What Would You Do For the Next Quarantine?
Today it’s all about what would you do for the next quarantine? Over the past several weeks most of us have slowly transitioned into our new routines that are anything but what we’re accustomed to.
Hopefully, for the most part, families have been able to function without too many bloody noses and pulling hair episodes from kids, as well as mom and dad.
Some of us have had to do without certain essentials, while many men and women have been left at home without any work or any source of income. Keep reading to discover what would you do for the next quarantine?
What Would You Do For the Next Quarantine?
This quarantine experience has been like a vacation for some, while a nightmare for others, depending on one’s situation. These are things that we have learned from this quarantine and how we can prepare ourselves and try to be ready for the next quarantine.
Yes, there will be more, I’m not sure when, but this will not be our last.
Be More Prepared
Probably the first thing on everyone’s mind is that we ought to be more prepared for when another pandemic like this happens again.
Many Americans were caught with their pants down when it came to certain supplies such as toilet paper, masks, disinfectant wipes, and hand sanitizer, where there were none to be found.
While you can’t predict the unforeseeable future, it is possible to have a better list of supplies to have on hand the next time something like this were to come around.
Some of the items to consider having on your list are at least a month’s food supply, fluids like gatorade, toilet paper, diapers, handsoap, toiletries, batteries, and enough garbage bags to properly dispose of your trash.
This time around we were fortunate enough to still be able to purchase groceries at the store, but we could experience a worse scenario later on.
If you have pets, make sure that you have plenty of food stocked up and cat litter if you have a cat, as well as pet pee pads for those of you quarantined inside of an apartment or living without a doggy door.
Medical supplies, plenty of disinfectants, masks, pain reliever, and other over the counter drugs are good to have on hand as well.
If you require certain prescription drugs for your health, it’s important to talk with your physician about extra refills that can hold you over a month or two. People who have other family members living in their homes, particularly if they are older and more likely to be on medication should for sure have some extras available. I try to keep at least a 90 day supply of my critical prescriptions.
Be Prepared for Self Isolation
We were advised not to go to the hospital if we suspected that we may have contracted the virus. Instead, self-isolation was what was recommended, unless we were very sick.
We need to be better prepared if we, or one of our family members, were to get sick. Everyone needs to find an adequate and hygienic way to properly self-isolate in order to keep the sickness from spreading.
A room and bathroom (if possible) need to be set aside for the exclusive use of the affected person, and there should be no visitors whatsoever.
Stock Up On Entertainment
It’s inevitable that your kids will begin to get restless after several days of being cooped up inside. Having plenty of entertainment to keep them distracted is a good start. In case you missed this post: 13 Games I Recommend For The Family
Make sure to have plenty of coloring books, fun projects, videos, board games, and yummy baking recipes that you can make together.
Give One Another Space
When families are confined to their homes and are surrounded by one another for long periods of time, at one point or another, things are going to get a bit hairy.
Being quarantined close together is not our everyday norm and it’s natural for people to need some time and space away from one another after a while.
It’s best that no one takes offense to this, but to encourage this time by creating a space that everyone can escape to when family members start getting on each other’s nerves.
We’ve Been Given a New Perspective
One of the key things that we can take away from all of this is that we have a chance to take a look not only at our own lives, but we are also getting the unique opportunity of walking in someone else’s shoes for a short period of time.
We are given a different perspective and a small glance at how everyone and everything has to work together to make this thing called life, work. Even though it brings new challenges, I believe that it has made us better people because of it.
Some of us as parents have truly come to appreciate our child’s teachers and their patience and love they have for teaching our children each and every day.
Husbands that are working from home have a chance to see just how hard managing kids and keeping the household in order really is.
It’s forced parents to slow down and spend more time with their children, something that some children have desperately been missing. Millions of hard-working Americans have found out how uncertain and scary life can be for the unemployed.
It’s safe to say that many of us have developed a deeper appreciation and understanding of one another and may even be more thankful for the life that we’ve taken for granted for far too long.
And if you ask me, being thankful and more considerate of others is a pretty big deal.
Final Word
This quarantine chapter of our lives has certainly given us a new perspective on life and just how fragile it can be. I believe that it has also awakened several people up to the idea of preparing for emergencies.
They’ve learned that now it is the time to prepare, beforehand, instead of running to the grocery store after it’s already too late. What are some other things that you would do for the next quarantine to ensure the safety and sanity of all your family members? We will be even more ready for the next quarantine if we think about what we’ve learned and try to apply these life lessons. May God bless this world, Linda
Copyright Images: Cleaning Supplies Deposit photos_6818658_s-2019, Sick Child AdobeStock_329575427 by Gargonia
I will replace items used during quarentine
Hi Ruth, me too! But I will stock more snacks going forward. LOL! Linda
And thanks for the book suggestions. I know you’ll tout the cyber attack book when its available, and I’ll get that too.
