Can you survive a month at home?

[Sea Turtle]

Do you have on hand the supplies to survive comfortably for a month? Do you have enough extra to help your neighbors? Or, will you depend on the government/Trump administration to help you? Social programs and safety nets provided by the government are super important. Sometimes though, we have to be the safety nets for ourselves and our own communities.

I don’t know what will happen with the coronavirus. I do know that if I was asked/told to stay in for a month that I could do it and help a couple of neighbors too. I am not afraid of dying. I am in great health. I am concerned that if it was spreading in my community that I could get it and spread it to someone who isn’t healthy enough to survive it. We have to think about our fellow man and care for one another.

Thoughts?

[sakabatou]

1. Inside my home for a month? Without going outside?

[dewsgirl]

9. I think you are able to go outside your own home, as long as you stay away from neighbors.

I have watched lots of quarantine videos, those in China live a lot closer together than we do, I don't even know how they would manage something on that scale here.

[sakabatou]

39. Oh, if it's just away from neighbors, and I can go to food shops

I should be okay.

[dewsgirl]

40. LoL.. I don't know if you were trying to be funny there, but it

gave me a much needed giggle.
One person per household was actually allowed to go shopping every few days, in the beginning in China.

[sakabatou]

41. As I said, I should be okay

[Thyla]

2. I'd probably need more toilet paper.

And food.
And beer.
And wine.
And dog food.

I'm in Spain so who knows how this will play out. I expect to get a heads up from my wife's work way before any government announcements so will hopefully have time to stock up before SHTF completely.
I have been putting extra on our shopping trips and am freezing more stuff just in case but definitely would need to stock up if it was for a whole month.

We can work from home and do some school from home for the kids so that'd keep us busy at least.

[cwydro]

3. Why a month?

From what I understand, the quarantine period is 14 days.

[Kaleva]

5. If you are not infected but people in the area are getting sick and one wants to isolate...

as much as possible, a 30 day supply may be advisable.

A 30 day supply doesn't necessarily mean that one is shut in for a month. It's a stock that can really reduce the number of times one needs to go out for supplies to replenish the stock.

[Sea Turtle]

8. Pandemics don't end in 14 days

It is possible at some point that healthy people could be asked to stay home to keep from being infected and giving the virus a new place to live. People who have become sick need to heal for a time so that they also don’t infect others. Some of the sick are taking weeks to get better.

I am a big believer in preparing to take care of myself and to be able to help others. Sure stores deliver now. But of sickness becomes widespread, it would be pretty selfish of me to depend on some other person having to go out in public and interact with others to take care of my needs. The well being of the delivery person matters too. Being prepared ahead of time is showing concern for more than just me.

[Kaleva]

4. My wife and I could go about 45 days if we couldn't go out & electricity and water was shut off

[Sea Turtle]

11. Encouraging to hear

That you guys have thought ahead. If everyone who is able prepared like this, it would make it much less painful for our communities when there is a crisis or natural disaster.

Preparedness makes it so that first responders and other critical assets can get deployed to those most vulnerable. Being prepared is just one of the ways I can contribute to a social safety net. I pay a ton to insure my house, car, and health. Being prepared and having a few weeks of supplies is just another form of insurance that I have and can share with my neighbors. I think I could take care of my household and two other families for about a month. We wouldn’t be living large, but we could get by for a bit.

[Kaleva]

47. It took me months to build up my stock

I bought when items were on sale and/or I had coupons.

[Runningdawg]

66. Bravo

[DFW]

6. Probably couldn't live for a month

But we have great neighbors and a lot of farms all around our town. We have a 3-times weekly open air farmers market that has been going strong for the last 800 years or so. I doubt that would break down within a month.

[Kablooie]

7. Grocery stores deliver where I am.

If they’d be willing to leave it on the porch and not receive a tip.

[Lars39]

16. If you order online you probably tip online too.

The problem is that the delivery people are susceptible to illness also, and might not have good insurance.

[Sherman A1]

10. I believe I could.

I have a fairly good stock in the freezer and pantry. Some of the meals might get a bit goofy, but I would be okay.

