The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

GreyQueen

maryb said:

We had a water cooler at work and were strictly forbidden from filling up our own bottles because inevitably the lip of the bottle touched the tap and it was a germ transfer nightmare.  People ignored the rules though.  I'm fussy and would never use it

I use a plastic tumbler at work and would be filling that, not a water bottle, although colleagues do fill theirs at the cooler. Apart from eliminating a possible  germ transfer at the cooler, I am also thinking that having a capped water bottle, as opposed to a tumbler with who-knows-what potentially landing in it, is a good thing.

Jazee

I too would use public transport earlier. I'm lucky that I don't have to travel to our city every day, when I went in last week I decided not to use public transport at all but sucked up the parking charges. Took a scarf too.

DD still doesn't have preps, nowhere to put them apparently and says to keep things in perspective.  Less than 40 cases in a population of 68 million and for most just flu like. Mmmm, expect she might want some of my stuff.

jamanda

Sent my daughter out over last couple of days to stock up a bit before panic buying ensues.  Made her a bit jittery but that is better than being stuck in with no supplies and 3 teenagers.

singlestep

I think I've talked myself out of the work fridge, virus or not

I already arrive at work as early as I possibly can by public transport - it's the coming home.  Before rush hour, then!

Like a lot of you, DM is managing a series of health conditions that make her vulnerable.  I'm staying at hers, pending a property purchase. I also have some vulnerability to respiratory illnesses. Between the public transport and the germ factory (i.e. work) there's a lot to consider. 

MingVase

First case in Scotland now. We're off to Costco again this morning, will be at the door for opening time. Edinburgh Costco is never usually busy early on and there's plenty of space to walk around. Sometimes you overlook preps and we forgot about salt. Used it all on the path last week.
I was lying in bed thinking that this might be one of those moments in time that you never forget - like when Kennedy died or when we landed on the moon. Interesting times aye!

unrecordings

singlestep said:

I think I've talked myself out of the work fridge, virus or not

I already arrive at work as early as I possibly can by public transport - it's the coming home.  Before rush hour, then!

Like a lot of you, DM is managing a series of health conditions that make her vulnerable.  I'm staying at hers, pending a property purchase. I also have some vulnerability to respiratory illnesses. Between the public transport and the germ factory (i.e. work) there's a lot to consider. 

Might HR at work lend a sympathetic ear if you present them some solutions to mitigate your risk ?
For instance when SARS popped up, the first thing I did was buy telephone sanitizer for all my staff and advised them to only use their own phone and not be tempted to answer someone elses

singlestep

I'm afraid not.  We work for a Local Authority and budgets are tight.  As is the case with a  lot of people doing the job I do, many key resources are funded by me.  Hand sanitiser included and anti-bac wipes, as our cleaners are restricted in using cleaning products.  Actually at home just now due to an injury and wondering if I have too much time on my hands!  If things get worse, perhaps personnel (in another building in another town) may have to think of that.  Not holding my breath.

euronorris

Well, I popped to Sainsbos this morning pre-work, to get some treats for the office (it's my 5 year work anniversary) and had another look for hand gel in there. They had had a small re supply. So I picked up 8 bottles to dot around the office, and have one in each meeting room, and claimed back through petty cash.

It's not perfect, but it's something. It would be easy to think that, working in finance, our clientele aren't vulnerable. But actually, the opposite is often true. A large portion of our client bank is retired, and many of them are living with health conditions.

C_J

This is starting to feel quite real now, with our local BBC radio station reporting on nothing but coronavirus during my entire drive in to work this morning, including interviewing the local MP to ask about county and national preparations (despite the fact we fortunately don't have any confirmed cases in the county yet). One chap phoned in to say his work colleague is married to a Chinese lady who reports that the town in China where her family lives (sorry, can't remember where) had the army turn up en masse over the weekend and they have dug a massive trench all around the town to  prevent anyone entering or leaving .... it's stuff like this which isn't being reported which makes me wonder what else we don't know about).

I've been spending a bit of time this morning organising my prepping from a different angle - instead of just updating the inventory of what I have in store, I am compiling a spreadsheet of meals I would like to make over a 21 day period in the event we had to hunker down at home for any reason. This includes breakfasts, lunches, evening meals, desserts, drinks and treats (treats and important!) for the two of us, as well as household and pet supplies. I'm then listing the ingredients I would need for these, and whether they could be tinned/dried or if they could come from the freezer stocks. I've emptied two drawers in the large upright freezer and will stock these in a supermarket shop on my way home from work tonight. It's highlighting a few bits and bobs I'd missed in my Bunker, so I think this will work better for me. I'd realised I had been randomly buying "extras" for the Bunker without any clear plan about exactly what I would do with them, and it felt a bit chaotic. I feel much more in control now

Zentimes

I've also been re-organising my stash this morning with DP's help since he's at home self-isolating (a week into that and still fit as a fiddle). We've been cataloguing exactly what we do have, we're going to redo the shelving organisation probably tomorrow. I have been through all the freezer drawers (found a couple of unexpected things!) and they're much tidier and better organised now. It all helps calm the 'have I really got enough?' whispering voice. Am getting another smaller shop in later this week for any items low in stock based on this new inventory.