My only thought would be that it falls over the winter months when the snow is waist high!!!
Hi Cindy, yeah, hopefully, you will have gas for the snowblower!! Linda
I wouldn’t do much of anything different. Maybe stock a few more items. We already have plenty of movies, books and games to play. It’s just the two of us. I have missed our children (5) and grandchildren (11) and great grands (3).
Hi Deborah, you have great grands??? I love hearing this! Life is so good with grand kids! Linda
I do! 4 generations of males on my husbands side! LOL We had 5 generations on my side of the family until about 2003 when my grandmother died. I lost my mother in 2007, and my MIL in 2017. Those were really hard.
Hi Deborah, oh my gosh!! I love hearing you have so many! I specialized in girls! LOL! My first grandchild was a boy. I never had brothers or sons, so my grandson Jake was truly a surprise to be a boy! It’s hard to lose loved ones but life brings us joy once again with the grandkids. We just sit around and watch them when they’re little. Our youngest is 12 so it’s a bit different now. Happy Mother’s Day, Linda
1 had 1 brother and 1 sister, bot older. My brother’s gone now. He had 1 son and my sister has 1 son.
I had 1 son and 2 girls and got 2 more boys when I married their dad.
First daughter has 4 children, 2 boys, 2 girls, oldest daughter has 1 boy
Oldest son has 3 children, 2 boys, 1 girl
Next son has has 2 sons, he’s married to my youngest daughter. (They never loved as bro and sis), they have 2 grandsons, 1 by marriage
Last son has 1 boy, 1 girl
CHRISTmas is lots of fun.
Hi Deborah, oh I love hearing this!! What a great Christmas you would have!! Life is so good with family!! Happy Mother’s Day! Linda
I’ve told family members to consider this episode a Blessing to wake us up, for us to consider what has happened a Dress Rehearsal for a bigger crisis and to get prepared, get a Game Plan for a grid-down (your idea of Go Home if phones stop working ‘ REALLY opened my eyes, thank you!). And especially to get their own homes stocked and prepared as if there may some day be an immediate lockdown – no grocery stores, nothing on the streets. ENJOY EACH DAY. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Thanks for all you do, Linda.
Hi Linda, I’m glad you saw my comment on if the phones stop working. The guy that taught me that is a Cyberspace/Attack Specialist. He’s written half of his book, I’m reading it right now. It gives me chills because he believes what I believe, a grid down is coming. I hope you have read Lights Out by Ted Koppel. One Second After is okay, but I like real people who are quoted about power grids. I totally agree with you, this was a dress rehearsal of sorts. ENJOY EACH DAY!! You nailed it! Happy Mother’s Day, Linda
And HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to you and your daughters, and to all the super-smart Moms who follow your posts!
I’ve been trying to prep for when the grid goes down. I figured it would have already happened. We lose power quite often here where I live. East Texas. Not in town, but 5 minutes away from a town of around 3,000. I’m trying to talk hubby into some raised beds for gardening. We love home canning our food, but since we’re retired, and old, so it’s not easy to do. I do love me some veggie dinners.
HI Deborah, I turned 70 this year and I’m really the only one in the family that likes to garden. Mark will help and of course, he loves to eat what I produce, LOL! I have raised beds, now that I’m older I would like 24 inch high raised beds. It’s not going to happen, but I can dream. I’m worried about a Cyberattack right now. I’m working with a Cyberattack specialist and it will happen. It’s not if, but when. Stay safe, Linda
I agree. That is what I’ve been prepping for. I need to make us a Faraday cage to put my cell phone in and our iPads. They are supposed to stop an EMP from destroying them. Hubby can’t help too well with gardening. He’s had back surgery and his rods have come loose. He also has chronic and acute pancreatitis. He doesn’t travel well so I do all the shopping that is done locally. He shops online. And he’s good at it.
Hi Deborah, I struggle with making a Faraday cage for anything. It may be because I’m missing something. If we are hit with an EMP our phone would be dead before we ever put it in the Faraday Cage. This is why I have never recommended one. I’m not saying don’t make one, it’s just me. I can’t store all my electronics in one because I use them daily. I would love to hear thoughts because I’m open to why we need one. I know people write about them all the time, but they make no sense to me. Please help, Linda
I have a few galvanized metal trash barrels lined with cardboard and sealed with aluminum (conductive) tape as my faraday cages. But I don’t store my everyday electronics in them, just devices I’d like to have for post EMP – flashlights, radios, walkie talkies, a portable DVD player, solar battery chargers, an old Kindle (e-reader) and an old smartphone. Actually another smaller barrel has my civil defense radiation meters, dosimeters, chargers plus one radio and two flashlights.
