Question of the Day, Friday, June 19

[Norachan]

Are you going to try to stock up on some food and supplies in case we have a second wave of virus? What will you be doing? Anything?

I only go shopping twice a month anyway, so I tend to bulk buy. In Japan the amount of pasta, butter and some other food you can buy is limited. I always buy my full ration of these things when I go shopping.

Other than that we don't need anything in particular. There were never any problems getting tissues or toilet paper over here.

 

[denice]

I bought a 30-pack roll of toilet paper at Costco on February 26. That's the way Costco sells toilet paper. I still have a major amount left. Was that panic buying or was I prudent? Perhaps it was some of both.

For awhile there that was the only thing on the shelves at regular supermarkets here, that is why I still have a lot left. I used to buy it again the next time I went to the store after starting on my last roll. I don't think I will wait that long now.

 

[lizzie]

The only things I had issues finding was yeast,and I did stock up on that.I usually shop once a month and always have an extra of this or that which stays as an extra.When the shelves were so empty at the store,it took me to 3 different stores to get what I needed but I made do with what I could get and we were fine.Litter was a challenge sometimes but we made it.

 

[denice]

My cat is on a prescription food which I have on auto ship and we had some close calls there. The auto ship finally caught up along with my buying some at the vets office and I am a little ahead on that. I haven't skipped a shipment there because I want to go ahead and stay a little ahead on that. It has a long expiration period on it. I get it from the same supplier that supplies the vet clinic so when the inevitable happens, she is almost 17, I can return the unused to the vet clinic.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

No. Once we get out of the first wave, which seems like it will never happen at this point, I will continue to do as I always have with my purchases.

 

[Mia6]

I refuse to panic. Kaylee told me about how people were acting like packs of mad animals during the
first of COVD19, pushing and shoving. Nicole shops at Sam's Club and will share if need be. I need
tp now but that is normal. We've been using bleach and water to clean surfaces, toilets, etc and Comet.
I have gloves.

 

[denice]

They actually had Lysol spray this morning. They didn't have a huge amount of it and it was the cans with the wide angle sprayer which isn't my preference. I can't be picky though. I hadn't seen it on the shelves or available on Amazon for several months now.

 

[Winchester]

I don't really consider it as panic buying. You see, I'm 65 and Rick is 69. We're in the age bracket where we have to be a little careful. And I've always bought items in bulk and took advantage of sales. Since we have two freezers, it seemed to work out well for us. We never really ran out of anything back in the spring, except for disinfectant. And we were able to buy small packs of wipes at Target. Our local Giant still has empty shelves where the disinfectants used to be. Pasta and frozen vegetables still seem to be hard to come by. And pasta isn't on sale when it does hit the shelves. Last time we went for groceries, bottled spring water was on sale at 4 for $3 with no limit. The cats only drink spring water, so I bought eight gallons.

Really the only thing that has changed for us is that we used to grocery shop every week. We've been able to go now every three to four weeks, so we consider that good. When shopping that infrequently, though, it's a little more difficult to stock up, I think.

Since The Beast and Ms. Pepe have both gone to the Bridge, we no longer buy from Chewy. The rest of the girls eat Friskies Buffet and Friskies Indoor Delights and the store seems to have them well in stock. I have been buying an extra ten cans on top of what we normally buy and then I put the extra in the basement pantry and keep them there. I'll rotate them out as I go, but always bring new in.

 

[posiepurrs]

Given we are using Instacart for shopping and meat selection is VERY limited, I buy what we need. sometimes if the prices are good I may buy a little extra. I am growing vegetables to help out with our food. I would have had a garden anyway even if we weren't dealing with a pandemic, but it would not have been as large. For Mothers Day my kids bought me a pressure canner so I won't be scrambling to make room in my refrigerator freezer for the harvest. Now I just need to start ordering jars and lids early. I grew up extremely poor so have always been one to be prepared - buying extra when money or product is available.

 

[Willowy]

I don't really consider it as panic buying.

Yeah, that's my theory---that there wasn't really a lot of "panic buying" or people buying ridiculous amounts. It was just normal people buying slightly more than they normally buy, because they didn't want to go shopping too often, and the system just isn't set up for everybody to buy more all at once.

The stores here seem well-stocked now. The only shortage is disinfectant, which is understandable. Demand has probably been really steady and predictable for years, so the manufacturers knew exactly how much to make at what time, and bam! sudden huge demand. It'll take a while for them to catch up.

 

[susanm9006]

I am not expecting mass stay at home orders but there is still a possibility I) I won’t feel safe going shopping if infection rates climb or 2) I find myself in a self quarantine situation if I am in contact with someone who has been exposed. So, yes, I am continuing to maintain at least a two week supply of essentials.

 

[NY cat man]

Michele and I both hate shopping, so we normally buy in bulk, or stock up when things we use are on sale, so as to limit the number of times we have to go to the stores. We have a chest freezer and a vacuum sealer to lengthen storage times for frozen foods, and I doubt that at this late stage of our lives anything in our approach to shopping will change, virus or no virus.

 

[AbbysMom]

I've always stocked up on things. I hate having to run out to the store if I run out of an item. I'll probably continue to stock up on things, but maybe a little more so on some of the basics.