I really thought the stories about people hoarding toilet paper were just jokes until I went to our local Walmart yesterday. It’s not just toilet paper – hand santizer, hand soap, all-purpose cleaner, soup and other canned goods are selling fast.  Panic buying for the COVID-19 coronavirus is in full swing.

Since folks working toward FIRE have a penchant for being prepared, I’m guessing many of you are thinking about your emergency preparedness right now.

Emergency preparedness is something we planned when our son was working toward his Eagle Scout rank. We’ve kept a corner of our utility room stocked for catastrophe for the last 5 years or so. It is organized to support our family of 3 for 3 days, which is considered a ‘basic’ emergency supply. I took inventory of our stockpile earlier this week.

Here’s what we have:

• Food = 2.5K calories / day / person
• Water = 2 gallons / day / person
• First Aid Kit
• Battery powered radio
• Fresh batteries
• 3M N95 masks
• Hand Sanitizer
• Eye protection
• Candles & matches
• Wet wipes
• LED flashlights / lantern
• Ziplock bags
• Lawn & leaf bags
• Duct tape
• Bleach

Our emergency preps are set up mainly for a simple power / water outage from a storm or tornado, since that is the most likely catastrophe to happen where we live. Food fills up most of the shelves – largely canned goods. Soups and stews can easily be cooked on our gas grill. I haven’t heard anything specific in the news that we should be adding to the stockpile for a virus outbreak.

While we’ve watched the ‘Doomsday Prepper’ shows in the past for entertainment, we don’t have guns, gold or ‘bug out bags’ at the ready. We’ll be in the same trouble as the other 99% of America if it comes to that. In that situation, God help us all.

Any emergency preps that you’ve established?

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