can never, ever have too much Kleenex and paper towels. Use paper towels to dry your self after showers and hand washing. You will also need tons of garbage bags and then a place to put all this garbage too. These are the type of things that will be in short supply because people don't realize how much they go through. I'm not kidding about this - for a family of four I would buy about 50 boxes of Kleenex and 100 paper towels.


2. You won't feel like cooking and doing the dishes (plus you don't want to be touching contaminated stuff). Get lots of paper plates and utensils along with a ton of single serve soup (either canned or make home made and freeze individual portions). Buy water with electrolytes and drinks like Boost.

3. In the newer washers, the hot cycle is not hot enough to kill germs on cloths. Test the water and if it isn't hot enough you can buy something like pine-sol to add to your wash.

4. Make sure bedding, pillows (especially pillows), and pjs are easily washable with bleach. Don't put a nice dry clean only king size comforter on your bed. Do not put sick people in a room with carpeting. (Probably best just to pull all carpeting up).

5. Know your and your family members personal normal body temp, so you know if you are getting a fever. Many people are like me and their normal temps are well under 98.6. Don't rely on the standard 100 degrees. There are different normal temps for babies, women vary during different times of the month, temps are lower in the morning, and older people have lower temps.