Shelly

There are a lot of different views on the recent Coronavirus outbreak. No one knows how much impact this virus will cause our country or our world. What I do know is that if taking a little time to plan, shop and stock for an emergency can potentially make my life easier when chaos strikes, I’m going to do it.

My husband and I have two kids, one that is under 2 years of age. We know that the people most affected by the coronavirus are young children and the elderly. We want to be fully prepared for 2 months if there is a city-wide shut down in our area. I am no expert on this topic but I wanted to share what simple steps we’re taking to prepare for an outbreak.

Coronavirus Backstock Shelves

Above all else, we’ve been washing our hands so much. When we’re with the girls, we’re sure to have everyone wash their hands before each meal and when we return from anywhere. I carry hand sanitizer now and when we’re at events we apply the sanitizer several times. It’s not only about keeping our family safe but also helping to not spread our own germs.

Watching the news gives me high anxiety. I know that anything big will show up in my IG feed or a friend will talk to me about it. I have not been watching reports on the Coronavirus because I do not want to be anxious and spread my fear to others. What I am doing is preparing my family in case there is an outbreak where we live.

How Much Did It Cost?

We shopped at Meijer this past weekend and had only one coupon. A wiser decision would be to shop at Costco or Sams Club to save on the bulk items (but we don’t have memberships). Our total for our Coronavirus backstock was $1,011.62. We have a family of four, plus a dog and our toddler is still in diapers. A large portion of this haul was due to diapers, dog food, and medications.

It took us 3 carts completely packed but you could probably get away with two if you don’t have diapers (we also had a plastic shelf to hold our goods which you may not need.)

What Did We Get?

Below is a list of everything we got. This was trying to keep in mind that we couldn’t get fresh produce, dairy, and protein if the grocery store shuts down. I understand it is not the most healthy foods but it’s what will keep us fed (including a couple treats to keep us happier). More things could be added to this list but we already had them or don’t need them. If nothing else, I urge you to get your prescriptions refilled for yourself and your pets, cleaning supplies and flu medication.

How Did We Store It?

We purchased one of these plastic shelves which fit everything perfectly. Our Coronavirus backstock shelves are in the basement with nothing on the ground. We store our extra diapers and medications where we normally keep those items upstairs.

We tried categorizing things so they’d make sense if we were not feeling well and trying to find supplies. Making a box for cleaning supplies and a box for grains helped us keep like items together.

The Girl Scout motto ‘Always be prepared’ has always stuck with me. If you know me though, you know that I’m a minimalist so I was torn on having this excess in my home. When it came down to it, I’d rather have spent a couple hours planning and purchasing these items just in case than not having them at all. They’re all shelf-stable items that we already enjoy eating so if there is no shut-down in our area, we will be happy to not have to go grocery shopping for a couple months.

Let me know if there’s anything you have on your list that I should add.

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Valentine’s Day means different things to different people. Some people share elaborate dates with their partners while others feel the pressure to have a partner when they are single. I choose to think of Valentine’s Day as a day to share love in whatever way you want. That could mean with a partner, a friend, someone in need or yourself.

Our Family Tradition

Our family is starting a new tradition this year. I got the idea from Miranda Anderson’s Episode 17 podcast on How to Plan Your Year. She talked about how her family celebrates different holidays and how her family celebrates V-day aligned with our family values. I bought a Valentine’s Day backpack/mailbox thingy last year after the holiday on major clearance. At the Dollar Store, I picked up a few things like socks, sunglasses and lip balm to put in the backpacks along with a card I wrote for each girl. When they wake up in the morning they will wake up to waffles cooking and a book at their spot at the table. I chose a few National Geographic Readers for Soph, an Elmo flap book for Lilly, and a Neil Gaiman book for Jeffrey.

I wanted to start the tradition of giving small, useful items in their backpack along with a book tailored to their specific tastes while focusing on sharing our love with each other. I’m hoping this will start the morning off filled with love and gratitude so we can share these feelings with our friends throughout the day.

Loving Myself This Valentine’s Day

We just got back from a week of fun and relaxation in Anna Maria Island. We’ve been going the past few years to visit my snowbird in-laws.

On this trip, I tried hard to be mindful of what I was eating because I’d been doing the Fasterway to Fatloss program for the previous month. I’d been working with my coach, Brooke, on learning how to track macros, cut out dairy and gluten, and do intermittent fasting. Week by week we would introduce one new thing and it was a super manageable way to learn how to fuel my body and what was working to make me feel energized.

What I learned from my vacation:

Once you cut out dairy and gluten, your body hates you when you eat it again. I was more lethargic and bloated and had a hard time getting enough energy despite getting 8 hours of sleep each night and doing my runs every other day. My body was trying to figure out what in the world I was feeding it. The program does a great job of explaining why your body needs different foods and I worked with my coach to figure out what portions of each food group were best for me.

By paying for a program like The Fasterway to Fatloss, doing my monthly massages and joining a running group, I’m showing myself that I’m worth investing in. I’m not motivated to work out on my own, so I joined a group that would keep me accountable as I train for my 10k. My family has no interest in eating healthy, so I asked Brooke to help coach me through a program that would change my eating habits long term.

What are you doing to show yourself love this Valentine’s Day?

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