For those at zero, what should they buy for a month at home if they go to Sams/Costco tomorrow?
Beans, rice, canned veggies, powdered milk to start
Buy what you normally buy, just more of it. I’d plan for 6-8 weeks. Pay attention to perishables, of course. Some (like butter, cheese, cream cheese) will freeze. Also toss in a bag of rice, some beans and some spices. Just in case things go ‘full wuhan’. If this all passes over you’ve got groceries sorted for a while, enjoy spring/summer w/o having to trudge out in the rainstorms to get groceries.
Also buy stuff like toilet paper, bleach, lysol, etc. You will still use it. You will just be able to go longer w/o buying more if things don’t go mad max here.
We bought some electronic stuff we’d been looking at for a while but hadn’t gotten. We got a spare TV (found one for $99 at walmart), a spare DVD player, a replacement cell phone (my first FIVE choices were already sold out!), etc.
And anything ‘made in china’ or made elsewhere with stuff made in china. I bought some spare garden implements. Nothing much, just a cpl spades. Things I would find inconvenient to replace if they stopped showing up on the shelves and might have a tricky time finding a workaround.
Also batteries, candles and some flats of water. Just in case your area has a storm and the electric company can’t come fix stuff right away because they’re sick or under quarantine. This is ‘storm prep’ for us coastal people anyways.
I’d add a round of OTC meds you normally take. Stored properly they will keep for years (the pills/tablets, NOT the liquids, gels or etc). Those are largely made in china or elsewhere with ingredients made in china.
YMMV, of course.
Just think about it this way. What do I need if I cannot go out of the house for the next four weeks?
We should all already have local disaster prep, water, candles, food you can eat without cooking like peanut butter and jelly for those times you lose power during natural disasters.
For the possible desire to quarantine at home I am assuming I will still have water and power, but I always have a large stock of water anyway so right now I am prepping by simply asking myself, if I cannot get to the grocery or big box store for the next mont, what do I need to buy?
Good luck.
If you’ve got room in the freezer, buy some seeds. All kinds. Put each packet in a ziploc quart freezer bag, sealed. Then put the individual quart bags in a gallon ziploc freezer bag, sealed.
Store in the back of your freezer (or on the bottom).
Never hurts to have seeds regardless of what happens.
JMHO.