Are You Stocking Up ?

Start with what you know you can't do without
The Virus
What else for The Virus ??
What about germs ?
Does Lysol kill the Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)?
What about Food ?
What about nutritious foods ?
How Much Do I Stock Up On for Others?
I'm Not a Grocery Store !
What If It Isn't That Bad and I Don't Need It?

Once again this is just the basics. Many of my friends are preppers and know this. Feel free to skip or pass this on to one of those roll your eyes folks. You know who they are. LOL
Hmmmmm....... you see all this stuff on the net and tv. They show you empty food shelves and long lines at the stores with people loading up their baskets like crazy.
     Then you hear some officials saying...... Oh just stock up for a week or two. (This is to try and keep the supply chain working smoothly and stores from getting totally bare.) At anytime most stores only have a few days of stock on the shelves in most cases. When you have folks making a store run all at the same time with more than normal take home hauls the supply trucks just can't keep up with the demand. It's a mean little circle we get going here. 
   So should you or should you ?? 
Not like you have a lot of choice given the way folks naturally think and do. So what should you stock up on and how much ?? What are you worried about the most ??
Food and normal household operations ?
Cold medicines??
Cleaning and disinfection stuff? So many directions to go.
   A whole lot of this depends on how much money you have to spend available or how much you want to put on a credit card and worry about it later. Funding will determine a lot of what you get.
Start with what you know you can't do without .... prescriptions .... Any medicines your family takes on a daily basis is a good thing. Make sure all your prescriptions are current and you have bought whatever your allowed to have at one time. If you can fill it once a month and don't really use it all up ..... fill it anyway.  Not only is it nice to have the extra in case your low on money some day but a lot of a medicines are manufactured overseas. It's pretty hard to tell which ones are not made in the USA. So get what you can anyway when you can for all family members. Some medicines are getting in short supply but they don't tell you which ones. Ask your pharmacist, mine is not seeing any shortages at this time.   ( Don't forget your pet meds)
   The Virus  .... Right now the main concern is this virus. If and when you get it you will need things to help you get well and handle all the symptoms. Like any other cold or flu. You will need things for runny nose, chest congestion, cough drops,fever, aches and pains, muscle rubs for sore ribs from coughing for sure. There are a lot of over the counter things a person can use and stock up on. You get what works for you and your family. Whatever brand that is. Whatever works with the other prescription meds you may be taking for blood pressure etc. Don't just get some for one member of the family. You might as well get enough for each member. You know darn well everyone is going to share it once is gets in the house! Gee thanks ya'll !
What else for The Virus ??
    You really need to keep up your immunity with nutrition and healthy foods. If you take vitamins be sure to have those on hand for the next few months. Everyone is different. Some like to use a daily multi vitamin and figure their just fine. My doctors always want to make sure I am getting enough of certain ones and it just can't be covered in one multivitamin. If that's all you can afford it is a lot better than nothing. A lot of one a day type vitamins can have every one of these listed below on their list but not always in the amount that may work best for your body and the way it functions.
    This website has a list of what you should try to get enough of in your system.
https://takecareof.com/articles/what-vitamins-supplements-help-immune-system
If your diet does not provide adequate levels of any the following vitamins and minerals, your immune system may not be operating at its best:
    Vitamin B
    Vitamin C
    Vitamin D
    Vitamin E
    Folic acid
    Iron
    Selenium
    Zinc
  What about germs ? There are loads of home cleaning products from vinegar, to bleach and just plain hot soapy water that works in keeping the germ load down. Then there are store brands ( I've noticed Dollar General has a copy of Lysol products also). Personally I like Lysol because they have done the lab studies showing just how effective it really is. This is what Lysol says.
     Lysol disinfectant spray is a hospital-grade spray and kills 99.9 percent of viruses, including norovirus, which causes the stomach flu. It also eliminates 99.9 percent of bacteria and fungi, helping to control the growth of mold and mildew, remove odors, and prevent seasonal colds, flu, and allergies.
