#PreventCorona: 10 Home Essentials You Need To Stock Up On ASAP

While we wait for the notorious coronavirus to droop and practise social distancing in the safety of our comfy homes, let's take a moment to talk about stocking up on a few essential home supplies. Why? With schools and colleges shutting down, offices asking employees to work from home, and the government advising the public to limit physical contact and avoid all non-essential travel, it’s a good idea to stock up on some essential daily goods for a fortnight or so.

 

A reminder: stocking up does not mean hoarding. While we recommend that you make sure you don’t run out of essentials soon, we’re absolutely not suggesting that you bulk-buy and create an artificial shortage and panic in the market! 

 

Here's a checklist of must-haves, as we go into stay-at-home mode: 

 

1. Soaps & Handwashes

Every medical official the world is recommending frequent hand-washing to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus. The WHO has put out multiple advisories telling people to ensure that they wash for at least 20 seconds every 2 hours. So make sure you have a couple of bottles of each. Keep your hands clean and don’t touch your face, as far as possible. But don’t remember to turn off the tap while you scrub! 

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2. Hand Sanitizers and Masks

While hand sanitizers and masks cannot guarantee effectiveness in preventing the spread of the virus, they do offer a degree of protection. Buy enough for your house but leave some for others as well.

Image Courtesy: Freepik

 

 

3. Cleaners & Disinfectants  

Supplies like floor cleaners, toilet cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and dishwashing soaps are more important now than ever. It’s not enough to just keep your hands clean, you need to ensure that the surfaces around you are clean as well. 

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4. Personal Hygiene 

Make sure you don’t run out of personal hygiene items like shampoos, conditioners, face washes, body washes, and toothpaste. Ladies, please also make sure you have enough supplies for menstrual hygiene -- pads, tampons, cups, whatever you use.

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5. Cooking Staples

Now that we’re going to be home for an indefinite length of time, you’ll be surprised by how quickly everyday staples like flour, rice, dals, pulses, ghee, oil, masalas, and sugar, get used up! Ensuring that you have a little more than your usual stock of staples is also important because we don’t necessarily know what the situation with procuring fresh produce might be in the coming weeks. But once again: Buy enough, don’t hoard!

Image Courtesy: Indian Bazaar

 

6. Fruits And Vegetables

Buy a little extra of basic, long-lasting vegetables like onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. You can also freeze some veggies like peas and carrots, for later use. Same for fruits that can survive in a refrigerator for some time, like oranges, apples, papayas, berries, etc. I’m also a big fan of pulping fruit and freezing it for use later. For immunity boost and better digestion, stock up on some ginger and lemon too.

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7. Packed Foods

In case the social distancing mandate continues for longer than we thought, it’s good to have a stock of some packaged snacks and foods such as khakras, cornflakes, Maggi, biscuits, crackers, soups, beans, dips, etc. 

Image Courtesy: Winnipeg Free Press

 

8. Pet Food!

Don’t forget to stock up on your furry friends’ food! And add a couple of packets of their favourite treats as well. 

Image Courtesy: Earth 911

 

9. Dairy Products

Make sure you stock up on a few cartons of milk and curd, so you don’t have to go without your daily chai, coffee, or raita fix! 

Image Courtesy: Harvard Health

 

10. Miscellaneous Items

Apart from stocking up on your grocery essentials, make sure you have an adequate supply of candles, torches, batteries, disposable plates and glasses, an induction stove and some amount of cash within easy access, in case of emergencies. 

 

Buy your groceries here

 

The situation is getting better but it's always a good idea to be adequately prepared. Don't go hoarding every item in the store, just buy what you actually need and leave the rest for others.