If you are like us, you have received plenty of well-meaning messages from companies telling you what they are doing to keep their customers and employees safe.
This is not one of those.
There is a great deal of information on how we can keep ourselves as safe as possible: wash your hands, practice social distancing, and most important Stay Home. This isn’t a rehash of that either.
What we want to do is offer a few solutions you can use while doing your part to keep yourself, your family, and your community safe. These are practical tips learned from decades of work in emergency planning in places like Afghanistan and other areas with very limited resources (including toilet paper!).
1. Drink Tap Water: Except in very rare cases, water from the faucet is as safe as bottled water, in fact some bottled water is nothing more than well-packaged, filtered tap water. If you want to up things a bit, buy a water filter.
2. Learn to Bake: Processed items tend to fly off the shelves in a crisis. Flour, yeast, and other ingredients you can use to make your own tend to sit there. Want to save money, increase your food security, and make friends? Learn to make bread or cookies.
3. Eat at Mom’s: Small, local businesses are taking a huge hit. Many have closed for general seating but deliver or have take out. If you do want a break from noodles and your newly baked cookies consider getting a meal to-go from a local Mom and Pop restaurant rather than a fast food drive through.
4. Shop Small: Smaller supermarkets tend to be better stocked than larger ones during times of crisis. They also often apply purchase limits earlier, helping to reduce hoarding and increase the chance that everyone has a fair shot of getting at least one roll of toilet paper.
5. Top Things Off: Hoarding doesn’t help anyone. At the same time, it is prudent to top things off. If you must go out, make sure your gas tank is full when you come back. Plug in your power banks so you have a little extra charge if there is a short power outage. And if you are down to your last roll, feel free to buy another pack of TP. A good rule of thumb is to have about 2 weeks of reserves. FEMA recommends storing a gallon of water per person per day, so if you have 14 gallons of water for each family member you should be good-to-go. If you are a little low, top it off…with tap water.
6. Keep a Little Walking Around Money: You don’t need to empty your bank account. Your cash isn’t going to vanish. That said, Cash is Always King and keeping a few dollars in your pocket or purse isn’t unreasonable. One rule of thumb is to keep in cash about the same amount you would need to make a run to the (pre-crisis) supermarket.
7. Do Your Taxes: Speaking of money…Many people will receive a tax refund. If you are one, getting that money sooner rather than later will make your life easier over the next few weeks. If you expect to owe the Tax Man this year disregard and take advantage of this year’s delayed tax deadline.
8. Have a Routine: Make a schedule for yourself, including time to exercise. Walk the dog, do 3 push-ups, stretch, learn yoga, pull some weeds, or walk up and down the steps: Just do something. Getting up at the same time, setting and keeping goals, and taking care of your general well-being will yield rewards long after the current situation is over.
9. Make a Phone Tree: One thing to put into your schedule is time to check in each day with family and loved ones – especially older ones. Make a list of people you care about, decide how often you want to call, text, or email them, and hold to it.
10. Watch the News…in Moderation: There is no shortage of news about COVID-19. It is important to keep up with what is happening, but it can be overwhelming. One approach is to limit yourself to 2-3 checks per day: see what’s going on in the morning, catch the White House brief (or later summary of it), and take a quick look before bed…but not too close to bedtime.
Nordin Solutions will remain on watch. Whether it is navigating COVID-19, planning for life beyond, or anything else, reach out to us if you need a hand.
There is a solution.