Grocery shopping

[Kem]

While I do not mind COLD water, I doubt my SO would be onboard with that.

The wall to the right of the toilet is the shower wall so tapping into the hot water supply there... or adding a hot water valve in the floor behind the toilet is doable in under an hours worth of work.

My final personal hygene task when at home is wetting and soaping the TP for a final cleanse.... this is so much more efficient.

Honestly, I'm a bit excited at the thought of warm cleansing relief on a daily basis.

Looks like we would need a dual nozzle warm bidet adapter.   

(food intolerance/allergies & inflammation issues lead to some daily discomfort... despite not consuming triggers) 

...

separately a hose style shower attachment is a most excellent idea for the dog baths.

[Cranky]

Husband went to the store this morning.  The only things that he didn't find were eggs and onions.  I'm not sure how to cook without onion?  I guess I have to ration.  Neither produce box has them as an add on, but at least I can get eggs in the Tuesday box.  Eggs wouldn't be a big deal but husband eats 2 a day for breakfast, and we bake too.  I added 2 doz to next Tuesday's box (at 8 bucks each, whee!)

I also added leeks to the Saturday box.  They'll work for onions. I know there are probably other stores with onions, but I don't want to do the onion death march.

How about shallots? Might not be as cost effective but should work in a pinch.

Dried/dehydrated onions in the spice aisle?

[Kem]

onion subs
dried onion (spice)
shallots, leaks, chives, scallions, garlic greens

Asafetida (in indian section, oft overlooked)
fennel looses some of its anise when sauted down

Celery + a little cummin.  Darned close flavour when sauted

And if you are still coming up short?  Try crusting a steak in
Ginger + pepper (flakes, paprika, etc) + cumin

[mm1970]

Husband went to the store this morning.  The only things that he didn't find were eggs and onions.  I'm not sure how to cook without onion?  I guess I have to ration.  Neither produce box has them as an add on, but at least I can get eggs in the Tuesday box.  Eggs wouldn't be a big deal but husband eats 2 a day for breakfast, and we bake too.  I added 2 doz to next Tuesday's box (at 8 bucks each, whee!)

I also added leeks to the Saturday box.  They'll work for onions. I know there are probably other stores with onions, but I don't want to do the onion death march.

How about shallots? Might not be as cost effective but should work in a pinch.

Dried/dehydrated onions in the spice aisle?

I did order some dried onions on Amazon today.  With the leeks, should be good.  Shallots also not available in the delivery boxes, so no good there.  (Goal is to not go out.)

I will def have to add celery to one of my boxes soon.  Almost out.  (I blanche and freeze extra and only have enough for 2 pots of soup left).

[Serendip]

Feel pretty lucky that I can snag a once a week delivery (live in a small community near a city so the trucks come up a few times a week & fill up with orders quickly, so it's easy to miss the chance--one has to pay attention to when they open up slots each week)

 We have pretty much been able to avoid the grocery store and this online option has good availability, if a bit expensive on some things. Eggs/oats/flour still available.

We've been eating well since we both like to cook and are both home all the time.

[pressure9pa]

Husband went to the store this morning.  The only things that he didn't find were eggs and onions.  I'm not sure how to cook without onion?  I guess I have to ration.  Neither produce box has them as an add on, but at least I can get eggs in the Tuesday box.  Eggs wouldn't be a big deal but husband eats 2 a day for breakfast, and we bake too.  I added 2 doz to next Tuesday's box (at 8 bucks each, whee!)

I also added leeks to the Saturday box.  They'll work for onions. I know there are probably other stores with onions, but I don't want to do the onion death march.

I used the last of my onion over the weekend.  Yesterday and today I cooked with wild onions from my woods.  PITA to gather & prepare because they are tiny, but it made me feel resourceful. 

[Free Spirit]

Re:Onions - I believe you can regrow onions at home. My scallions are sprouting nicely in water as we speak and it's only been a couple of days since I lopped them off.

Just googled around and found this site:

https://www.garden.eco/how-to-regrow-onions

(Edit: Rereading the post and I may have misinterpreted that you still had onions on hand, I'm sorry if my post is unhelpful!)

