Whatcha Stocking?

[Unagi]

Dollar General store 1 - No toilet paper but a pack of Scott

[Daehawk]

Scott really should take a hard look at their product after this.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Ok I wanted basically....hand sanitizer

Why bother with hand sanitizer if you mostly remain at home? Proper handwashing with soap and water is more effective than hand sanitizer.

[Smoove_B]

Very true. Hand sanitizer is great when you're out in the world and can't wash your hands. If you're sitting around you house in and not going out anywhere there's absolutely no need to have a gallon jug of hand sanitizer at the ready - regular (normal) hand washing protocol would be fine.

Similarly you don't need sanitizing wipes if you have access to bleach or other EPA registered cleaners that target viruses. You can use any of them to wipe down door knobs of the points of entry/exit.

Everything would change if someone in your home actually has a presumptive diagnosis, but the virus isn't creeping out outside your house and trying to sneak in, hide on toilet handle and commando-infiltrate your body.

That's what completely confuses me about the store shelves being empty. I've seen regular hand soap and bleach almost fully stocked. Hand sanitizer and wipes? None. The messaging on all this has been so very confusing.

Regarding the hand-washing vs sanitizer efficacy...this one is still under great debate in some public health circles. Hard lines in the sand have been set and there are definitely people that are full-on soap or full-on sanitizer believers. The latest studies I've seen say that from a scientific standpoint, there isn't a significant different between the two (in terms of logarithmic reduction in pathogens). The action/method of reduction is different and for some pathogens soap might work better, but both are similar enough that they can be recommended equally. I'll continue to recommend hand washing as the #1 way, but that if you can only use hand sanitizer, that's likely just as effective and preferable than doing nothing.

[Daehawk]

Bleach was another empty shelf item.

[em2nought]

Bleach was another empty shelf item.

Is a $1 bottle of bleach at the dollar store just as good as a $5 bottle of Clorox bleach? Is there any benefit to soap labeled antibacterial versus plain old soap?

I'm going to fashion a piece of PVC sliced lengthwise to use over grocery cart handles because stores are now beyond keeping up with demand for wipes at their entry points, and there is no way my mother isn't sending me out for something every day or so. Something about old dogs and new tricks yada yada yada. I should probably start wearing a mask when I visit her pretty soon. Did just upgrade her house air filter. It will supposedly filter smog now.

[Kraken]

I quarantined Wife yesterday, so I've got to run errands for two this after. I have four brief stops to make, and a whole canister of large disinfectant wipes in my car. After each stop I wipe my hands, steering wheel, shift knob, door handle, and turn signal.

Wife's had an upper respiratory infection since November and coughs regularly. We're sure it's not COVID (she's been to the doc twice for it), but nobody else knows that so I don't want her going out in public until she stops.

[Anonymous Bosch]

Is a $1 bottle of bleach at the dollar store just as good as a $5 bottle of Clorox bleach?

I would think so, at least in terms of sterilization.

Is there any benefit to soap labeled antibacterial versus plain old soap?

Not according to the FDA:

Antibacterial Soap? You Can Skip It, Use Plain Soap and Water

[Kasey Chang]

Is a $1 bottle of bleach at the dollar store just as good as a $5 bottle of Clorox bleach? Is there any benefit to soap labeled antibacterial versus plain old soap?

Yes, bleach is bleach. And no, antibacterial soap is not needed. COVID-19 is a virus.

[Daehawk]

Bleach is bleach. The soap is another matter though as antibacterial labeled usually has some kinda trisomething in it.

[Daehawk]

[Smoove_B]

Is a $1 bottle of bleach at the dollar store just as good as a $5 bottle of Clorox bleach?

Probably the same, but I'd look at the labeling to verify strength/concentration. I can't say I've ever heard of an issue with dollar store supplied bleach, but these are crazy times and if they're getting grey-market supplies in, I guess anything is possible.

Is there any benefit to soap labeled antibacterial versus plain old soap?

I generally advise people against buying specially formulated anti-bacterial soaps because they could contain triclosan. I'm not sure if you can even get triclosan soaps anymore. Either way, the additives aren't necessary; Regular soap is fine.

I'm going to fashion a piece of PVC sliced lengthwise to use over grocery cart handles because stores are now beyond keeping up with demand for wipes at their entry points

Fashion it out of copper - a much better choice.

EDIT: I really need to read through to the end and not just respond as I'm mowing through threads.

[Kasey Chang]

Just hauled 50 pound of rice two blocks home. Argh.

[Jeff V]

Just hauled 50 pound of rice two blocks home. Argh.

Was this an abnormal purchase or do you usually get rice in 50# sacks? I generally just get them that big if they happen to be out of 25#, which only happens occasionally.