[Sea Turtle]

13. Freezer surprise!

Freezer surprise is one of my favorite meals!
It is amazing that we have the ability to just toss something in the freezer and have it preserved. In all of mankind’s existence, it is a very short amount of time that we have had such a luxury of being able to do that.

I keep an assortment of homemade soups in the freezer for when I am sick or need a quick meal. I have also found that refrigerator pirates are work rarely go into the freezer. Also, there isn’t a lot of competition for space in the freezer at work. I can bring in several meals and just leave them there until I am ready for them.

[duforsure]

12. Yes!

Me and my wife could , and likely for months. FOOD check, supplies check, meds check, . Being around the coast emergency hurricanes supplies are a common thing, so yes I could do a month with no problems. Going thru hurricanes gets you pro active after seeing empty store selves when you wait. Even if power and water was lost I do have a few little solar panels , and a good stock of bottled water, and camping equipment for cooking outside if needed . I have to limit going out now for health reasons , and do take precautions when I do , to doctors mostly. If I were to get it , it would not be good as I am in the most probable groups that it effects the worse,, so it is a serious concern.

[abqtommy]

14. By "surviving comfortably" do you mean we'll have internet access? LOL In reading various

survival stories I've learned that the key to survival at sea (and probably on land too) is access to fresh/potable water since a hooman can survive for 30 days without food as long as they have drinking water handy. But then handy isn't necessarily comfortable. I'm not eager to try, but I'm sure I could survive for awhile without raiding anybody else's supplies...

I searched up the story of Eddie Rickenbacker during WWII* who, with his party, survived for 21 days afloat in the Pacific after being forced to ditch their B-17 after they got lost and ran out of fuel. I was familiar with this story as a youngster many years ago. We have a history of survival. We're not snowflakes. We got this!

* https://www.historynet.com/eddie-rickenbacker-and-six-other-people-survive-a-b-17-crash-and-three-weeks-lost-in-the-pacific-ocean.htm

[Sea Turtle]

19. Wow! What an amazing story!

Thank you for sharing. I had never heard of these guys before.

[underpants]

15. Yes

We have at least 6 months of food. Vacuum sealed necessities too. Can cook on the grill (will need a new tank) or on open flame.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

17. No sweat...30 days...

Walk to the lake to get fish, enough rabbit and squirrel around the forest behind my house to feed neighbors around me. Well has a hand pump or if that would fail a charcoal and sand filter is a five minute fix then it’s just the wait to drink. Pellet furnace in garage will heat the entire 700 sq.ft. home. The one thing I’m deficient in is a generator... but in reality I don’t need electricity to survive for that long.

[3Hotdogs]

18. Well, let me go turn on the faucet and see ------- Yuppers, water still comes out.

Don't need no bottled water.

I live suburban. Income is pension and S.S. so don't need to go out to go to work.

Paper products? Amazon. (Aw, crap. Amazon won't let me squeeze the Charmin' first.)

Food? Order off the internet tubes from local store that delivers.

I'm good.

Even in 1918, stuff was still being manufactured and that was in the middle of a war.

[Kaleva]

46. One of the reasons Germany lost the war was that its citizens started rioting for lack of food

[Duppers]

63. That food order could come contaminated

With the virus. The seclusion question is about avoiding the Covid-19 virus.

[Ilsa]

20. A month would work, but my grown autistic

Son would not understand why we cannot go into the community. And that would make us crazy. We'd have to find some solitary places to go to get out, like hikes.

[abqtommy]

23. I also have a grown autistic son who lives with me. As long as there's food and internet access

and cable tv he's happy to stay busy at home. I often resort to offering to take him out for a meal to get him outside. BTW, my son is nearly totally blind and my one joy is that he has accepted and survived this better than I have. My son is a confirmed lefty and we discuss politics and the news daily. In the end, life is good...

We will survive. As Terry Pratchett often said, "Survival is a matter of practice." and we're ready.

[Ilsa]

24. My son cannot understand or discuss

Politics. He's nonverbal, simple interests. Yes, getting out is for a meal. He can't do long shopping trips. No more than three or four items at the grocery store.