[Fomerly known as something]

Like the OP I’m from Michigan, but the other side of the state.  I hear from coworkers that the Meijer still appears to be insane here but I’ve managed to be able to avoid it.  I’ve stuck to a couple of smaller stores (one a smaller spartan Nash), the kind where the endcaps aren’t just used for promotion but for actual food and have pretty much not seen a problem other than eggs, but there was egg whites in a box.  Bread is low but always something is on the shelf.  Always some kind of TP, which lucky for me I got my normal couple of month order when the last shipment from amazon was low so don’t have to look for.  Looked like ground beef was plentiful as well but I only gave a quick look as I don’t eat meat.

I did see that local appliance stores are selling a lot of freezers.

[Metalcat]

While I do not mind COLD water, I doubt my SO would be onboard with that.

The wall to the right of the toilet is the shower wall so tapping into the hot water supply there... or adding a hot water valve in the floor behind the toilet is doable in under an hours worth of work.

My final personal hygene task when at home is wetting and soaping the TP for a final cleanse.... this is so much more efficient.

Honestly, I'm a bit excited at the thought of warm cleansing relief on a daily basis.

Looks like we would need a dual nozzle warm bidet adapter.   

(food intolerance/allergies & inflammation issues lead to some daily discomfort... despite not consuming triggers) 

...

separately a hose style shower attachment is a most excellent idea for the dog baths.

I have this one, it actually attaches directly into the shower head, it has an 8 foot hose. Took about 10 minutes to install.

 https://www.amazon.com/REEGE-Sprayer-Attachment-Washing-Bathroom-Diverter/dp/B075ZP9GFV

[Kem]

Ordered - thank you!

[Dave1442397]

I went to our local grocery store at 9am today, and it was quiet. The deli is closed, but pre-packaged items were available. Same for the bakery.

The only thing they didn't have was ground beef. We were able to get everything else on our list. The bill was $60 higher than usual, but I'll attribute that to bringing a hungry teenager along with me.

[rantk81]

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I left home, and I have started to run low on some items.  When I go out shopping, I try to buy a lot, in order to minimize the number of times I will have to venture out in the future.

I went to my local Target store this morning for some groceries and supplies.

I got there right at 8am as they opened. There were about 30 people waiting to get in.

Items I wanted to buy, but could not due to none being available:

Toilet Paper  (Not an emergency situation... Yet.  But I will NEED to either find a way to order online, or find in stock the next time I venture out.)
Paper Towels
Liquid hand soap refill
Lysol (concentrate)
Mixed greens for salad

Items I was able to buy:

Generic Store Brand DayQuil soft gels
Packaged roasted turkey deli meat
Diet Soda (I quit this in the past, but it's a nice comfort to have occasionally now.)
Several various packages of sausages
Eggs (I bought 4 dozen. There were probably only about 30 dozen there in all, so I felt bad about taking more.)
Corn Tortillas
Bag of yellow onions
Cabbage
Green Bell Peppers (paid WAY more than I'm accustomed to)
Avocados
Roma tomatoes
Pepper jack cheese block
Unsweetened almond milk (There was only one container available, and I got it. Wanted to buy multiple.)
Heavy whipping cream
Bag of spinach
Bag of baby carrots
Paper napkins
Paper plates

My freezer is well stocked with frozen meats and frozen veggies already, so no need to buy any of those.
My cupboards are well stocked with dry and canned goods, so no need for those now.

[dresden]

We haven't been able to buy any toilet paper since the panic started - we always stock up on sale so we have a few month supply from old purchases still.  I am assuming at some point things will catch up and tp will be easier to get.

Oh and the funniest thing yet I've seen during the crisis - the instagram shopper substituted cat litter for our toilet paper request.  Luckily we do have cats and can put it to use, but I can't believe someone would actually think that is a substitute.

[GreenSheep]

It's been nearly 2 weeks since I left home, and I have started to run low on some items.  When I go out shopping, I try to buy a lot, in order to minimize the number of times I will have to venture out in the future.

This is my concern about my next grocery shopping trip. I know people will think I'm a hoarder, but it's just that we're avoiding going out as much as possible, which results in our grocery shopping trips being very few and far between. From what I've read, for most people that means once a week trips to the grocery store. For us, once every week or two WAS normal, and we want to do much less than that.

