Coronavirus Backstock Shelves: Is it worth it? • diy mama

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.