This is a guest blog by Leslie Fastenberg, a friend of Imagine it Done.
I used to be in the emergency business, making kits for all sorts of emergencies that I called ICE-Qubes, for In Case of Emergency. We prided ourselves on making kits that worked in all emergencies, black-outs, floods, shut downs, earthquakes, storms, all familiar emergencies, but we never considered a pandemic.
Some of what is needed during this pandemic is similar to other emergencies, and organizing and preparing, even in this moment, as best you can under the circumstances, can make life easier down the line.
Being asked to shelter in place essentially, now called self-quarantining, requires little other than food planning and keeping you and your quarantine group sane.
Here are a couple of tips to make it easier.
Have cash on hand. Things can change quickly.
Refill prescriptions.
Plan your food options. You can still purchase fresh food, but rice, beans, pasta are staples.
Have basic first aid on hand. In this moment, handling things at home instead of going to a hospital is the new normal.
Cleaning supplies and paper goods are in short supply. Plan accordingly.
Have basic cold remedies on hand.
Stockpile soup!
But if you think a pandemic is bad, consider a pandemic during a bad storm.
Now is a good time to replenish batteries and flashlights.
Make sure the generator is serviced.
Here is where long-term food products are your insurance policy. Think what you’d like to eat if you had no access to food stores.
All this time at home is a great time to organize your important docs. To update, just shoot a picture on your phone and add to a new folder.
Stockpile some water.
There is no limit to how far you can prepare. All of it insures greater comfort to you and your family in a moment of difficulty. The unknown is always around the corner, these simple tips can make surviving anything easier.