We keep a large supply of non-perishables even under normal circumstances because we cook 99% of our meals at home from scratch, live 45 minutes from the nearest grocery store, and stock up (a lot) on things when they're on sale or in season. 5 bunches of bananas, 12 pounds of dates, 15 pounds of beans... this is normal for us.

Under normal circumstances, there's enough food in the kitchen to feed us enjoyable meals using our favorite recipes for at least a couple of months. (After that, we'd still have food, but meals would have to get... weird.) Now, since I did some gradual stocking up as the news about coronavirus was ramping up, it's probably more like 3-4 months. So when I go grocery shopping again in June, if things are still not looking good, I'd like to get at least a couple months' worth of food. But that's going to make me look like a hoarder... even though, on the plus side, I've stayed home and avoided all those extra trips to the grocery store that could have resulted in me helping the virus spread. I can't seem to win.

Edit: Meanwhile, a certain elderly relative of mine has been to no fewer than 3 grocery stores in the space of a week, just to get one or two things here and there. Looks perfectly innocent unless you've followed her around and know that she's a walking (potential) germ. But she's certainly not hoarding...!

[DeniseNJ]

Aldi was open from 8:30 to 9:30 for older folks only.  And they limited the number of things you could buy, like only 2 loaves of bread, two cases of water, two things of milk, etc. and they enforced it.  I could get regular paper plates or good paper plates or one of each, but not two of each.  The cashier was just taking stuff right outta my cart and putting it to the side.  She put some of my soup back, saying I could only buy so many cans!  I could get buns or sliced bread or one of each but not two of each--two breads max.

I was happy to wait on line for the older guys to get in and out.  And I was glad to have limits on stuff so there was enough for everyone.

[frugalnacho]

Good that they have limits, but I now feel like I legitimately need to stock up.  What if someone in my work gets the rona and I have to quarantine myself for 14 days with no notice?   Or I get it, or a member of my family? I'd like to be responsible and actually quarantine inside for the full 14 days which means no grocery trips or anything outside of the house.  But if I am planning to only go shopping once every 7-14 days, that means I need an additional 14 days worth of supplies added on to the end of that period just in case I get quarantined with no notice.  I am absolutely not prepared to lock my doors and not leave my house for 14 days once I get towards the end of my normal supply, which is right now.  My last trip was 7 days ago when I started this thread, and I wasn't able to get everything I needed.  I do have lots of supplies (frozen food, macaroni, rice, some canned goods) and probably won't starve, but I probably only have enough eggs and milk to last 5 more days, so if I have to quarantine sometime between now and my next shopping trip then I am fucked.

[Queen Frugal]

Here is a great video for those faced with running out of TP showing you how to use cloth and a travel size bidet bottle to get the job done and feel good about it. I have been using this method for years (although I prefer regular TP for #2). Want hot water? Put hot water in your bottle. You also don't need a fancy travel bidet. A dish soap bottle works too. Very Mustachian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UD7iixnlhHw

[rantk81]

Honestly, if it does get to the point where I run out, I will just take a shower after every Number 2.  Not ideal, but whatever. It's a 'shitty' situation.

[frugalnacho]

Honestly, if it does get to the point where I run out, I will just take a shower after every Number 2.  Not ideal, but whatever. It's a 'shitty' situation.

But I poop like 5-7 times every day, often at work.  This simply wouldn't work for me.

[simonsez]

Honestly, if it does get to the point where I run out, I will just take a shower after every Number 2.  Not ideal, but whatever. It's a 'shitty' situation.

But I poop like 5-7 times every day, often at work.  This simply wouldn't work for me.

Wow, I know people that are the inverse of that frequency.  I'm probably at 1.4x per day / 10x per week.  How different humans can be never ceases to amaze.

[mm1970]

Good that they have limits, but I now feel like I legitimately need to stock up.  What if someone in my work gets the rona and I have to quarantine myself for 14 days with no notice?   Or I get it, or a member of my family? I'd like to be responsible and actually quarantine inside for the full 14 days which means no grocery trips or anything outside of the house.  But if I am planning to only go shopping once every 7-14 days, that means I need an additional 14 days worth of supplies added on to the end of that period just in case I get quarantined with no notice.  I am absolutely not prepared to lock my doors and not leave my house for 14 days once I get towards the end of my normal supply, which is right now.  My last trip was 7 days ago when I started this thread, and I wasn't able to get everything I needed.  I do have lots of supplies (frozen food, macaroni, rice, some canned goods) and probably won't starve, but I probably only have enough eggs and milk to last 5 more days, so if I have to quarantine sometime between now and my next shopping trip then I am fucked.