[Jeff V]

Is a $1 bottle of bleach at the dollar store just as good as a $5 bottle of Clorox bleach?

Probably the same, but I'd look at the labeling to verify strength/concentration. I can't say I've ever heard of an issue with dollar store supplied bleach, but these are crazy times and if they're getting grey-market supplies in, I guess anything is possible.

Is there any benefit to soap labeled antibacterial versus plain old soap?

I generally advise people against buying specially formulated anti-bacterial soaps because they could contain triclosan. I'm not sure if you can even get triclosan soaps anymore. Either way, the additives aren't necessary; Regular soap is fine.

I'm going to fashion a piece of PVC sliced lengthwise to use over grocery cart handles because stores are now beyond keeping up with demand for wipes at their entry points

Fashion it out of copper - a much better choice.

EDIT: I really need to read through to the end and not just respond as I'm mowing through threads.

On the news this morning, they said whatever you are using to sanitize with, most people are doing it wrong: the sanitizing substance needs to stay wet on the surface for a full 20 seconds or you're wasting your time. So wiping shopping cart handles with a swipe isn't really doing squat.

[Paingod]

most people are doing it wrong

I assume everything is toxic at this point. My home is the DMZ. I figure if there's sickness there, I'm done for - so I just live normally inside my own home.

• The kids aren't going out for playdates.
• My wife is only going to the school to meet with a single teacher once per week to get the youngest's classwork and a paper bag stuffed with spare food. I know she's not being as careful as I am, so I'm hoping the teacher is.
• I'm working each day, but I'm...
  • Usually the first person in. I open the door by pulling on my key while it's in the lock.
  • Turning on all the lights with my elbow.
  • Staying in my office, doing as much as I can remotely.
  • Not getting closer than 6' from anyone, preferably 8'.
  • Anytime I leave my office, I wash my hands before I handle anything.
  • If I have to touch a few different things, I use a paper towel as an interface.
  • When I'm done and ready to head back, I wash my hands when I'm done.

I haven't had to stop to get gas since I went into solitary, but plan to bring a pair of disposable gloves for that.

Any packages that arrive are left in the basement for 24 hours, plastics left alone for 72 if inside the boxes.

We've done whatever shopping we may need to do. I feel like we're running very low on the radar.

For folks looking for TP for legit reasons, I'd invite you to consider feed stores and hardware stores (and even office supply stores, I hear). Both places in my area had cracked open individual-roll boxes and were selling them for $0.80 each, limit 4. It was all off-brand and single ply, but still wipes the ass.

[Drazzil]

Scott really should take a hard look at their product after this.

I love Scott. Thats the two ply kind of sandpapery feeling tissue that doesen't leave my buttcheeks feeling like a fuzzy pair of dice right? Or is that Scott?

Either way as soon as I heard whispers of Coronavirus I pulled the trigger on a cheap gaming desktop PC on Amazon. I figured if the economy crashes (it did) or China has problems manufacturing chips (they do) that prices would spike. At the very least I have a new toy to play with till I can find work.

Grocery wise I snagged about a months worth of stuff I eat normally. Plus a few small bags of rice n beans. I had the chance to buy a large container of TP but forgot my wallet so no TP for me. On the up side I have a months supply so I'm not panicing yet.

One major thing I've seen is price hikes across the board for staples, Trader Joes is the biggest offender I've seen so far with price increases on most items I buy to the tune of about 20% or more. I doubt prices will fall if and when the crisis ends either. I think this will be the new normal.

[Kasey Chang]

Was this an abnormal purchase or do you usually get rice in 50# sacks? I generally just get them that big if they happen to be out of 25#, which only happens occasionally.

Quite abnormal. I usually buy 25# sacks myself. But as I said, it's the only one they had left.

[Daehawk]

That old movie ... To Wuhan Flu Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

[Blackhawk]

We got back from a carefully planned trip a couple of hours ago. We drove up to Terre Haute, as there are more stores to work with. The idea was to start early, hit Menard's (a huge hardware store) on the assumption it hadn't been picked over as badly as a grocery store, then Wal-Mart. If we hadn't had any luck we'd stop by Lowes, then the other Wal-Mart. The idea was that what one would be out of the other might have. We were doing both are normal weekly trip plus a 'storage' trip in one.

Menard's was out of the rush items already.

The first Wal-Mart had about two dozen rolls of TP, and we caught the stockers with a couple of the '12=26' packs and got those. That's one to put in the bathroom (we were on our last roll) and one to put back. They also had some decent paper towels. Again, we didn't fill the cart, but we did buy two large packs (we go through a ton with the pigeon.) Most of the aysles were picked over pretty badly, especially the meats, pastas (although apparently nobody is making lasagna this week), ramen, and frozen pizzas.

