Grocery shopping tips during Coronavirus quarantine

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oviedo said:
Last couple years I froze water in the wine bags my Aldi box wine comes in - it is only used for handwashing and ice so I don't care if the bag isn't clean. it worked great but did take some time to fill up since I had to push the dispenser in to allow water to flow into the plastic pouch. I also started filling empty vinegar jugs, soda bottles etc - when we were without power for weeks - we could still wash our hands with soap and water which is especially important now. Tarps are a great idea I will get on that this week. I also need to get the trees trimmed - my neighbor's - their branches are inches from my roof.
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We're almost ready for hurricane season. We got about half the trees on our property trimmed just before some storms came through here. DH's coworkers didn't trim their trees in time and lost power. Our power blinked but stayed on. We need to finish trimming the trees this weekend. We still need to tune up our generator and get some more water. I think that will get us ready. I managed to find some bottled water about 2 weeks ago but the store was limiting it to only 1 per sale. If it gets really bad we have some water purification tablets and a Lifestraw in our camping supplies. And we have emergency radios, batteries, candles, flashlights, tarps, etc. Plus pretty much everything I think we'll need to "rough it" if we lose power. The hardest part about this year is that we can't just pack up and drive to visit family in a non-hurricane state. In the past, if a bad one was coming, we always had that option. And I really don't want to go to a hotel or shelter. We'll probably take our chances and stay home instead. I'm praying this season is mild but they are saying it's going to be a very active season. :(
 
Gardener1850 said:
We're almost ready for hurricane season. We got about half the trees on our property trimmed just before some storms came through here. DH's coworkers didn't trim their trees in time and lost power. Our power blinked but stayed on. We need to finish trimming the trees this weekend. We still need to tune up our generator and get some more water. I think that will get us ready. I managed to find some bottled water about 2 weeks ago but the store was limiting it to only 1 per sale. If it gets really bad we have some water purification tablets and a Lifestraw in our camping supplies. And we have emergency radios, batteries, candles, flashlights, tarps, etc. Plus pretty much everything I think we'll need to "rough it" if we lose power. The hardest part about this year is that we can't just pack up and drive to visit family in a non-hurricane state. In the past, if a bad one was coming, we always had that option. And I really don't want to go to a hotel or shelter. We'll probably take our chances and stay home instead. I'm praying this season is mild but they are saying it's going to be a very active season. :(
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I believe this is going to be bad we are due for a few named storms IMO - I keep a stocked pantry and freezer and have a ridiculous amount of bottled water from our Christmas cruise and the spring break cruise we were on / no illness thankfully but I did bring all the water bottles we didn’t drink - in the stores cases of water and gallons are hard to find these days just like TP - I have filters and just fill all my glass bottles but I’m getting worried and will keep preparing - I’m annoyed I have to pay to trim the neighbors trees that were planted nearly in my property line but I don’t want my roof destroyed / maybe I will get up there this weekend and see what I can do !
 
oviedo said:
I believe this is going to be bad we are due for a few named storms IMO - I keep a stocked pantry and freezer and have a ridiculous amount of bottled water from our Christmas cruise and the spring break cruise we were on / no illness thankfully but I did bring all the water bottles we didn’t drink - in the stores cases of water and gallons are hard to find these days just like TP - I have filters and just fill all my glass bottles but I’m getting worried and will keep preparing - I’m annoyed I have to pay to trim the neighbors trees that were planted nearly in my property line but I don’t want my roof destroyed / maybe I will get up there this weekend and see what I can do !
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You want to get up on your rooftop trim the branches? :eek::eek::eek:

Think carefully....you don't want a trip to the ER right now....:rolleyes:
 
I went grocery shopping today. It's been about 2 weeks since I left the house (other than to work in my yard/garden). I decided to drive farther away to a bigger grocery store this time. I have been avoiding doing this due to there being more diagnosed cases in the area where I needed to go. But it was a really successful trip. I found grassfed beef and organic ground chicken! No organic chicken breasts or thighs but I bought some natural ones. The meat cases were pretty well stocked except for the pork. A few packages of Smithfield pork were left on the shelf but the areas all around the Smithfield pork were bare. I was quite surprised. Southerners love their pork, especially Smithfield. I assume the bare areas were spaces where other brands of pork were originally located and people are avoiding Smithfield right now because of the news about them having many employees diagnosed with Covid19. Despite the bare spots in the pork section I was able to get some uncured/nitrate free bacon. We haven't had any pork in over a month. I was so happy that there was plenty of meat, I nearly cried in front of the meat case.