I have actually started eating oatmeal for breakfast 4-5 days a week, for this reason.  To hold off on eggs, because they didn't have any at the store.  My husband has not gotten the memo, and is eating 2/day.  The kids are eating cereal. Also, I ordered some ground flax seed to use for baking instead of eggs.

[Cranky]

We got a grocery curbside pickup today, and I think I got everything I ordered including flour and onions!

We are now pretty well stocked up. I have a long list of possible dinners and baked goods that I can make. I’m going to start another grocery order this weekend for pickup next week.

If we really don’t see the peak until May 1, I won’t be in the grocery store until summer. Crazy times.

[OtherJen]

The regional differences are fascinating.

Since my husband’s health scare turned out to be one of his “silent” migraines plus clogged sinuses from working in the grain room without a mask (he’s completely fine now), I went to the produce market and Meijer this morning (armed with a face scarf, Lysol wipes, and hand sanitizer). The produce market had everything on my list, including eggs and dry beans/lentils/split peas. Meijer was low on fresh meat—I got one of the last two whole chickens—and the cleaning products were still cleared out (forgot to check TP), but the only thing on my list that I couldn’t get was masa harina for tortillas. We’re good on produce for at least 1.5 weeks, and on meat/dairy/non-perishables for considerably longer.

I was fighting off anxiety before my first stop, but I was one of maybe 10 shoppers at the produce market, and everyone was keeping a wide berth. Meijer wasn’t much busier. Employees at both stores were cleaning everything. Maybe we’re getting past the panic hoarding?

[Buffaloski Boris]

Shopping at Kroger this morning was interesting.  Lots of limits on certain items (eggs, milk, fresh meat), but all in all I got everything I wanted.  What I found most interesting was that when it came to fresh fruit and vegetables, they were full stocked.

[dividendman]

Shopping at Kroger this morning was interesting.  Lots of limits on certain items (eggs, milk, fresh meat), but all in all I got everything I wanted.  What I found most interesting was that when it came to fresh fruit and vegetables, they were full stocked.

Killing ourselves with terrible diets and obesity is fine.  We only worry about new threats like the virus.

[frugalnacho]

Fruits and veggies were mostly stocked. Bread is back. Still haven't seen ground beef, toilet paper, or cleaning supplies for sale in almost a month. Just empty shelves every time I go. Maybe I could find some if I kept hopping around to multiple stores, but I'm trying to limit my store exposure as much as possible.

Limits for damn near everything in the store, either 1 or 2 items depending on how popular it is.  Regular eggs were gone, had to buy the expensive cage free brown eggs, and they only had about 6 dozen of those left.  Several other substitutions for other stuff as well.

Everyone keeps saying the supply chain is fine and absolutely nothing is broken, but where is all the god damn toilet paper?! Even if people have been hoarding it for a month at this point why isn't there any more? I know it's because other people keep buying it, and many are getting low like me, but that just makes me question where the rest of it went.  Who has all these god damn stock piles of toilet paper? How have we not reached saturation at this point? No one is consuming more toilet paper than before so they must just be stock piling it, buy almost everyone I know is running low.  I'm sure some asshole that has a 6 month supply isn't going to be up front about what an asshole they are, but still lots of people running out.

[SpaceCow]

I went grocery shopping today in Michigan.  A lot of people were wearing nitrile gloves and face masks.  A lot of people were coughing.  Coughing openly, or coughing into their hands and touching EVERYTHING in the store. Plenty of people wearing the gloves would cough directly into the gloves and then touch stuff.  Saw one old dude blowing his nose with a handkerchief in the produce section before returning it to his pocket, and then manhandling everything.

A lot of stuff that was out of stock has been restocked, but they were still missing a lot of things like frozen vegetables, canned vegetables, breads, pasta.
 Lots of other stuff was very low stock too.  I haven't seen a roll of toilet paper for sale in weeks now.