Finding the toilet paper and paper towels let us skip Lowe's. Instead...

I'm hearing that asian grocers/markets aren't getting as much business (out of people being paranoid/racist), so if you have one near you, you may want to check it out when getting supplies.

We did exactly that and got a few bags of goodies. The store was empty and the shelves were full.

The second Wal-Mart we hit in the early afternoon. It's a very large store, but it was mostly empty shelves. Everything gone from the first one, plus all of the frozen meat sections were barren. Except that the frozen fish was packed full, which is healthier than frozen burgers by a long shot. And the packaged lunch meat was completely gone - yet there was no line at the deli which was fully stocked. People are hopeless. It wasn't just the meat. Perishables were nowhere to be found, while some of the best storable foods weren't being touched (like nuts - nobody was getting nuts, or dried fruit, or oats.) People are going to have their 'stockpiles' going bad in a week and will SOL. We actually got quite a few things we needed, mostly because we hit the store early and they'd been stocking overnight.

Anyway, we managed to get everything on my 'storage' wishlist, plus the regular items for our weekly use. The only items that we weren't able to find at any of the stores were flour, butter, and bleach. It was the equivalent of two of our normal one-hour shopping trips, except that it took five hours. In the end, we have our regular post-shopping stock, plus probably two to three weeks of regular food, not counting 'emergency' foods.

In a few days we're having 'the talk' with Michelle's elderly mother. I took a few photos as my opening volley:

Spoiler:

[Punisher]

If you can wait, just order TP off Amazon. Their Solimo paper ain't bad, and comparable to mid-grade TP in supermarkets. I have a monthly shipment setup on subscribe and save and I actually have a case (30 rolls) extra (didn't use much as I thought I need)

Be warned that the soonest we could get delivery from Amazon for TP was a full week. Nothing's coming quickly right now.

Told Mrs. Skinypupy she might need to sit on the porch and guard that delivery with a shotgun.

You guys are still using TP?
Don't you know how to use the 3 Sea Shells?


but seriously, the only thing we have done is to stock up on various things we would have anyway. so we have a full fridge and freezer of things, nothing in bulk, just a lot of variety.
We have been stocking up on Grape Propel and Orange Gatorade for a long time now, but that's starting to run out. We would normally order anywhere from 4-10 cases of each (about 4 packs in a case) and it would last for about a month give or take (I started switching to this from Diet Soda, which we used to have 20-30 bottles on hand in general. We still stock the soda but usually around 5-10 bottles.) I might go through 1-2 packs of the water/Gatorade in about a day or so depending on how I feel. Now, Propel is out of stock everywhere, including Amazon which is my main supplier and not only has the Gatorade order limit been dropped down to 4 packs, but I just tried to order another 4 packs (last order was a week ago) and I am greeted with "You have reached the purchase limit for this item. We have changed the quantity to the maximum allowable." Which in my case is Zero. I'm currently in the amazon chat queue to see what's up and see when I can order it again. I'm hoping that assuring them I am not reselling them and that I don't have 5 pallets of the stuff stockpiled is enough to get them to let me order it again. Since the Propel has been out of stock and that was mine (the Gatorade was mostly for my wife), we have been sharing the Gatorade and are down to our last 5 bottles. My wife also had hand surgery today and they are asking her to drink a lot more water. Since she really isn't going to go for that they said the Gatorade is better than soda, so I'm gonna run out by tomorrow I'm sure.
We also have a small stockpile of TP. 3.5 bundles, but again, it's not something we wouldn't normally have anyway. For things that don't really go bad, we stockpile in general when we save up money to avoid having to constantly go out.

[Kasey Chang]

I drink Squincher Zero, which is not as good as Gatorade, but it's cheaper, and supposedly, less calories. (Also from Amazon)

I happen to have a case of TP left, but I'm not sure how long that'd last.

[Daehawk]

The second Wal-Mart we hit in the early afternoon.

I thought you only had one Walmart in your town? You're actually driving to other towns? Must be pretty bad. Im not even thinking of doing that yet. Too much exposure.

[LawBeefaroni]

Took stock when I got home. We have 20 lbs of rice, 12 lbs of pasta, 10 lbs of flour. 15 or so cans of beans, 15 cans of other assorted veggies. Then a bunch of various prepared (frozen pizza) or semi-prepared (ramen) foods. 10 lbs of frozen chicken, 5 lbs of frozen fish. A few boxes of cereal. 15 days of MREs and a full spice drawer if it comes to that. And all miscellaneous snack foods, etc.

I think we're good for a month before it gets to danger levels though we'll be unhappy before that.

Since I still have to go into work (for now) I keep the fresh produce topped off and add a few cans to the stash daily.