[abqtommy]

25. Blessings to you both. We all deal with the circumstances we face...

[Sea Turtle]

29. (((Hugs))) to you both

Special needs moms and dads are amazing people. Much love to you as you love the sweet souls entrusted to you.

[abqtommy]

33. Thank you. I've found that it's true that "Love Is A Beautiful Thing"*.

*

&list=PLOWkSfRIshIMVQAlX_breSdLW7BUh_8qb&index=22&t=0s

[Mike 03]

21. My sister and brother in law are shooting for two months.

I'm probably okay for three months as long as we don't lose water for some reason. My mother and other sister are probably good for a month but of course I would share with them and live within walking distance.

I could help my next-door-neighbors for a certain amount of time, but not for two or three months.

It's unlikely we would lose water unless there's some black swan event that keeps utilities workers from getting to work or shortages of chemicals necessary to purify water, or some freak event I can't think of (a force multiplier like a cyberattack on our grid). Extremely unlikely. But it's good to have water on hand for other contingencies.

I don't fully trust this idea that it's totally safe to get the mail. Dr. Bill Wattenburg always said "Don't get the mail" during a pandemic. (Of course it's not realistic or practical not to get the mail during a year-long-pandemic; he was thinking more of a disease sweeping through a community in a two week period.) There's also the issue of ordering objects and the ability of the virus to live on surfaces for a period of days. If a robot packs your stuff, okay. But coughing and sneezing people pack stuff too. (Just my opinion!)

[Duppers]

61. We're already putting our mail on front porch

Then spraying it, both sides, with Lysol.

Bringing it in after the smell dissipates.

[Turbineguy]

22. Only billionaires

qualify for the trump safety net.

[Sea Turtle]

31. Can we have one thread without Trump?

Last edited Thu Mar 5, 2020, 10:12 AM - Edit history (1)

Maybe just one where we talk about how we are making decisions to take care of ourselves and our neighbors? He doesn’t get to live in my head and control all my decisions. I am in charge of what I decide to do today and how I decide to face the future both good and bad.

Edit:
To be fair, I guess I did invoke the name first. My apologies.

[Turbineguy]

37. An excellent suggestion!

[tavernier]

26. I could probably live off the extra 40 pounds on my body

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

27. Yeah, Amazon delivery

and I work from home anyhow.

[Throck]

28. Not having to put up with co-workers?

Bring it on, totally priceless.

I could live on coffee, Saltines and peanut butter if that was the trade off.

I'd teach my cats how to play dominos. (They cheat at cards.)

[get the red out]

30. Who knows?

Not unless Kroger keeps up its delivery service. We have to make it through somehow because the dogs will have plenty of food since their special diets only come in big bags, and they will need someone to dish it out.

Seriously though, I worry a lot about my husband, he is 11 years older than me (67) and is diabetic, has high blood pressure, and also just received a pacemaker a few months ago. I have always been a healthy person, but I certainly don't want him to catch this! I worry about my sister too, she's actually 9 years younger than me but has multiple health conditions. She is getting very scared right now, single mom with 2 kids.

[apcalc]

32. I would expect 2-3 months of laying low.

This will not pass over in one month.

China had cases in Dec. It is now March, understand it has peaked there.

[unc70]

34. Dependence on food delivery is risky

I'm struck by how many people would be dependent on food and other delivery services still functioning. Consider a scenario where the virus hot spots included UPS distribution centers, Amazon centers, and such. Such functions would have excess demand if their employees remained healthy. But what if maybe half their employees were sick or quarantined.

We need to watch how things are going in Italy. They are 2-3 weeks ahead of the US dealing with this.

[Sea Turtle]

35. Great points

I am taken back by how many people are depending on others being exposed to bring them food. Even if the workers are young and healthy and could fight it off, they might live with someone who can’t. If I had an at risk child/parent/spouse/loved one of some sort, I would tell my job to shove it.

[mnhtnbb]

36. I have to go out to walk the dog. Live on the 17th floor. Use the elevator.

Right now, I'm on Bonaire. If I didn't have to go back for the dog, I'd probably stay here for a while.