Shit is about to get fucking nuts in the metro detroit area.

Thanks for the warning. I am in Waterford and have managed to avoid the grocery stores since shit really hit the fan. It's really concerning that people are openly coughing in public. I haven't seen that yet.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

I don't understand what's going on with the USA. In NZ, with no deaths so far, we have factories now making masks and eye protection. Where are your manufacturers? I know that Trump only recently used his powers to make factories produce items the country needs, but why have your manufacturers not stepped up by themselves???

[Sibley]

I don't understand what's going on with the USA. In NZ, with no deaths so far, we have factories now making masks and eye protection. Where are your manufacturers? I know that Trump only recently used his powers to make factories produce items the country needs, but why have your manufacturers not stepped up by themselves???

Edit:

Misread. You are assuming that the companies are lead by human beings. I'm convinced most of them are robots.

[Serendip]

Did our once a week grocery trip for things we can't order online (my SO went to the store and then I washed/disinfected everything when he got home..dividing up the job between us makes it easier).  They even had tp (they were selling single rolls and then 4 packs--one 4 pack limit per household), we are fine on that point but good strategy to sell single rolls---spread out the wealth! (it's just a small community store so makes more sense than in a bigger place).

A local brewery did a drop of of beer today at our townhouse (no charge)

Tomorrow a local bakery orchestrated pickup for fresh-baked sourdough bread & frozen sourdough pizza dough. You order the week before & pre-pay, then they allot you a 5-minute window to pick it your order so that no one has to be in the store at the same time.

A truck-delivery order coming Sunday..mostly dry goods like oats/flour & lentils..

[OtherJen]

I don't understand what's going on with the USA. In NZ, with no deaths so far, we have factories now making masks and eye protection. Where are your manufacturers? I know that Trump only recently used his powers to make factories produce items the country needs, but why have your manufacturers not stepped up by themselves???

Ford Motor Company started making face shields for our local medical workers last week. They're still reworking plants to make other medical supplies.

[pressure9pa]

I don't understand what's going on with the USA. In NZ, with no deaths so far, we have factories now making masks and eye protection. Where are your manufacturers? I know that Trump only recently used his powers to make factories produce items the country needs, but why have your manufacturers not stepped up by themselves???

Ford Motor Company started making face shields for our local medical workers last week. They're still reworking plants to make other medical supplies.

The General Motors plant in Kokomo, Indiana is starting to make ventilators. 

[Cgbg]

I picked up my first curbside order at Fred Meyers today. There were a couple of substitutions that were fine but they seemed to be out of 3 lb bags of yellow onions. No big deal. I still have some, I just figured with all the time I have at home I’d chop/freeze/seal some more up. I’ll try again next week.

I’m egg-rich right now. I’m giving away two dozen a week, and we still have tons even with daily egg consumption. I have 11 hens of which maybe 9 lay eggs, and of those 6 are daily. I’m getting 6-8 eggs a day which is just insane. I dropped some off on a sibling’s doorstep this morning and felt like I was leaving the proverbial summer zuchinni. I almost texted a neighbor to see if she wants eggs but then Dh said he was reaching out to the elderly neighbors tomorrow to see if they needed some. Frankly I could do both. When my college aged kids come home I’ll hoard some for a week or so. Not going into work each day has really made the egg distribution much harder.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

I picked up my first curbside order at Fred Meyers today. There were a couple of substitutions that were fine but they seemed to be out of 3 lb bags of yellow onions. No big deal. I still have some, I just figured with all the time I have at home I’d chop/freeze/seal some more up. I’ll try again next week.

I’m egg-rich right now. I’m giving away two dozen a week, and we still have tons even with daily egg consumption. I have 11 hens of which maybe 9 lay eggs, and of those 6 are daily. I’m getting 6-8 eggs a day which is just insane. I dropped some off on a sibling’s doorstep this morning and felt like I was leaving the proverbial summer zuchinni. I almost texted a neighbor to see if she wants eggs but then Dh said he was reaching out to the elderly neighbors tomorrow to see if they needed some. Frankly I could do both. When my college aged kids come home I’ll hoard some for a week or so. Not going into work each day has really made the egg distribution much harder.

When I had hens I gave the neighbours on each side a half dozen a week. Kind of compensation for early morning egg song!