My everyday items that need charging I don’t worry about protecting since we likely won’t have any warning, although if we do I’ll do what I can without risking my other gear. But for small items like flash drives, I put those in an altoids tin overnight since they don’t need to be charged. Might be a waste of time since I’d have to find a computer that wasn’t damaged to read it out, but I had the tins and it just takes a moment to store them away for the night….
To sum up, given the lack of warning for any EMP event, it doesn’t make sense for your everyday gear. But it makes a lot of sense to think what small electronics would be useful post EMP and store those devices safely. And remember you’ll need a way to keep them powered, so rechargeable batteries and solar battery chargers are key.
And since living in the Northeast I’m likely downwind of several nuclear power plants, I consider it critical to have radiological measuring gear protected and available for post event…otherwise I’ll have no idea if I need to shelter or if it’s safe to be outside. Is this overkill? Probably, its worth it to me just in case.
Hi dmwalsh, nothing is overkill to me. I admire what you’re doing. Linda
Linda,
I read your email every day and print them out to share with friends that are not on the internet. We try to stress being prepared with our women’s group at church and I plan to have a nice get together to discuss what went well and where improvements need to be made once we are able to gather again. You have so many good ideas and I love sharing them with my sisters.
God bless you!
Hi Amy, your words mean so much to me, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I pray others will be prepared for the next quarantine or whatever comes our way. We will hopefully be prepared one step closer. May God bless you! Happy Mother’s Day, Linda
I would most likely retire from my housekeeping jobs if this happens during winter, as I am prone to bronchitis at that time of year, as are my friends I clean for. We are all in the over 65 group… lol! I would not want to spread or share viruses with them.
If this happens in fall or winter…..Would stock up on comfort foods, as well as a few more snack type goodies. Would double hand sanitizer stockpile, as well as the natural cleaning products I use. Would make sure to have vitamin & herbal supplements stockpiled, as well as my homeopathic remedies and essential oils supplies topped off.
Would finally build the canned goods dispensers so I could store and better organize the rotation of our frequently used soups, veggies, meats, etc. Would increase pet food & livestock supplies to 3 – 6 months worth. Would be expanding our NW Florida growing season by using hoops & row covers over winter crops.
Would be looking for ways to create extra income…. perhaps by growing garden plant starts or selling any extra livestock.
Most of this we’ll be doing in the next few months anyway…. This has been a wakeup call for most of our family and friends all across the nation. All of a sudden, we aren’t so crazy after all!
Hi BDN, as a mom or dad whoever takes the lead in each family for preparedness, hooray for them! Mark has always supported me in anything I do. BUT, I’m more concerned about power outages, contaminated water, communication issues, and a total economic collapse compared to Mark. I don’t sit around and worry, but I read constantly. Is it because I’m left-handed? I don’t know, but I love learning and sharing what I learn. I know you do as well because I have learned a lot from you! Stay safe! Linda
I would stock up more on puddings, graham cracker crumbs, and quick baking supplies. I would freeze dry more ground beef and pork. I would be more adventuresome in my freeze drying. I would check my supplies and keep a record of where they were at. I thought I had wheat gluten and I looked in both storage areas, couldn’t find it. I ordered another 4 pound bag, and sure enough I found the original bag in my large proofing container. Actually, I’m organizing and listing now as DH was on the search for hot sauce, and I can’t find where I put it! At least I know where it isn’t. I will make more apricot jam this year, last year we thought 8 pints would be enough for the two of it, it makes great cookie filling and I ran thru my supply by Christmas.
Hi Linda, oh I love your comment! It’s crazy I think every prepared person had a few holes in their preps! I know I did. I realized I only had one small container of mustard and ketchup. I buy small containers because they work great for 2 people. But when you run out, you’re out! LOL! I would stock more treats, crazy, Mark and I ate way too much ice cream during this quarantine!! LOL! It’s crazy when we put something somewhere so we will remember where we put it. LOL! Most of the time! I need hot sauce stocked too! LOL! Life is so good! Happy Mother’s Day, Linda
I feel that I was pretty well prepared for this pandemic but I do have a few minor holes in my preps. I certainly will keep the masks I made for myself AND get a good supply of N95s for my stockpile once this pandemic is under control. I also want to get a few more dehydrated/freeze dried items to beef up my long-term storage. And of course I want more of the cleaning/sanitizing products. Something that I read on another blog was that sanitizing wipes can be reconstituted if they dry out by dampening them with distilled water – Linda, do you know if that is actually true? Sounds feasible but not sure if the wipes dry out if they are then no longer valuable as sanitizing wipes???
