Sheltering At Home Essentials

Photo: Napa Valley Register

In the New Year I aimed to turn over a new leaf: In lieu of stocking up on supplies, I vowed to buy one, plus one of the common essentials like food, beauty and personal care items, or household cleaners. My reason was: Hey, I live 3 blocks from supermarkets and closer to drugstores, why should I continue to stock up as if I can't get to a store?

Well that was before COVID-19 hit us, and I'm definitely re-assessing the wisdom of that new course of action! My old habit will not change anytime soon!

For 2 months the following much-needed items have been sold out everywhere ... and seemingly they don't get restocked. Thankfully having a small stash at home has saved my butt!:

Photo: Austin Cronicle

• 70% isopropyl alcohol - I have 2.5 - 32 oz bottles
• 3% hydrogen periode - 1 - 16 oz bottle
• Clorex bleach - 1 - gallon bottle, 1 - quart bottle
• toilet paper - 1 - pack of 12 mega rolls (=48 small rolls) + 3 - individual mega rolls from the old pack
• 1 - 32 oz liquid soap and about 12 - bars of soap
• about 6 - mini hand sanatizers to carry in my purse

Fortunately, food has been easier to get. The supermarkets are sometimes out of stock of what you go for ... but you can make substitutions and not starve. Moreover, what helped me before our pandemic started is: 1) knowing exactly what I like and need; 2) buying the biggest package available; and 3) usually restocking before I completely run out. So I had the following in my cupboard but sometimes see an empty grocery shelf now:

• 64 oz bag of dry powdered milk + part of the old bag
• 5 lbs of unbleached all-purpose flour
• half of a 5 lb bag of whole wheat flour
• 4 lbs of sugar
• eggs - 2 dozen - I know it sounds crazy but I often buy 2 dozen when they are $1.99 each, which I did right before the pandemic. In the refrigerator, they never go bad on me. Good for puddings, cakes, bread, egg drop soup, tuna salad, french toast and snacks. They get eaten! Now they rose to $5 a dozen, which I will dislike paying while being grateful to get them!
• 4 - 16 oz boxes of whole wheat saltine crackers
• 5 lbs total of extra sharp cheddar cheese (my favorite snack! I tend to buy on sale and let them age longer. Little did I know, it also sets you up good to ride out a pandemic!)
• 5 cans of solid white tuna

  

  Photo: Duluth News Tribute

• 2 cans of Alaska wild salmon (I should've bought 5 cans!)
• 5 cans of sardines (because I don't rush to eat them!)
• pasta - different shapes - long spaghetti, bow tie, rigatoni
• Oatmeal - big Quaker (1-minute cooking) cylinder + a small cylinder (5-minute cooking)
• other whole grains - Quinoa + rice
• cans of tomatoes + sauce
• cans of kidney beans (for chili)
•  2 - 16 oz bags of dried pinto beans + split peas
• 1 - 3lb bag of cornmeal (I don't eat cornbread enough to buy a 5 lb bag.)
• 2 L bottle of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 - lb packages of butter
• 4 - 13 oz Chock Full o' 'Nuts Coffee
• wine and Champagne (delish with the cheddar and crackers↑)
• dark chocolate + Kraft caramels + SweatTarts

As I'm sure you will agree, Sheltering at Home has been nooo picnic, but at least I have the basics to get me through it! See you, my lovelies, during ... and on the other side!

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