[frugalnacho]

I didn't mention it, but I did not see people openly coughing when I went shopping today.  Last week many people were openly coughing and walking around with cold like symptoms, but today everyone seemed fine.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

I didn't mention it, but I did not see people openly coughing when I went shopping today.  Last week many people were openly coughing and walking around with cold like symptoms, but today everyone seemed fine.

I've been at the supermarket and needed to cough, like an ordinary everyday throat recalibrating cough, and didn't do it. I didn't want people looking at me.... And every time I do cough, I have to analyse whether it was an ordinary cough or covid!

[OtherJen]

I didn't mention it, but I did not see people openly coughing when I went shopping today.  Last week many people were openly coughing and walking around with cold like symptoms, but today everyone seemed fine.

Same. It was eerily quiet.

[lhamo]

We did a costco stockup run yesterday.  We went to the store slightly further away from us than our regular store, as it is larger and in a more suburban town and we figured it would be better stocked/have more space for distancing.  Arrived about 10:15 and there was already quite a long line, but it moved quickly.  All the carts were being sanitized -- they hired the people who give out food samples to do that and to sanitize all the refigerator case handles and other high-touch surfaces inside.  They had the line set up so that it snaked through the aisles, Disneyland style, almost all the way to the back.  They were counting people as they left on the other end and releasing new groups of about 25-30 people every 10-15 minutes.  We probably spent 30-40 minutes in line before our batch was released.  They had staff space out throughout the store reminding people to try to keep 6 feet social distancing space -- for the most part it worked.  They were sold out of TP, paper towels, most other cleaning/sanitation stuff and the odd thing like SPAM (I guess not odd as it is a shelf-stable protein -- there were plenty of cans of tuna, salmon and sardines, though).  They still had rice so we got a bag as we go through a lot of it.  There were no lines for checkout -- they had almost all the registers open and were sanitizing the belts, etc after each person.  The checker did not handle my credit card -- just had me hold it up while they zapped the number with the scanner.

Staff were pleasant and most people were, too.  Staff were all wearing nitrile gloves, but no masks.

I managed to book a pickup order at Fred Meyer for early Sunday morning by staying up to 12am Thursday morning -- got one of a few slots still open that far out. We'll see how much of my order they have in stock, though I have found that early day pickups seem to have most things.

[FireLane]

We had the foresight to stock up before the lockdown began, and our pantry is pretty full. I can easily make several weeks' worth of meals without leaving the house, so I'm not worried about going hungry. But we're still going out for stuff that turns over quickly, like milk and bananas.

I went to the supermarket yesterday. I was prepared for pandemonium (and I promised Mrs. FL I'd turn right around if it looked like the riot police were about to be called in), but it was as sedate as I'd expect it to be on a normal Sunday afternoon. There were no angry crowds and no huge lines at the registers.

However, people clearly haven't satisfied their hoarding impulses. Whole aisles were stripped bare, and most of the non-perishables were gone. Cereal, canned beans, pasta, baking supplies, frozen foods and paper products were nowhere to be had. Luckily, there was plenty of milk, yogurt and fresh produce, which is what I came for, so my shopping trip was successful.

There was also ample coffee, tea, candy and other packaged and processed junk foods, so whatever happens, at least we'll get to be caffeinated and on a sugar high.

I went shopping today, and it was a relief to see that the shelves have mostly been restocked. There were still slim pickings in the frozen aisle, but cereal, pasta, rice and canned goods were all back. They even had a few rolls of toilet paper. Maybe the panic-buying has crested (although I was expecting a second wave after Trump shooting his mouth off about wanting to quarantine the entire state of New York).

It felt more eerie than last time, though. Almost all the supermarket workers and about half the shoppers were wearing face masks, and there were tape markings on the floor by the checkout lines to show you where to stand.

[Holocene]

No one is consuming more toilet paper than before so they must just be stock piling it, buy almost everyone I know is running low.  I'm sure some asshole that has a 6 month supply isn't going to be up front about what an asshole they are, but still lots of people running out.

To be fair, I'm guessing people actually are consuming more toilet paper than they normally would, at least in their homes.  When you're stuck at home all day, not going to work/school/restaurants/social gatherings, then you're probably using the bathroom in your house more and thus, need more TP.  The overall consumption of TP may not have changed, but it's shifted from businesses to personal consumers.  I do agree that there are obviously people hoarding and it's preventing those that need it now from being able to get it.