Does Lysol kill the Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)?
https://www.lysol.com/healthy-home/understanding-coronavirus/
Specific Lysol products have demonstrated effectiveness against viruses similar to 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on hard, non-porous surfaces. In accordance with the EPA Viral Emerging Pathogen Policy, the following Lysol products can be used against 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) when used in accordance with the directions for use.
  I have covered some of the basics on building our immunity up with more to come on that.
 What about Food ? What do you eat on a weekly basis? You know your going to need that every week so try to get what will not go bad and last for a month if you can. More if you can swing the money. If you have a freezer it is your best friend right now. Things like bread and other stuff that won't keep on the counter long lives a long time in the freezer.
    The hardest thing to stock up on and actually last is the fresh foods like veggies,eggs and milk. It will all last a little while in the fridge but give it a week and your wanting to chunk a lot of things. So this means you will run out of this for sure. It may be in the grocery store no problem then again if the world has gone nuts there may not be much in the grocery store. You never really know. Dried fruit, canned or dried veggies or frozen ( I would go canned because you run out of freezer too quick) will at least last a while on your kitchen shelf until you eat it.
  What about nutritious foods ? The fresher the better in most cases. Thank goodness spring is coming and some of us can grow some fresh veggies for the family or neighbors to put on the table. Things that have not been processed into cans, frozen dinners and handy dandy one meal boxes just are not the very best nutrition in most cases. In this situation with a bunch of sick people in the house and some of your either flat don't know how to cook or are too sick to cook it may be your best option.  There is something good to be said about pancake, biscuit mixes etc. in this situation. Most of these mixes you just add water because it has the eggs, milk etc. in it. That's a good thing when you can't get those fresh items very easy! Your not using up your fresh goods in the pantry.
     Soups with low salt, hot teas, cranberry juice, oatmeal, vegetable stews, chili's, (the hotter and spiciest you can stand). These are a few of the normal sick people foods most families do. Avoid using the microwave. It doesn't help good nutrition at all.
    Read the labels, avoid the sugars, high sodium, preservatives, MSG, when at all possible. Look for NON GMO and natural.
How Much Do I Stock Up On for Others?
There is a exception to what I said up above to try to get enough for a month for your family if you can afford it. Sometimes you have kids grown up and on their own some single some married or parents that are low on funds. They may live across town or a few towns over. If you able to purchase for the other family members no longer living at home to have on hand wonderful! Some of you probably have folks that roll their eyes thinking your crazy. That's ok, don't argue with them. If you want to buy for them do it just don't tell them. If things go upside down in the world around you and they are in need you will have it.   
I'm Not a Grocery Store !
No your not but by the time you get all stocked up with your needful things you will for sure look like one. LOL If your a neat freak and everything has to be in it's place or you go crazy ... Good Luck With That! LOL You have some secrets you want to share please let me know. Garages, empty bedrooms or home offices are nice clean places usually. You can stack neatly with similar items or buy shelves. Whatever works for you. Main thing is sanitation. Someplace you can have safe temperatures, away from mice and other creepy crawly's. Garages can be nice but mine gets so dusty and the occasional mouse so open shelves are not a good thing for me. Don't forget to use a marker and put the date you bought it on the item front so you can keep your stock rotated and fresh.
What If It Isn't That Bad and I Don't Need It?
Stocking up is like insurance.
You buy house and auto insurance and pay out the wazoo for it and still don't use it!
Stocking up insurance at least you actually get to use.
If everything stays in good order and the world around you doesn't go upside down that's a good thing!
Everything you may have stocked up on you will use eventually.
You will have learned how to better take care of your family in a bad bigger than you situation.
You may decide you want to continue to have items on hand and that it just makes sense.
You may figure out it sure is nice not to order in or go to the store so often for needful things.

Love
Ranchmama