Fear itself is an unproductive emotion/reaction... It does not get anything done. Fear should be the impetus towards action. Use fear to eliminate the source of the fear by implementing a course of productive and useful actions.
You do not have to be a "prepper" to be prepared. Let's first start by contemplating some of the realistically worst possible scenarios.
SCENARIO A: You may be in an area where you might be potentially exposed to someone with the virus. In this case, you may be looking at a self quarantine period of 14 days.
SCENARIO B: You may contract the virus, come down with a mild sickness which self resolves, and you do not need hospital services. In this case, you may be looking at an isolation period of up to a month, from potential exposure to final clearing of any positive viral samples.
SCENARIO C: You may contract the illness and it may be serious enough to require a hospital stay. In that case, you will still be required to remain in isolation at home upon discharge. That period of isolation may take up to 20 days. Thus add 14 to 20 and you will get 34. Let's round the number out to 40 for more convenience...
So, from considering all of the possible scenarios, you will realistically be facing up to 40 days of being potentially unable to go out and procure supplies. You would want to prepare enough food and household essentials to last this while, supplemented by online orders and deliveries, if possible. However, I like to be as completely self reliant as can be so let's create a list of the best foodstuffs you can prepare:
Assuming the worst, a period of more than a month of isolation, your most important thing to consider is proper nutrition. You will not be able to function without proper nutrition, and if you do get sick, you will not be able to properly recover without the proper nutrients.
1. Spaghetti and other dry pastas: The BEST in long term preps aside from military rations. Pasta has a very long shelf life and boxes can be stacked with minimal occupation of space.
2. Spaghetti sauces like Ragu and Prego also have extremely long shelf life when unopened. Most importantly, they are rich in nutrients and Vitamin C and each serving equals up to 1.5 servings of fresh vegetables. Here is a tip to maximize storage for jars of sauce, place a sheet of hard cardboard over the bottom level of jars before you stack more on top of them.
3. Olive oil. Extra virgin. Another essential source of lifesaving antioxidants that go extremely well with pasta dishes.
4. Other dried noodles such as Sau Tao Shanghai, Guangdong and Udon noodles, along with dried and powdered seasoning packets or bottles. NOTE: These are NOT meant to replace the above. These noodles and seasoning combos only provide protein and carbohydrates. Vitamins, antioxidants and other essential nutrients are very low in the seasoning mixes. You can have these just to break the monotony of your daily meal routine but REMEMBER that you must have at least 1-2 servings of fresh vegetables or the equivalent every day.
4. Fresh fruits are yet another essential item that you need to maintain healthy living. However, fresh fruits spoil if too much is stockpiled. Therefore, keep a regular and reasonable stock of these, preferably apples, since they do pack the most amount of antioxidants in a single serving. If in case you might run low on fresh apples and you want an alternative to canned and jar fruits, I have found dried Chinese Goji berries (wolfberry) to be an excellent and long lasting source of fruit based nutrients too. Wolfberry is actually one of the MOST antioxidant rich fruits in the world and at one time, they were only available to members of the Chinese imperial court due to state decrees on production sources. Black market seeds and sprouts were extremely high demand and were actually used as a source of currency on the Silk Road trading routes in the western region of the Chinese empire. Goji berries are available in all size plastic satchels at any Chinese or Korean supermarket. They last just as long as pastas as long as they are kept in a cool, dry and dark place after they are opened. To use, place 1-2 tablespoons in a coffee mug and steep in boiling water like you would do with tea. Let steep with lid on until cool. Drink the entire cup and then eat the berries, which should be succulent, soft, and sweet by then. They have a strong, pleasant raisin/cranberry flavor.
Goji berries.
5. Other sources of important nutrients will be dried nuts like walnuts. At any regular time, I have no less than 5 pounds stored away in a cool and dry area. If you are a coffee drinker, coffee is also essential to have on hand.
6. Rice and other grains. Also long lasting sources of protein and carbohydrates, providing that you can obtain fresh ingredients to make dishes for them. Otherwise, kimchi and other jar-stored pickled appetizers will work for these in an emergency.
****NOTE that I have not listed canned meats, vienna sausages, fish, etc., on this list. They are good to have around, but they are not reliable sources of nutrients and many canned meat and fish products also contain high levels of carcinogenic compounds from the preservation and smoking processes.
Start by organizing a list of the most essential foodstuffs and other daily use items that you may need, and prioritize them from top down. Try to set aside a couple of days to procure, make storage space, and keep everything neatly put away for easy retrieval.
Finally, last but not least, go through your residence and take notes of anything that may need replacing or repairing soon and make sure these are done RIGHT AWAY. Do not delay. Getting things done earlier gives you time later to relax. Procrastination is yet another useless aspect of the human character that we can very well completely get rid of.
Become a person who is only motivated by RESULTS. Not optimism. Not wishful thinking. Not prayers. Demand results right away in anything you do or say. You will be surprised at just how much work you get done, how many goals you accomplish, and how much negative, unproductive, and useless emotions like fear, anger, and frustration are instead put to action towards eliminating the very source of these emotions. Be someone who takes action, instead of waiting or worrying.
