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We now live in a world of a pandemic. Many things have changed concerning everyday life. People are staying home more, not visiting family or friends, and most have canceled travel plans.
One other change that I have seen, is the increase in people who are prepping. I consider this a good thing because the more people that are prepared of the unknown, the better we all will be.
The only downside to this is prepping supplies demand has increased, and companies cannot keep up. This has especially affected the long term food industry where there were shipping delays seen at the beginning of the pandemic.
We now have to make adjustments to our plans and purchases.
How Things Have Changed
In the now pandemic world we have seen changes made in how we live and we must adjust how we prepare as well. Products are in short supply, but luckily the long term food industry is catching up and shipping times are getting better. Limits on certain products were put in place in stores around the country, and these seem to be easing as well.
Sporting events are being canceled, and people are wearing mask with social distancing signs everywhere.
With these and other changes occurring, we must now take into consideration our emergency plans and make changes as needed.
You may have an evacuation plan in place for emergencies, but are you planning on staying with family or friends? Will they still let you evacuate to their location with the pandemic occurring? Are they willing to let you stay in a shelter, but not inside their residence with them? Is a hotel your plan, and what changes have they made? These are some things we now must consider and change our plans as needed to ensure there is a place to evacuate to.
You do not want to evacuate and show up at your planned location only to be turned away and left scrambling.
This is just one area where you need to reevaluate you plan. Take the time to review and ask how the pandemic has affected this part of my plan. There may only be a few areas that need to change, but now is the time to review and adjust the plan.
How We Prepared Before
Before the pandemic, it was easy to just go to your favorite merchant and order products you needed for your kits and plans. Stocking up on can goods was simple as you could go and make purchases as needed. Some items have limits on the now, and buying in bulk is a little more difficult. You have to make more trips to the store to get your food levels where you want them now.
We also didn’t have to be concerned with products being out of stock or have shipping delays because of demand. The days of, I think I am going to stock up on can goods today, or I am going to order some long term food this week is gone.
We now have to plan how we prep a little more. It is still easy to prepare, but it can take longer to get supplies together now. Deliberate planning will make the stress of “oh they are out of this or that, what am I going to do” be less.
Plan, execute, and have a backup plan if you cannot execute your original plan.
What Needs to be Added to Supplies
There are a few items you will want to add to your supplies and bug out bags with the pandemic around. Of course, you will need face mask for each member of your group, but make sure you have several cloth masks that can be replaced if contaminated. The disposable mask are harder to find in bulk, but if you can find some, these can be easily tossed and replaced compared to the made cloth mask that would require cleaning if contaminated. It may take some time in gathering the amount of mask you want, but work toward that goal as you can.
Hand sanitizer, soap, disinfectant wipes, and spray are other items you will need to consider now. Finding these items still proves difficult, and the prices have seemed to increase, but each time you are in a store keep an eye out for these items. If you see them then buy them because it may be awhile before you see them again.
Any item you have trouble finding needs to be looked for regularly until you meet your desired stock level. This is difficult and can be time-consuming, but you will be the one that doesn’t have to worry about not having them when you need them the most. I have seen some of these items in different dollar stores, and it seems people do not think to look in these stores for high demand items, so checking there may actually benefit you.
Make Sure you Have Basic Essentials for Evacuations
There could come a need where you must evacuate your home with the virus still around. To do this safely, you will need to add your new necessary supplies to your bug out bag. Go ahead and get extra masks, sanitizers, soap, and disinfectant, so when the time comes, you will not put you or your family at risk when you need to seek shelter with others who may not have masks.
You may also want to consider adding disposable gloves to your bag as well, but this is not as important as the mask and sanitizer. These can be difficult to find as well, but if you see some, grab them.
It is crazy that we now need to consider these items with other bug out gear, but this is the world we have at the moment.
Now is the Time to Check and add To BOB
I have said a few times now that we need to get new items together for our protection, but I feel that this is important and should not be put off. We all have a lot going on in our lives and the last thing any of us want to do is add more to our plate. Unfortunately, now IS the time to get things together.
We have to get our necessities a little different now, and may have to spend more time doing this, but taking that time now will actually give you peace of mind. If nothing else, take the time to make a plan on how to get what you need, and designate a few hours each week to execute the plan.
What you do not want to wait on is getting masks and other items now necessary. Take the time very soon to check your bug out bag and add the new items. Do this and you will feel much better for your family’s protection.
Conclusion
If another shut down occurs, would you have enough food in your home to last, or will you make a mad dash to the store with the masses, finding the shelves bare, left standing trying to figure out how you will now feed your family, or when the store will resupply?
You can be proactive and make sure you have what you may need, or you can wait and take your chances with many others. The simple and less stressful thing to do is to start now and supply your home. You can do a little each week if necessary, but waiting too long may leave you scrambling unsuccessfully.
As always, please comment your thoughts on this topic. Did I miss something you feel important? I want to know.
Happy prepping!!
