Shit is getting real. As the world slowly shuts down and we start to practice self-isolation and social distancing, shopping in bulk is something that everyone has to come to grips with. For many of us, we may have lived in a house of bulk shopping, but never had to do it in our adult lives.
When I think of shopping for a pandemic, I think of the worst case scenario. What happens if there’s no light or you don’t have a source of water. The goal is to have options that don’t rely on anything else and to have the bare essentials and some extras.
Food
You still want to try and eat as nutritiously as you can. If you have a lot of freezer space, you can buy things to freeze. If you don't , this is where cans and cupboards come in handy. Even if you have freezer space, imagine that there will come a time with no light, so you have to have can and dried food. Think of how many people live in the house and how long you want to shop for, then multiply each item. Me and my husband used a two week shopping list as a base and calculated things based on what we already know about our usage. For water, the recommendation is 3 litres per person per day. For me that is 84 litres of water, which is 4 dispenser bottles. Apply that mindset to your whole shop. This is a non-vegetarian/vegan list.
Freezer
Meat/ Alternate protein source
Vegatables
Canned Goods
Canned Fish
Canned vegatebles
Canned fruits
Beans
Chickpeas
Cupboard foods
Rice
Beans
Pasta
Garri
Ketchup and hot sauce
Peanut butter
Nuts
Seeds
Tea
Coffee
Powdered/evaporated milk/ shelf stable milk
Shelf stable drinks that don’t need to be refrigerated and have a long shelf life
Water
Fridge
Yoghurt
Fruit and vegetables
Cleaning Products and Toiletries
Multipurpose bleach based cleaner
Sponges
Dish washing liquid
Wipes
Soap
Toilet roll
Kitchen roll
First aid
Multivitamin
Vitamin c
Paracetamol
Bandages
Plasters
Antiseptic wipes/solution
Other Essentials
Powerbanks
Torch light'/rechargeable lamps
batteries
candles