The store I went to today had no limits on meat but limited some other items, mostly canned goods and shelf stable items. The main items I noticed that were out or had huge gaps on their shelves: Canned soups, jarred spaghetti sauce, cereal, flour, sugar, dried beans and paper products. With the exception of toilet paper, all of these things were available in some form but certain brands were totally gone. I wasn't trying to buy any of those items except TP but I took note of what was out anyway. Many items that had been sold out in my local stores in the first 4 weeks of the shutdown were fully stocked. The canned tuna shelves were full. The dairy area was totally stocked. Egg prices have skyrocketed for some reason and were double my normal price. However, I only buy brown Free Range/Organic Eggs and I didn't check the price of the regular white ones. Organic bananas were only .69 cents a lb which is a rock bottom price for my area. Everything else I bought seemed to be normal prices. My grated Parmesan without cellulose is still not in stock so I treated myself to a small block of it from the fancy cheese case. Doubled my Parm cost this week but I figured I could afford it because of the banana savings. And I didn't buy any eggs. There was lots of produce and vegan meat replacement options were fully stocked there.

The majority of people in the store had on masks this time. Employees stocking shelves had on masks too. However, very few other people had gloves. Perhaps they have not been able to get them? We always keep gloves on hand and happened to buy a box in Feb only because we were out. The only other person I saw in the store wearing gloves was obviously a medical person. She was in her full scrubs and wearing her hospital ID. She looked weary, like she had just finished a shift. I wanted to hug her but I stayed away and silently prayed for her instead. It's so hard when wearing a mask and people can't see your facial expressions.

All in all, it was a great shopping trip. I got everything on my list except for toilet paper and eggs. I will have to go on a hunt for TP later. We have 1 dozen eggs so we are OK for now on those. And my neighbors have hens so I might be able to barter with them for some eggs.
 
Instructions
  1. Heat water to boiling.
  2. Combine borax and grated bar soap in a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the mixture. ...
  3. Allow mixture to cool on the countertop for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Dish soap will gel upon standing.
  4. Transfer to a squirt bottle, and add essential oils (if using). Shake well to combine.
Homemade Dish Soap: This Natural DIY Dish Soap Is Simple and Effective
I have borax on hand - can't remember why I bought it.
FYI - dish soap is becoming limited locally
 
The coming shortage in chicken, pork and turkey will take a while to show at retail store. The "farmer/ ranchers are starting to depopulate the bird flocks..Breaking eggs that would hatch and I won't go into the rest. You can Google it :( fresh milk can't be sold due to decreased demand. Dumping several hundred thoousand gallons a day. Going to ruin a lot of small dairy producers.
It's going to be a rough couple of years. The slaughter houses are being shut down due to covid19 outbreaks. Large pork producer in SD. We will learn to work with it... Very sad ☹️ MOO. FYI the SD plant is Smithfield ( Chinese owned) I stopped buying there product when traceable several years ago. JMO
 
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Luckyzmom said:
The coming shortage in chicken, pork and turkey will take a while to show at retail store. The "farmer/ ranchers are starting to depopulate the bird flocks..Breaking eggs that would hatch and I won't go into the rest. You can Google it :( fresh milk can't be sold due to decreased demand. Dumping several hundred thoousand gallons a day. Going to ruin a lot of small dairy producers.
It's going to be a rough couple of years. The slaughter houses are being shut down due to covid19 outbreaks. Large pork producer in SD. We will learn to work with it... Very sad ☹️ MOO. FYI the SD plant is Smithfield ( Chinese owned) I stopped buying there product when traceable several years ago. JMO
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I hit the grocery store during work lunch - I stocked up on what I could and we created a recipe challenge to rotate dinner responsibilities - each person has to create a dinner based on what we have - I’m first - salmon with a Parmesan crust and a basil pesto sauce since my basil plant is a huge tree - my freezer and pantry are good because I’m a planner and have enough to share - have given TP to friends because I had extra and will share as needed - all our stores are limiting quantities
JMO
 

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Gardener1850 said:
Haha. :p I've been taking them straight to the compost pile without touching them. :oops: I'm not that desperate yet... :eek:
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Every weekly flyer has totally stopped coming to mailboxes here (parts of the Midwest); on the same page (<-- but the page is made of TP, and *not* newsprint!) as @Gardener1850 wrote re: "re-cycling" newsprint items...:-)
 
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oviedo said:
Instructions
  1. Heat water to boiling.
  2. Combine borax and grated bar soap in a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the mixture. ...
  3. Allow mixture to cool on the countertop for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Dish soap will gel upon standing.
  4. Transfer to a squirt bottle, and add essential oils (if using). Shake well to combine.
Homemade Dish Soap: This Natural DIY Dish Soap Is Simple and Effective
I have borax on hand - can't remember why I bought it.
FYI - dish soap is becoming limited locally
Click to expand...