Before our current (still ongoing) lockdown/stay home situation, I did a 30 day pantry challenge where I removed everything from my cupboards. I cleaned the cupboards and took an inventory of what I had, best by dates and posted the document in the cupboards. I put the documents in protectors and left check boxes next to the items. For example, if I had 5 of something, I left 5 check boxes and as I used the items, I checked them off with a dry erase marker. That way I always knew what/how many I had on hand. It has helped me plan my meals AND my shopping!
I would also and am looking into getting a really small freezer so that I can save more leftovers for such times. As for snacks, I am not sure how that would look because my snack of choice is potato chips and those don’t store well!! The things I typically purchase now are fresh fruits/veggies and other perishables such as dairy, and some meats. Other than that, I have not had to purchase much of anything in the last 3 months.
I also think that I will be printing out a lot of the recipes that I have found that use the pantry items I have on hand in the event that we lose power and I cannot access those recipes on my computer. I am also going to beef up my stock of butane cans for my one burner camp stove as well as small canisters of propane for my propane lantern (I have a few cans of both but not enough for a longish power outage). I also want to go over my bug out bag(s) and make sure that I have all the things that I want in them.
Of course this post is about the next quarantine so most of the things I will do for that will not be as easily transported as for my bug out bags but we will need to be up and running with all scenarios. It all comes back to being prepared for all contingencies (in my opinion).
Hi Leanne, great tip on the dry erase marker!! I have always said baby wipes, even if they dry out, will work if you add water to them. It doesn’t have to be distilled water, but if you are looking for sanitizer wipes that’s another story. I just printed out about 25% of my recipes on my blog so I have them in printed form (besides my cookbooks or in my head recipes) LOL! Happy Mother’s’ Day, Linda
Bleach based products can’t be stored long term, unless it’s in dry powder form. So those sanitizing wipes that use bleach aren’t good past 6 months or so in storage. But you could use them by refilling it with a bleach solution rather than just plain water. I tend to use the Ebola disinfecting ratio of 1 part bleach and 9 parts water. This solution can also be used with a ziplock bag and paper towels to make some DIY sanitizing wipes. But please note that this is a pretty strong solution and isn’t safe for hand washing, so gloves are important!
Of course if an event goes past 6 months, then you’ll need pool shock or calcium hypochlorite stored to make your own bleach. I have a few bags of calcium hypochlorite stored along with protective gear and plastic measuring spoons so I can make bleach that is safe to use for drinking water sanitization. I want to emphasize plastic measuring spoons since bleach powder will eat through metal over time. Also. some pool shocks have algicides or other ingredients that aren’t safe for use in drinking water, so be careful when choosing a brand.
The CDC has some infographics on making sanitizing solutions from bleach or pool shock, and on making a hand washing solution as well:
https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/3.5-percent-chlorine-bleach-solution.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/pdf/cleaning-hand-washing-with-chlorine-powder.pdf
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/26161
Hi dmwalsh, thanks for the tips and the links!!! Linda
I’m not changing much. I did good and saw it coming in plenty of time to get the unusual supplies. That combined with my preparedness lifestyle was more than ample with just a few holes. Those were providing supplies for the daycare that stayed going, diapers and wipes for the grands and perhaps more barbed wire.
I’m law enforcement so it’s to work everyday til I retire within the next year.
I’m continuing on in preparedness and adding every payday and building every chance I get in downtime.
I, too, would probably not change much. I’ve been preparing for this type of scenario most of my adult life. Also, I grew up on a small ranch so it’s been embedded in me forever. My husband and I are over 65, both in a high risk group so we’re still staying home even tho our governor has started Phase 1. I’ve been home for almost a solid 8 weeks now so what’s another couple of weeks? We have a basement with all our supplies in it so we had plenty of toilet paper, cleaning supplies, food in our big freezer, medicines, etc. I have an endless supply of movies, books and quilting projects. I have my own long-arm machine so I can even finish those quilting projects! :o)
I discovered WalMart was the best place to order groceries for delivery without any hidden or surprise fees (I’m talking to you InstaCart!) and they were fast and efficient. I only needed to order fresh foods for replacements. I’ve managed over time to get samples and such from doctors so I even have extra prescription (not alot, but some). I agree that when this next wave happens it will probably be in Fall/Winter. Ugh. Shoveling snow is NOT fun … and it seems each year we need to take our self-propelled snowblower in for some reason because it won’t start. Maybe that snow will just pile up. I have a ton of fruit coming on on my peach, apricot and cherry trees. No scurvy here! We’ll have plenty of fruits. We even have cordwood for our woodstove.