On the rest of it, we have enough cold weather gear to survive gas/power outage. Water might be an issue but we have several days worth plus filters and a roof deck for collection. Have 1.5K rounds of handgun ammo, 1.5K .22lr and about 100 rounds 6.5 creedmoor. That's just a factor of having to buy in bulk thanks to Cook County taxes but it seems like a safe amount (thanks Cook County!). Shotgun is off-site, need to rectify next time I get to the range.

[Blackhawk]

The second Wal-Mart we hit in the early afternoon.

I thought you only had one Walmart in your town? You're actually driving to other towns? Must be pretty bad. Im not even thinking of doing that yet. Too much exposure.

We always drive to other towns. We do have a Wal-Mart, but it is one of the tiny stores that has about three or four aisles of food that are about 15 paces long. It is a place for grabbing a loaf of bread, not for grocery shopping. We usually shop at the one in the town where the kids go to school, which is slightly larger, but filthy and badly stocked. We shop there only because we are in town anyway to pick them up. For this trip we went the opposite direction to Terre Haute, which actually has some business.

[Kraken]

I bought another week's worth of beer today. The packy has stopped accepting empties and is reducing their hours next week. I expect that the state will shut them all down in the next week or two, although our guv today denied rumors that they're planning a shelter-in-place order.

[LawBeefaroni]

I bought another week's worth of beer today. The packy has stopped accepting empties and is reducing their hours next week. I expect that the state will shut them all down in the next week or two, although our guv today denied rumors that they're planning a shelter-in-place order.

Have a case of Guinness cans, and 20 or so assorted ales and lagers. The liquor cabinet has a couple handles of cheap whiskey, 10 bottles of good scotch, 6 bottles of Irish, 15 bottles of wine, and some vodka in the freezer. Assorted singles of gin, grappa, etc. And of course a few bottles of panic brandy.

Come to think of it, we are always prepping for an alcohol emergency.

[Isgrimnur]

I need to check my supplies. We're fine on liquor, but beer consumption rates demand closer attention.

Sweet. My chain of choice has store pickup.

[Kraken]

My packy says it will continue to offer delivery "as long as staffing permits." I've never used it because they don't pick up empties, but now that they aren't accepting walk-in empties anymore I'm stuck with them anyway.

[Blackhawk]

I finally broke down and googled what a 'packy' is.

[dbt1949]

Me too.

[em2nought]

I wonder if a cpap machine might be able to save your life if you can't get on a ventilator?

[Paingod]

I finally broke down and googled what a 'packy' is.

I appreciate you doing that. I don't need to now.

[LawBeefaroni]

This comes up every time Kraken talks about buying booze. Isn't everyone up to speed by now?

[Isgrimnur]

I think we're still trying to get used to dispensaries. Speed is a ways off.

[wonderpug]

Thread from a RN on what supplies people should be making sure they have in stock besides just toilet paper.

• Kleenex
• Acetaminophen (Tylenol) in 350mg tablets
• Ibuprofen (Advil) in 200mg tablets (pug note: preliminary word from France is that ibuprofen aggravates this infection and that you should be using acetaminophen instead)
• Mucinex
• Robitussin/DayQuil/NyQuil, i.e., your cough medicine of choice
• humidifier if you don't have one, or just use hot steam from a shower
• favorite soups
• if you have a history of asthma, make sure your prescription inhaler is up-to-date

More info and advice is in the thread.

[Jeff V]

Was this an abnormal purchase or do you usually get rice in 50# sacks? I generally just get them that big if they happen to be out of 25#, which only happens occasionally.

Quite abnormal. I usually buy 25# sacks myself. But as I said, it's the only one they had left.

The Filipino store I went to yesterday had 10# sacks and were limiting to one per customer. Usually they only have 25# and 50# sacks, so this must be the action of their suppliers.

We still have enough rice to carbo-load the neighborhood, and wife and boarder have stated vocally (if not in practice) their need to cut back for health reasons.

[em2nought]

Oh man, I forgot tea. Gotta get some PG Tips.

[LordMortis]

After not seeing any eggs on Monday, I bought two dozen eggs on Tuesday. That's the first overstock/hoarding I have done.

I was going to buy milk while it was in stock as well but I figure if I get fucked, milk is not good for me, so it's all water and coffee all the time and no cooking with milk for the moment.

I'm so ready for a vacation and so screwed when it comes to being able to take one this year.

[Jeff V]

Search for asswipes continues in vain. Stopped by the Korean supermarket, nada. Amazon appears sold of even the industrial brands. I just got a Uline catalog the other day...yep, they carry TP. And...they're out, and not accepting back orders. This means very likely that holding it until you get to the office will not be an option before long...