Like it or not, the spread of the Coronavirus is making the average person into an apocalyptic doomsday prepper. You will find this to be a simple, sensible list of essential items needed for those of you who have turned to prepper mode for your survival.
Long-Term Water Preparation And Storage
It is good that you stock up on bottled water. You should also prepare yourself and loved ones for situations where you run out of water. Here are some items to help you with emergency situations where you are in need of clean water to survive:
- Water purification tablets
- Pool shock
- Water filter
- Ability to collect rainwater using special buckets and other items
- Ability to store water
Essential Food Items
Focus on protein as an essential component to keep you healthy. Yes, carbohydrates are important as well.
However, getting foods that are high in protein, especially ones with large amounts of omega-3 are going to be good for your mental capacity. Having a sharp mind is important in stressful situations.
Many people suggest that you get food that you like to eat. This is somewhat of a good idea since you will want to rotate your food storage. The issue with that approach is most people do not have the best diet for emergency situations.
They tend to pick food that tastes good instead of food that is healthy for them. In an emergency or long-term quarantine situation you need to eat to live, not live to eat.
Here are some basic and healthy foods that are essential to maintain your physical and mental health during critical times:
- Canned fish in the form of sardines, salmon, mackerel, or tuna. Please keep in mind that pregnant women are not supposed to eat canned tuna. It is best if you can avoid canned tuna. Canned sardines are much better for you. Here is a long post on the subject.
- Brown Rice. Do note that brown rice cannot be stored as long as white rice. That is why you see many preppers storing white rice in five-gallon containers in mylar storage bags. However, it is much healthier for you to eat brown rice. Also, it is more difficult to cook brown rice. Keep this in mind if you want something easier to cook. You will need every extra amount of nutrition during these times so that is why brown rice should be part of your prepping strategy.
- Whole wheat crackers
- Water-soluble vitamins that contain magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and essential vitamins and nutrients. Magnesium is one of the most underrated nutrients. It is critical that you have this when you’re not eating your normal diet. Magnesium keeps you mentally fit.
- Organic honey. This is a highly underrated food supply and should be part of your everyday diet.
- Organic garlic. Garlic is essential for a healthy diet. Do keep in mind the garlic does not last long so you can find good garlic supplements.
- Cliff protein bars or other high-quality protein bars. It is good to get a mix of protein and carbohydrates. Make sure that you read the ingredients so that you don’t end up with just a bunch of sugar or high fructose syrup bars.
- Dried fruit and nuts
- Instant coffee or tea
- Canned beans
- Dried beans
- Food thermometer. Thermometers are necessary for power outage situations. If you have refrigerated meats and other items you want to check the temperature to make sure that it stays at the right level.
- Iodized salt. This is critical if you are not eating a normal diet.
- Two manual can openers. You can open cans through other methods and long-time preppers will scoff at you for not being able to do so. Make life easy and make sure you have one and a backup.
- Don’t forget about your furry pets. Make sure you have plenty of food for them in food storage containers.
Medicine and Protective Gear For Emergency Situations
I must make the disclaimer that I’m not a doctor nurse or a licensed medical professional. I am simply letting you know what I normally use in preparation.
In particular, this list is focused on being prepared for the Coronavirus.
You should have masks for your protection and in case you get the virus. If you get the virus you want to prevent the spread of infection in case you are at home in a self-quarantine situation.
You will see countless articles on if the masks are effective or not. There are discussions as to why the average citizen should not be buying masks due to medical staff running out of stock.
The subject is complicated so do your own research.
The N95 is the most commonly suggested mask to prevent you from getting sick. In that same series, you will find the N99 and N100.
If you are sick you should wear a typical surgical mask. If people are in the house caring for you they should be wearing an N95 or another type of mask to lower the risk of infection.
Having proper surgical protective gloves might prevent you from getting sick. Make sure that you dispose of them properly.
Stock up on your personal prescriptions for up to 2 to 3 months, this can be difficult due to insurance reasons and the doctor not having enough stock or not prescribing enough for you. The more you can get the better.
Ibuprofen for inflammation.
Please pay attention to the information coming out from health professionals. There are mixed messages about ibuprofen. Some doctors have stated that if you take an anti-inflammatory it prevents you from getting better.
Vitamin C and lots of it. Try to get water-soluble vitamin C tablets. As mentioned above, magnesium and vitamin A are also highly suggested. Having multi-vitamin effervescent tablets can help keep you healthy as well.
During emergency situations, people can become dehydrated. Having a multi-vitamin containing electrolytes can help you if you experience dehydration.
If you have children make sure that you purchase high-quality chewable vitamins. Normally I would suggest giving chewable vitamins to children and instead would suggest that you simply feed them foods with the proper modern nutrition. However, in these situations, chewable vitamins are a good supplement to their diet.
