Lessons Learned Thus Far – Making My List

Hot on the heels of JohnyMac’s excellent thought-provoking article, I thought I would share my list. This list is a combination of Lessons Learned, Observations, and Things to Change. These are the random things that I noticed during the lead up to this crisis, basically covering from the time people first started to be made aware of the problem through the panic stage of today.

1. The length of time from widespread coverage to panic is about three weeks. In the near term, this may shorten as people will have the Coronavirus fears still embedded in their minds.
2. The first things off the shelves:
   1. N95 masks
   2. Gloves
   3. Rubbing Alcohol
   4. Water
   5. TP
   6. Cleaning supplies (bleach based cleaners)
   7. Hand sanitizer
3. The second wave of items off the shelves:
   1. Canned goods
   2. Dry goods
   3. OTC medicine
   4. Meat
   5. Soap
4. Things you might not think of:
   1. Moltrin
   2. Mucinex
   3. Everclear
   4. V8
   5. Powdered Gatorade / Regular Gatorade
   6. Vitamins (Multi, C, B12, Zinc, Magenesium)
   7. Comfort Food
   8. Spices and sauces
   9. Pancake mix
   10. Moisturizer (lot’s of hand washing)
   11. Iodine
5. It is imperative that you have a healthy stash of N95s. I had some from a few years before
6. Rationing WILL HAPPEN. Be ahead of the curve.
7. As demonstrated in New Jersey and California, don’t let you get caught flat footed by the state. Have plenty of ammo and weapons on hand.
8. Secure prescription drugs beforehand.
9. Try not to put off elective surgeries and procedures too far ahead.
10. At least locally, the items slowest to restock are:
    1. Canned goods
    2. Flour
    3. Cleaning supplies
11. Six days after the first grocery store runs, the first fights were reported. When the stores opened, people went for paper products first and then the meat section.
12. CASH IS KING – some stores had credit systems go down and people had to either send someone for money or leave their carts.
13. Fresh produce in ABUNDANCE. Storage space may be an issue. Some possible solutions is either having a mini fridge or having an entire extra fridge that is unplugged and is able to be brought online ad hoc and in short order. In a similar vein, chest freezers are an absolute must if you have the space.
14. HAVE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS SQUARED AWAY. Do not be in the situation I am in – having put off my Ham license so long that it is now a problem. Please do it ASAP.
15. Be in a financial situation that allows for you to ramp up purchases in the short term if needed so that you can survive it fine on the back end. Don’t always be so leveraged up that you have no room for emergency purchases.

Please leave your lists and Lessons Learned in the comments below.

God Bless you all.