This looks really easy to make. I just started a thread for posting soap and other product recipes. Would you mind posting this over there too? Making Our Own Soaps, Sanitizers, Detergents and Other Household Products

Thanks! :)
 
oviedo said:
Dish washing soap
Instructions
Ingredients

  1. Heat water to boiling.
  2. Combine borax and grated bar soap in a medium bowl. Pour hot water over the mixture. ...
  3. Allow mixture to cool on the countertop for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Dish soap will gel upon standing.
  4. Transfer to a squirt bottle, and add essential oils (if using). Shake well to combine.
Homemade Dish Soap: This Natural DIY Dish Soap Is Simple and Effective
I have borax on hand - can't remember why I bought it.
FYI - dish soap is becoming limited locally
Click to expand...
Gardener1850 said:
This looks really easy to make. I just started a thread for posting soap and other product recipes. Would you mind posting this over there too? Making Our Own Soaps, Sanitizers, Detergents and Other Household Products

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...
Done and I added the measurements I forget our international members can’t click on links sometimes
 
My Great Grandmother had a little wire box, with a handle. She put all of the slivers of hand soap in there. And when it was time to do dishes, she put hot water in the sink, and swished around her "dish soap" dispenser until the water was frothy.
 
Other than a quick trip to pick up takeout, neither DH nor I had been out of the house since last Tuesday when we went to Nino Salvaggio's together. DH needed a few staples and made a quick trip to Meijer last night. Besides half & half, orange juice, and bread, he got a small spiral-sliced ham, two 48oz jars of Randall Great Northern beans, celery, two small bottles of Palmolive dish liquid, chips, and wine. I plan to make a huge pot of navy bean and ham soup over the weekend when I don't have to worry about making too much noise in the kitchen while DH is working.

We're alright with TP for a while, but DH checked at Meijer, and they had none. He was able to get a 12-pack when he went to early senior hour at Meijer two weeks ago. TP was handed out one per customer from a large pallet. We opened the pack of Angel Soft over the weekend and put the rolls in the linen closet. We needed a new roll in the master bath yesterday, and DH noticed a strange odor in the linen closet. Angel Soft TP has a very strange scent o_O We've never had this brand before and would never buy it unless there's no other brand available. Has anyone here gotten Angel Soft? Do you notice the unusual scent? We can't identify the smell and prefer unscented TP. That said, the 12-pack should last a couple of weeks, and we always have extra TP and Kleenex in powder room and guest bathroom.

Do any of you use Zatarain's or Vigo's rice mixes? I would ordinarily make Red beans & Rice, Cuban Black Beans & Rice, Jambalaya, etc. from scratch, but DH bought several packages of various beans/rice mixes to keep in the pantry. I think they're a little too spicy, but DH likes them. He uses beef or chicken stock instead of water for more flavor, and adds Andouille sausage, cooked chicken, browned ground beef or turkey, or shrimp.
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
Other than a quick trip to pick up takeout, neither DH nor I had been out of the house since last Tuesday when we went to Nino Salvaggio's together. DH needed a few staples and made a quick trip to Meijer last night. Besides half & half, orange juice, and bread, he got a small spiral-sliced ham, two 48oz jars of Randall Great Northern beans, celery, two small bottles of Palmolive dish liquid, chips, and wine. I plan to make a huge pot of navy bean and ham soup over the weekend when I don't have to worry about making too much noise in the kitchen while DH is working.

We're alright with TP for a while, but DH checked at Meijer, and they had none. He was able to get a 12-pack when he went to early senior hour at Meijer two weeks ago. TP was handed out one per customer from a large pallet. We opened the pack of Angel Soft over the weekend and put the rolls in the linen closet. We needed a new roll in the master bath yesterday, and DH noticed a strange odor in the linen closet. Angel Soft TP has a very strange scent o_O We've never had this brand before and would never buy it unless there's no other brand available. Has anyone here gotten Angel Soft? Do you notice the unusual scent? We can't identify the smell and prefer unscented TP. That said, the 12-pack should last a couple of weeks, and we always have extra TP and Kleenex in powder room and guest bathroom.

Do any of you use Zatarain's or Vigo's rice mixes? I would ordinarily make Red beans & Rice, Cuban Black Beans & Rice, Jambalaya, etc. from scratch, but DH bought several packages of various beans/rice mixes to keep in the pantry. I think they're a little too spicy, but DH likes them. He uses beef or chicken stock instead of water for more flavor, and adds Andouille sausage, cooked chicken, browned ground beef or turkey, or shrimp.
Click to expand...