I guess I'm one of those assholes with a large supply of TP.  But to be fair, I last bought a large 24 pack of mega-rolls sometime in early Feb and it wasn't due to this panic.  I just try to buy everything as cheaply as possible which generally means buying in bulk (as long as it's non-perishable), especially when it's on sale.  I don't go through a ton of TP, so it will likely last me a long time since I still had some left of my last bulk buy.  I generally bike to the store, so that also impacts how I shop.  I may not need flour tomorrow, but if I have room in my limited storage space (panniers) during this trip, I'd buy it in case I don't have room next time when I do need it.  Eventually, things get well stocked in my house since I have plenty of storage in my house.  I could survive quite a while without going to the store, though I would miss certain items (milk, fresh fruit).  I have not bought any more than normal or more than 1 or 2 of any item since the panic all began, so hopefully that makes me not an asshole, despite being well stocked.  Being single also helps.  It's a lot easier to feed 1 person for several months than a family of 4-5 or more.

I do wish I could get some hand sanitizer.  I've never really used it so don't have any.  It'd be nice to have when going to the store, but I'm just washing my hands a lot and hoping that will suffice.  At least I'm working from home now so don't have too much to worry about.

[Channel-Z]

This past Friday night was much calmer than the previous two Friday nights (Hy-Vee, big grocery store chain in central U.S.). Only two registers were open and a small amount of customers were present.

Dried goods like pasta/ramen/rice and canned items were still in short supply. I didn't check the paper goods aisle. Sanitizer and wet wipes are still long gone.

Fresh items, even eggs, were widely available, although the store placed limits on eggs.

[Wrenchturner]

I didn't mention it, but I did not see people openly coughing when I went shopping today.  Last week many people were openly coughing and walking around with cold like symptoms, but today everyone seemed fine.

I've been at the supermarket and needed to cough, like an ordinary everyday throat recalibrating cough, and didn't do it. I didn't want people looking at me.... And every time I do cough, I have to analyse whether it was an ordinary cough or covid!

I hope that people are more careful about coughing and touching their nose/face in public after this event.  You're still offering up pathology when you cough, with or without covid!

[Freedomin5]

I do wish I could get some hand sanitizer.  I've never really used it so don't have any.  It'd be nice to have when going to the store, but I'm just washing my hands a lot and hoping that will suffice.  At least I'm working from home now so don't have too much to worry about.

Washing your hands in warm running water for at least 20 seconds with soap is supposed to be better than hand sanitizer. You only use hand sanitizer if you’re unable to wash your hands at the moment. So you should be fine especially if you’re not leaving your home. We have one small 2 oz bottle of hand sanitizer and have yet to use it up because 1) we haven’t left the house and 2) we wash our hands.

Also, it is possible to make your own hand sanitizer using rubbing alcohol, if you really MUST have hand sanitizer. There are YouTube videos online.

[Freedomin5]

Many people have talked about running to the grocery store to get milk. Don’t you guys have UHT (shelf stable) milk where you live. We mainly drink imported milk and it all comes in shelf stable tetra paks. They last for several months in the pantry and we can buy several liters at a time.

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Many people have talked about running to the grocery store to get milk. Don’t you guys have UHT (shelf stable) milk where you live. We mainly drink imported milk and it all comes in shelf stable tetra paks. They last for several months in the pantry and we can buy several liters at a time.

We mainly drink fresh milk, and supply you guys with milk! We can get shelf stable packs, but they don't taste the same. Also cows still need milking, milk is still being produced, and Fonterra is one of our largest employers so why not support the farmers in this time?

[Freedomin5]

Many people have talked about running to the grocery store to get milk. Don’t you guys have UHT (shelf stable) milk where you live. We mainly drink imported milk and it all comes in shelf stable tetra paks. They last for several months in the pantry and we can buy several liters at a time.

We mainly drink fresh milk, and supply you guys with milk! We can get shelf stable packs, but they don't taste the same. Also cows still need milking, milk is still being produced, and Fonterra is one of our largest employers so why not support the farmers in this time?