I’m very blessed. I’ve listened and paid attention, read books and most importantly, READ THIS SITE to find out more information, details. Linda, you do an amazing job and without you, we wouldn’t be nearly this well off for these types of scenarios!
One thing we did right away was purchase more dog food for our medium sized dog. With pets, it is very important to consider their water needs, especially if you are in a very hot place like the AZ desert as we are. The hand sanitizer was an area that I didn’t have so much of, so I’ll be stocking up on that as needed. I have made masks for us and elderly neighbors too, but need some N95 masks in storage. I will also increase vegetable garden seeds in our seed banks as some places are out. Garden supplies are very important for fresh lettuce and vegetables even if you just grow in small spaces. We have prepped for several years but this still taught us lessons about conserving not knowing when we could replace dairy and fresh fruit/vegetables again. Since I bake, I usually have a good amount of flour, baking supplies, and yeast on hand. Adding more FD meats and poultry which is so very convenient when making smaller meals. I liked your comment about giving each other space when in SIP orders are in effect. I have had to learn to not take things personally when my husband says things as he is in early stages of dementia; some days are fantastic and others are not. So I have learned to take a walk with our dog early in the morning and rest when I need to.
HI Carol, I’m sorry to hear your husband is in the early stages of dementia, that’s a tough one. It’s good you are taking a walk with the dog. We have had several neighbors in our neighborhood with dementia and it’s tough. It’s a 24/7 hour job. We had one gentleman in our neighborhood where we would give him a break and sit with his sweet wife so he could go out to lunch with the “guys” in the neighborhood. It was a much-needed break for him. And for those of us who helped we remembered his wife before she had dementia. We loved her and we were happy to help. They didn’t have family living close so the neighbors wanted to help. It was truly a blessing for all of us. You are doing a good job prepping, we were all shocked by the hand sanitizer, bleach, and toilet paper. Crazy, please take care of yourself, hugs from Utah! Linda
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers out there! And all who aren’t mothers, too! Have an awesome Sunday.
Hi Deborah, thank you so much!! Linda
I was quite amazed that we didn’t run out of anything. We had just been to Sam’s Club the week before everything went sideways. I even had enough food storage to share with my son and his family. I have baked a lot of breads over the past 2 months. ( a lot more than usual). I gave breads to my neighbors and they gave me eggs. I think we may have ordered food out 2 times through all of this. I have only ventured out in public 2 times since March 15 th, both were to doctor appointments this past week. My daughter in law and son in law both have ‘essential’ jobs ,so they were out nearly everyday. I have all the ingredients to make baby wipes and sanitizing wipes,but we didn’t need to do that. I want to thank you for giving us all the info we need to be ready for anything that can and will come our way. God bless and keep you safe. Love in Christ, Judy
Hi Judy, wow is this great news!! You were one prepared chick!! that’s a compliment, girlfriend! I love hearing you make lots of bread to share with others and you were able to get eggs! Happy Mother’s Day! Linda
If I can find a ghost town in the area of the country I want to live in then I will buy it and renovate about ten of the homes there and invite family and a couple good friends to come live there with us, Then I would stock up on everything we need before any pandemic came along to keep everyone safe.
Jackie
HI Jackie, oh my gosh, what a great idea!!! Linda
Only thing I didn’t have was boxed milk. Powdered milk just isn’t the same in my morning cereal, so for the next event I’ll make sure I have enough boxed milk on hand to match the cereal I have stored.
And I’ll definitely stock a bit more paper products and hand sanitizer, since it didn’t sink in that I’d be sharing with relatives who don’t live that close to us. I actually had to mail hand sanitizer to some relatives since the husband is in treatment for cancer and needed more than they had planned on. I had plenty that I bought before the panic buying, so it wasn’t a problem for us during this event, but want to be ready for the next event….
Otherwise I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing and of course, keep an eye on the horizon for the next proverbial storm clouds.
HI dmwalsh, my husband doesn’t care for the instant milk I bought either!! I’m glad to hear you could get some hand sanitizer to your relatives. Yes, the proverbial storm clouds….we will get through it! Linda
How are you making the baby wipes and sanitizing wipes? Thanks!
Hi Jane, I’m actually working on the pictures right now. The problem is the shelf-life is for sure a lot shorter than the packaged ones. BUT, if we need to have them I will show people how to make them. Linda