I've tried them before, but don't like the taste because they are loaded with sodium.
 
BetteDavisEyes said:
Other than a quick trip to pick up takeout, neither DH nor I had been out of the house since last Tuesday when we went to Nino Salvaggio's together. DH needed a few staples and made a quick trip to Meijer last night. Besides half & half, orange juice, and bread, he got a small spiral-sliced ham, two 48oz jars of Randall Great Northern beans, celery, two small bottles of Palmolive dish liquid, chips, and wine. I plan to make a huge pot of navy bean and ham soup over the weekend when I don't have to worry about making too much noise in the kitchen while DH is working.

We're alright with TP for a while, but DH checked at Meijer, and they had none. He was able to get a 12-pack when he went to early senior hour at Meijer two weeks ago. TP was handed out one per customer from a large pallet. We opened the pack of Angel Soft over the weekend and put the rolls in the linen closet. We needed a new roll in the master bath yesterday, and DH noticed a strange odor in the linen closet. Angel Soft TP has a very strange scent o_O We've never had this brand before and would never buy it unless there's no other brand available. Has anyone here gotten Angel Soft? Do you notice the unusual scent? We can't identify the smell and prefer unscented TP. That said, the 12-pack should last a couple of weeks, and we always have extra TP and Kleenex in powder room and guest bathroom.

Do any of you use Zatarain's or Vigo's rice mixes? I would ordinarily make Red beans & Rice, Cuban Black Beans & Rice, Jambalaya, etc. from scratch, but DH bought several packages of various beans/rice mixes to keep in the pantry. I think they're a little too spicy, but DH likes them. He uses beef or chicken stock instead of water for more flavor, and adds Andouille sausage, cooked chicken, browned ground beef or turkey, or shrimp.
Click to expand...
I've used Zatarain's for years (recently bought the Aldi brand and it's very similar) - I've never tried from scratch but have dried beans (both red and black) and alot of rice so I could in a pinch. I just like the convenience of it - we add kielbasa to ours - andouille is special to us for our gumbo so I don't use it - that could be where your spice is coming from ? We like this brand because it isn't too spicy and everyone can add red pepper or tobasco on their own.
I've used Angel Soft and don't notice a smell and I'm fairly sensitive - but funny you mention that - I wonder if some of the perfume of the packer got on it? I just opened a check from a client and the envelope smelled so much of perfume I had to throw the envelope out right away.
JMO
 
oviedo said:
I've used Zatarain's for years (recently bought the Aldi brand and it's very similar) - I've never tried from scratch but have dried beans (both red and black) and alot of rice so I could in a pinch. I just like the convenience of it - we add kielbasa to ours - andouille is special to us for our gumbo so I don't use it - that could be where your spice is coming from ? We like this brand because it isn't too spicy and everyone can add red pepper or tobasco on their own.
I've used Angel Soft and don't notice a smell and I'm fairly sensitive - but funny you mention that - I wonder if some of the perfume of the packer got on it? I just opened a check from a client and the envelope smelled so much of perfume I had to throw the envelope out right away.
Click to expand...

Even without sausage, I find Zatarain's and Vigo's bean/rice mixes to be too spicy. I usually end up with heartburn :eek: DH likes them for lunch. I like making dishes like red/black beans and rice from scratch so I can control the type and amount of spice. I like Gumbo but don't recall having made it, certainly not recently. Will give it some thought. Will you share your recipe?

I figured out what the Angel Soft smell is like: Linen Breeze Bounce dryer sheets. There is apparently lavender-scented Angel Soft TP, but that's not what DH got. I prefer non-fragranced dryer sheets, but my preferred Arm & Hammer brand wasn't available the last time I needed them.
 
I’m very sensitive to scents, been using Angel Soft for years - never noticed any smell. I use unscented detergent and fabric softener. No dryer sheets just the balls.

Perhaps it was shipped on a pallet with the lavender scented Angel Soft and absorbed some of the scent?

Maybe take it out of the plastic packaging and let it air outside!
 
MimosaMornings said:
I’m very sensitive to scents, been using Angel Soft for years - never noticed any smell. I use unscented detergent and fabric softener. No dryer sheets just the balls.

Perhaps it was shipped on a pallet with the lavender scented Angel Soft and absorbed some of the scent?

Maybe take it out of the plastic packaging and let it air outside!
Click to expand...

TP is no longer in its original package; the rolls are stacked in the linen closet along with boutique boxes of Kleenex. TP doesn't smell like lavender, but it is similar to dryer sheets that I have now. Besides the scent, I also don't like the texture of Angel Soft; it's kind of "rough" :oops: Will be glad when we can get Cottonelle again.
 
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