One thing COVID-19 has taught me: I am woefully unprepared for disaster

Like most of you experiencing the COVID-19 phenomenon via social media, the video of people running down a Costco aisle toward the toilet paper section made me roll my eyes. I can’t see that bizarre TP hoarding as anything but rude toward households who actually need to buy toilet paper and end up, pardon the pun, sh*t outta luck. So. To be clear. I am not in hoard-and-panic mode. What I am, however, is in caution-and-preparedness mode. It happened when I looked in my fridge and thought to myself, ‘Well, we’re gonna eat this all of this today.’ And then I started to look at other areas of my life and I realized, if disaster ever truly strikes I am embarrassingly, kind of surprisingly, and woefully UNPREPARED.

I go to the grocery store every day because A. it’s a bit of an outing for me as a SAHM, and B. I don’t know what I feel like eating until day-of so I buy ingredients at whim. That’s why my pantry boasts a lot of spices, nuts, and crackers but only one can of black beans. It’s why my cat has several bags of treats on the go but only two tins of actual food on deck. Even my deep freeze looks like I’m airbnb-ing: A pie, a few veggie burgers, and one whole pizza I threw in there when I over-ordered like two months ago. Is that pizza still good? I’m off dairy now but in a pinch, I’d throw that baby in the oven and get one more day out of an emergency situation. So… that’s maybe three days for my family until I have to really improvise.

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Unlike what some posts have patronized, this ain’t the flu and it’s not stupid to be concerned. Hearing that it’s only scary if you’re old or have a compromised immune system isn’t comforting. My grandma is old. My friend’s daughter is going through chemo. Yeah, I’d be fine. So fine, in fact, I might not even know I’m a carrier. When a pandemic sees the NBA and NHL halt their seasons, when travel is restricted, when events like the Junos are cancelled, you know it’s serious.

Frequent and sufficient hand-washing is always enforced in my house but when’s the last time I sanitized my phone or laptop (before today)? I can’t recall. How about in the car after a shopping trip when I give my kids snacks: have I ever pulled hand sanitizer out? Yikes, I have not. I don’t think there was a single wipe or bottle of sanitizer in my life before COVID-19 came to call. We get flu shots, we are careful around immu-compromised people, we don’t use airplane trays, but until now I have thought of the bacteria we encounter every day as strengthening our immune systems.

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What I’m getting at is, the COVID-19 virus is my wake-up call. I went grocery shopping and, without going off the deep end, I bought some staples I should have in the pantry for if-needed situations. Soups (the Amy’s lentil one is really good as a dip for naan), pasta and prepared sauces, cereals, some frozen fruit and veg, peanut butter, bread to throw in the deep freeze… you know, food beyond what I’ll eat TODAY. And yes, I bought hand sanitizers to keep in the cars.

How are you doing, preparedness-wise? Here’s what the Gov’t of Canada website recommends you put together in order to cover all emergency situations:

Water – at least two litres of water per person per day; include small bottles that can be carried easily in case of an evacuation order
Food that won't spoil, such as canned food, energy bars and dried foods (replace food and water once a year)
Manual can-opener
Crank or battery-powered flashlight (and extra batteries). Replace batteries once a year.
Crank, battery-powered radio (and extra batteries) or Weatheradio
First aid kit
Extra keys to your car and house
Some cash in smaller bills, such as $10 bills and change for payphones
A copy of your emergency plan and contact information
If applicable, other items such as prescription medication, infant formula, equipment for people with disabilities, or food, water and medication for your pets or service animal (personalize according to your needs)

Recommended additional items

Two additional litres of water per person per day for cooking and cleaning

Candles and matches or lighter (place candles in deep, sturdy containers and do not burn unattended)

Change of clothing and footwear for each household member
Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each household member
Toiletries
Hand sanitizer
Utensils
Garbage bags
Toilet paper
Water purifying tablets
Basic tools (hammer, pliers, wrench, screwdrivers, work gloves, dust mask, pocket knife)
A whistle (in case you need to attract attention)
Duct tape (to tape up windows, doors, air vents, etc.)

I’m doing… okay on the list. Better than I was yesterday, anyway. And I’m feeling fortunate that I can afford to stash a bit of extra food aside because I know there are a lot of people who are food insecure as is. I’m hopeful that if needed, our community will come together to fill needs.