Get a multipurpose first aid kit. You should have this on hand at all times in your home and vehicle.
Medicine for flu symptoms. The Coronavirus is not “just the flu bro”. But, it exerts many of the same symptoms. Be prepared with medicine to help alleviate similar symptoms.
You should have a thermometer for adults, children and infants. Make sure that you write down the temperatures. Keeping a record allows you to see the progress towards the positive or negative of the person who has fallen sick.
Natural remedies such as elderberry syrup should be part of your list. There are other natural remedies that you should look for as well.
Cooking And Food Preparation During The Coronavirus Outbreak
If you are under a normal quarantine and the power is on and you will have no problem preparing your meals. However, if there are issues with power you need to have a backup method for cooking.
This is not fear-mongering, it is simply making sure that you are prepared for the somewhat unknown. If you have a ton of dried beans and rice but no electricity to cook it then the food is worthless.
One of the most important rules is to make sure that you have three ways to start a fire. Being able to light a stove properly or build your own fire to cook over is crucial.
Here are a few items to ensure proper food preparation:
- All-in-one propane and butane stove
- Gas grill with an extra propane tank
- Solar stove
- Woodburning stove
- Outdoor cooking utensils if you do not normally cook in emergency situations
- Charcoal
- Waterproof matches, lighters, and the third source for starting fires.
- Keep in mind that you should never use gas grills or other outside cooking devices inside.
- If you have the funds please also purchase a fire extinguisher.
Sanitation and Cleanliness
With the Coronavirus, one of the main things that you will hear is that you need to keep everything clean and disease-free. That is true but also keep in mind that beyond just the virus you need to keep a clean environment.
If you are locked up in your house with your family for a long period of time cleanliness is one aspect that you need to pay attention to. Here are a few items to help you stay healthy and clean:
- Baby wipes
- Hand sanitizer
- Dry shampoo
- Bleach(Crystals for safe storage), Lysol, and other disinfectants
- Diapers(Stock up if you have kids)
- Feminine items
- White wine vinegar
- Temporary toilet. This is in cases where if you’re in the city and the sanitation system is no longer working.
- Paper towels and toilet paper
- Disposable eating utensils such as paper plates and sporks. Please buy only what you need just in case. Think of the environment since these will end up in a trash pit.
Emergency Lighting For Power Outages
Hopefully, you will not have to deal with long-term power outages due to the coronavirus. You should keep in mind that there are other natural disasters that can occur over the next few months.
If you experience a hurricane, tornado, or heavy storm you might be left without power for an extended time. In those cases, you will need your own lighting source.
This is important for not only your own personal use but also for protection as well. Here are some emergency lighting sources:
- Headlamps
- Flashlights
- Enough batteries for your headlamps and flashlights.
- Garden solar lights. These are cheap and durable. Make sure that you put these out in the sun each day.
- If you can avoid candles, propane lamps, and oil lamps it is best to do so. Although they are practical to use the do present a fire hazard. This is especially the case if you have children.
- Communication devices. Again, if all is well the world you will continue to have power delivered to your house and can pull up all the information on your smartphone. In cases where you do not have power, you need some sort of communication system. This can come in the form of an emergency radio with batteries or better yet a solar-powered radio. There are radios that have a hand crank as well.
Sources Of Heat During Power Outages
Even if you are living in a southern part of the United States or other parts of the world where it is typically warm or hot, it is good to have sources of heat. During natural disasters, the temperatures can drop dramatically in the evenings.
Here are a few items to keep you and your loved ones warm:
- Blankets and sleeping bags
- Wool hats and socks
- Gloves
- Hand and feet warmers
- Portable kerosene heater. Keep in mind that these can be very dangerous to use and should be used as a last resort.
- Tea light candles in a clay pot. As odd as it sounds, it works as seen here.
I do want to caution you about the use of cinder blocks. You can see where people show you how to use cement cinder blocks to build heating sources and cooking sources. Cement cinder blocks have been known to explode when heated to a certain level. It is best to avoid using them for cooking or other functions involving high temperatures.
Extra Items
These are extra items that you should purchase if you still have funds left after buying the essentials. Make sure that you focus mostly on water and food.
Have an adequate supply of both before you think about buying any extras above and beyond the essentials. Here are some other items that are nice to have:
- Board games or some form of entertainment
- Cards and instructions on how to play various games
- Hard candy if you have children
- Anything to keep children and young ones occupied
- A full tank of gas in all of your vehicles and extra gas in spare tanks
- Methods of exercise to stay in shape such as elevated push-ups and resistance bands.
What do you think?
What are the essential items needed to prepare for the Coronavirus?
What should I buy to be prepared for self-quarantine in case I catch the Coronavirus?
Where is the best place to shop, Costco, Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, BJ’S Wholesale Club, Amazon?
Is it too late to prepare for the Coronavirus?
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