We do get a lot of our milk from New Zealand and Australia! It’s great!

[Cranky]

Many people have talked about running to the grocery store to get milk. Don’t you guys have UHT (shelf stable) milk where you live. We mainly drink imported milk and it all comes in shelf stable tetra paks. They last for several months in the pantry and we can buy several liters at a time.

Not really, at least in my area. I used to be able to buy it in Florida, and people stocked it for hurricane supplies.

I only see little juice box sized packages here, which I guess people might buy for kids’ lunches.

We only use milk for cereal and baking, so it’s not an urgent need for us at this point.

[Holocene]

I do wish I could get some hand sanitizer.  I've never really used it so don't have any.  It'd be nice to have when going to the store, but I'm just washing my hands a lot and hoping that will suffice.  At least I'm working from home now so don't have too much to worry about.

Washing your hands in warm running water for at least 20 seconds with soap is supposed to be better than hand sanitizer. You only use hand sanitizer if you’re unable to wash your hands at the moment. So you should be fine especially if you’re not leaving your home. We have one small 2 oz bottle of hand sanitizer and have yet to use it up because 1) we haven’t left the house and 2) we wash our hands.

Also, it is possible to make your own hand sanitizer using rubbing alcohol, if you really MUST have hand sanitizer. There are YouTube videos online.

Yeah, I'm not worried at home, which is like 99% of the time now.  I mostly just want it when I go to the store.  I've just been using the cart wipes if they have them and try to get in and out quickly and don't touch my face.  When I get home, I wash my hands well.  I'm not high risk so I'm not super concerned, it'd just be a nice to have.  But I didn't really take this seriously until it was too late to find any.  I've heard about making your own.  I do have alcohol, but don't have any gel/glycerin and I've heard that's hard to find too since everyone is doing it now.  Maybe I'll just spray some alcohol on my hands if I get really desperate!

[AnnaGrowsAMustache]

Many people have talked about running to the grocery store to get milk. Don’t you guys have UHT (shelf stable) milk where you live. We mainly drink imported milk and it all comes in shelf stable tetra paks. They last for several months in the pantry and we can buy several liters at a time.

We mainly drink fresh milk, and supply you guys with milk! We can get shelf stable packs, but they don't taste the same. Also cows still need milking, milk is still being produced, and Fonterra is one of our largest employers so why not support the farmers in this time?

We do get a lot of our milk from New Zealand and Australia! It’s great!

Pretty sure China is our biggest market by far. I know I sometimes meet Chinese tourists who can say hello, thank you and Fonterra! Very cute.

[former player]

I do wish I could get some hand sanitizer.  I've never really used it so don't have any.  It'd be nice to have when going to the store, but I'm just washing my hands a lot and hoping that will suffice.  At least I'm working from home now so don't have too much to worry about.

Washing your hands in warm running water for at least 20 seconds with soap is supposed to be better than hand sanitizer. You only use hand sanitizer if you’re unable to wash your hands at the moment. So you should be fine especially if you’re not leaving your home. We have one small 2 oz bottle of hand sanitizer and have yet to use it up because 1) we haven’t left the house and 2) we wash our hands.

Also, it is possible to make your own hand sanitizer using rubbing alcohol, if you really MUST have hand sanitizer. There are YouTube videos online.

Yeah, I'm not worried at home, which is like 99% of the time now.  I mostly just want it when I go to the store.  I've just been using the cart wipes if they have them and try to get in and out quickly and don't touch my face.  When I get home, I wash my hands well.  I'm not high risk so I'm not super concerned, it'd just be a nice to have.  But I didn't really take this seriously until it was too late to find any.  I've heard about making your own.  I do have alcohol, but don't have any gel/glycerin and I've heard that's hard to find too since everyone is doing it now.  Maybe I'll just spray some alcohol on my hands if I get really desperate!

I don't have any hand sanitiser either: never used it and wouldn't know what to buy.  What I have done for grocery shopping (the only time I go near anyone else) is put a damp soapy washcloth in a Tupperware box in the boot of my car.  The groceries go in the boot and then I "wash" my hands with the washcloth.  I am then "clean" to get in the front of the car and drive away.  The groceries then stay in the boot for as long as possible for as much virus as possible to die off before bringing them into the house.  So far so good.