Made an unplanned trip to the grocery store the day before I left, to stock up, just in case of problems when I get home. There has been a confirmed coronavirus case in my county (Wake County, NC) just in the few days since I've been gone. The guy had been to the nursing home in Seattle where there were confirmed cases, and then flew home to Raleigh via the Raleigh/Durham airport. I guess he's now in isolation at home last I heard two days ago.

My freezer is packed and I could make a LOT of chicken soup; I have TP and paper products; some canned goods. My dog eats a special diet which has to be delivered. I've reordered for her food to be delivered again before I get home and the apartment takes delivery.

Except for having to take the dog out several times a day, I could manage without going to a store for several weeks, if needed. I would miss having eggs and fixins' for salads.

[mmbrevo]

38. Am I allowed to order pizza?

Then yes.

[Initech]

45. 40 pizzas in 30 days? Sure!

[Polybius]

42. If I can't go to work, how do I pay rent?

Unless...The government orders that all bills are free until we can leave the house? I'd actually like that.

[misanthrope]

43. If the traffic and crowds thin like they've done in the Seattle area

the irony is it would be less problematic than ever to go shopping. Not only would it be quicker but you would be exposed to less folks who might be carrying the bug.

[MerryBlooms]

44. I have a job, but supply side yes. Propane, stove, camp supplies, food, water, etc...

Our mobile home is large enough we could help house 8 (ish) family/friends if needed and our deck is covered, so another 6 probably could sleep there in sleeping bags.

[marlakay]

48. We could last a month but would run out of

Milk, eggs, bread, fruit stuff like that.

We don’t keep a ton of food because we are just two retired people and normally we shop a few times a week, just fun going out to Trader Joes and co op or Costco.

And because of Costco we have plenty of paper goods. But might run out of dog food.

I would have to do a big shopping trip to make it more comfortable.

[jimfields33]

52. You could buy organic milk. It lasts longer so you could double up

I only buy it and it lasts 45 days. Regular milk would always spoil before I finished it. So frustrating!

[marlakay]

54. I buy almond milk from TJ's

It lasts but I run out fast. Would have to stock up.

[jimfields33]

59. That is good too (lasts long time)

What’s nice is even if you buy six gallons, it will last. Not sure how much you drink. Lol

[jmbar2]

57. Milk recommendation

I found boxed milk that doesn't need refrigeration at the Dollar Store. The whole milk is very good. Highly recommend. I put in a 3 week supply, gradually so that I didn't deplete their stocks.

[Phentex]

73. Dogs would be an issue for me too...

Same for fresh fruits and vegetables. I don't care about milk and could do without eggs but I don't know what I'd do about the dogs. And we would get sick of eating rice and beans and pasta.

[GulfCoast66]

49. Let's see...I got 45 bottles of wine, bourbon, vodka

Tequila, rum and lots of cordials. I guess I would make it. Don’t know what the wife would do?

On a serious note, we got the food as long as the freezers with 2 deer worth of venison in them stay running. Lots of frozen left overs as well.

Lots of dried beans and different types of rice.

[ret5hd]

53. 45 bottles of wine on the wall...

45 bottles of wine
Take one down pass it around...

Everyone can thank me later for that ear worm.

[Raftergirl]

50. I think I could.

I only market every two weeks and I still have enough stuff in the house do that going to market isn’t urgent.

I don’t have enough bulk item at the moment because my laundry room/pantry is getting completely gutted this month for a remodel- so I haven’t been overdoing on stocking up lately.

It would mainly not be having enough fresh fruit and vegetables I’d run out of.

But I always have big bags of frozen ones.

I have a nice yard, deck, patio so would be able to go outside safely. And yard is fenced so I wouldn’t have to walk the dogs.

I do have a 90 year old neighbor who is still kind of active and still drives, but I’m still worried for her as she has a known heart condition and her kids are 1000’s mikes away. My husband and I help her a lot (snowblowing, carrying in heavy bags, etc.)

I would not go anywhere near her if I felt, in the slightest, sick.

And since it’s still cold here, not nearly the outside interaction with her that we do in warm weather.

[LisaM]

51. I live in an apartment.

We probably could get by for a week or two, but we don't have the space that people in houses do.

