If COVID-19 has taught us one thing, it is the importance of having enough food, water and other supplies on hand.
Now, we are not talking about going out and panic buying enough toilet paper to supply the entire National Guard. What we mean is thinking about what your household eats, drinks and uses in a reasonable amount of time, and having those essentials ready to go.
While nobody on Earth wants to deal with a pandemic again, the fact remains that emergencies and other unfortunate events can and do happen. In order to be proactive and prepared for any and all situations, it is important that you have a number of items on hand in your pantry, medicine cabinet, garage and/or basement at all times. Here are some ideas on items to stock up on.
3 Days’ Worth of Food
With COVID-19, many people have tried to stock up on food to last their household for at least 10 days. This made it really hard to find basic staples like rice, pasta, spaghetti sauce, tuna, soup and other shelf-stable foods. Moving forward, you should strive to keep a three-day supply of non-perishable food on hand. In addition, keep one gallon of water per person, per day for at least three days in your home — you can use this for drinking or sanitation purposes.
Plenty of Face Masks
You may be more than ready to toss your face masks when COVID-19 is in the rearview mirror, but there are plenty of other instances where having face masks in your home supply kit makes good sense. Let’s say next year’s flu season hits your town hard, or there is a brush fire close enough to cause you to smell smoke; while we certainly hope these things do not happen, having a couple of boxes of a high-quality mask on hand makes sense. For instance, the KN95 face masks from Green Supply are a great choice: they have a 95 percent filtration rate, so they are appropriate for a number of circumstances.
A Small Amount of Cash
When a major winter storm hits a region or a summer hurricane or tornado touches down, portions of a city can lose power. In many cases, stores and gas stations may not be able to run their computer systems, which means your debit and credit cards will not work. This is why keeping a small amount of cash in the home makes sense — maybe $50 to $100 or so, in a variety of bills and coins. This way, if you are suddenly without power but your gas tank is empty and your stomach is too, you can pay cash for fuel and food.
Okay, Okay … Toilet Paper, too
Keeping a reasonable amount of TP on hand is also a good idea. Other paper supplies like paper towels and tissues are fine additions to your pantry and bathroom supply closet. In addition to not wanting to suddenly realize you are out of any of these items when you really need them, like if company unexpectedly drops by, you are hit with a tummy bug or allergy season starts, you will be glad you have these paper products available.
A Few Words About Maintaining Your Supplies
While your paper products and other non-food supplies have an unlimited shelf life, your food and beverages need more careful storage and maintenance. As Ready.gov notes, keep your shelf-stable food in a cool and dry place, and keep an eye on the expiration dates, rotating, using and replacing the food as needed.
Be Prepared for Whatever Comes Your Way
We all hope that a situation like COVID-19 will eventually go away for good, never to return. But other emergencies, illnesses and issues can come up that will make you glad that you have a well-stocked pantry and home filled with many basic essentials.