[radical noodle]

55. I could

There's not much I would have to do without. We tend to buy in large quantities and keep a good supply of things, so I could likely help out a few neighbors too.

We're already staying at home more and if it hits here we'll be staying in for the most part. I agree it's not just about us.

[Newest Reality]

56. I don't think so...

You can't do that in a tent at all. Without a bathroom, a kitchen to cook in, running water, a place to go that's warm, etc. you wouldn't last long, and that is without actually being sick, which would make the situation extremely critical in your sixties.

Having had the flu last Winter, it was a close call as it was just trying to drag myself to a library everyday and slogging through the symptoms as best I could. Any illness can be a real catastrophe in that kind of situation and you can only brace yourself and wish for the best.

One considers one's limited mortality more under those circumstances and I don't expect to make it if I contract covid-19 and will be somewhat surprised if I do. So, it would be a real crises, as in the Greek meaning, the point where the patient will die or recover.

[redwitch]

58. Except for alcohol we are pretty well stocked.

And I plan to remedy the alcohol situation tomorrow or Saturday. Plenty of food for humans and kittehs, plenty of kitty litter and toilet paper. Lots of books to read, dvds to watch. You nice people to chat with...

[handmade34]

60. easy peasey

we have 10 foot snow drifts around the house still so I can melt snow for water if need be

my chickens lay eggs for me, the bees give me honey

I don't eat meat or bread so no worries there

I have jars full of grain and nuts in the back room and veggies in the freezer

I would miss fresh cream for my coffee but can drink it black (can make almond milk from almonds)

and if all else fails, I have a huge tub of weed in my garage that I don't know what to do with...

[redwitch]

70. I will bring cream for your coffee.

If I can hang out in your garage. ⏩😜

[Duppers]

62. Yep.

I hate the powdered milk tho.

[MissMillie]

64. Yes

The pension check comes once a month, we shop, and then we don't shop again.

That's not because of covid-19. It's always like that in this house.

We have some fresh fruits and veggies at the beginning of the month, but after they're gone we move on to frozen. We buy big packages of meat and then portion them out for meals and freeze them.

When we run out of bread, I bake some.

About the only things we buy that won't last the whole month is milk and half & half.

[Mendocino]

65. Yes for 30 days.

Worse comes to worse, I could likely stretch it out for two 1/2 months or so. I grow greens and other veggies inside. I have a 90 day supply for meds. I don't eat meat, eggs or dairy.

[Runningdawg]

67. Yes We can easily go 90 days.

But the decesion to bug in would only be made if the pandemic hits VERY hard. Half my family work for a university, the other half in hospitals. Everyone needs a paycheck and insurance. I suppose when they tell the university workers to stay home and the hospital workers they can't leave, we will make that decesion.

[lagomorph777]

68. Depends. Is my wife in there with me?

I'll leave it to your imagination which way that works.

[MosheFeingold]

69. Yep

I'm literally in a cabin on the top of a mountain. (My son's home -- it's not really a cabin -- it's a large house.) We went and got another propane tank to run the generator and heater. One currently runs the house for about a month and a half.

He's a doctor and made a huge run down to SAMs. Plus, I suspect he's got plenty of meds sequestered. We even have my wife (of blessed memory) oxygen tanks and oxygen concentraters.

He's mildly freaked because so many tourist come to the town for spring break. Not eager for the spread.

[LenaW]

71. I bought potassium metabisulfite and potassium sorbate today.

I'm all set now.

[Chainfire]

72. I could go for

Six weeks without adjusting my diet too much. I cook with bottle gas and have enough for probably 9 months. I pump my own water directly from the aquifer so it is nearly inexhaustible. I am a home body so I would't miss the public drama too much. I would miss my wife's and my Friday night dates that we have had for 51 years, but not as much as I would miss her if she got deathly ill.

I will say this, today I received an eBay package from a seller in Washington State, and the nine day flue survival on surfaces issue had me thinking. Last week I received a package from China.....If the virus spreads to Amazon, there are going to be a lot of people in trouble.....

[sarcasmo]

74. Easy, especially if I can go out on my balcony and hear the Lake Michigan waves.