After living through covid times. . . do you hoard or stockpile more than you did previously?

[OlderAndWiser]

For all practical purposes (at least for now,) covid is no longer an issue. But it certainly left its mark on some of us. I occasionally see someone still wearing a mask, and I sometimes even see someone wearing a mask when they are alone, driving somewhere in their car, with the windows rolled up.

One of my biggest frustrations with covid was the shortages in the grocery stores. Paper products and cleaning supplies were sometimes non-existent. Cases or twelve packs of soft drinks were sometimes gone from the shelves. And some things that my grocery couldn't get just made no sense, like

Why was there a shortage of this?

so now I tend to keep a small stockpile of some items, bearing in mind that having a four year supply of an item doesn't make sense if it has a one-year shelf life. So, I am not stockpiling to this extreme

but I do have six bottles of Calgon water softener, a two year supply of laundry detergent, 15 pounds of bacon the freezer, about 24 one gallon jugs of purified water, and a one year supply of K cups. I am trying to pull back on some of the stockpiling but, so far, I haven't had much of anything expire sitting on the shelf.

Do you stockpile anything now?

[Likes2drive]

Maybe a little but things were not as scarce here in New York but probably good idea to keep water supplies for possible power outages too. I still see some people wear masks but now it’s because of air quality here from the Canadian forest fires coming down

[OlderAndWiser]

I sue the purified water in my Keurig and keep a supply so that I don't need to fight the crowds when we have a hurricane scare. Water is one of the things that is required if a hurricane strikes. It could take two weeks to get electric and water service restored.

[Likes2drive]

Yeah I figured that’s why you do that, my parents are in Florida too and keep distilled water around for emergency and for the Keurig, I use spring water in my percolator

[msc545]

Cat food

[OlderAndWiser]

I have one cat and at least 50 lbs of cat food on hand!

[msc545]

Excellent - My cat Allister approves!

[OlderAndWiser]

Uncle Thunder digs it, too!

[msc545]

Did you know that your cat and my cat text each other?

[OlderAndWiser]

I'm waiting for the other show to drop!

[OlderAndWiser]

Shoe!

[msc545]

Paw?

[OlderAndWiser]

So is there a punch line?

[msc545]

Ears!

[Screenwriter]

Ummmmmm. You think you might be overdoing this stockpiling?

I live on the hurricane coast and every June I change all my batteries out and have a five-day's supply of canned food.

Keeping anything in a freezer could lead to a pile of meat or something else having to be thrown out when electricity is off longer than a day, which happens. And you can't buy enough ice because it's sold out.

So, I'm not stockpiling except for looming emergencies. If it's cold season and everyone's coughing and hacking, I too will re-wear a mask. They do make sense for "sick" times of the year when we're not outdoors getting sun and air. I recognize the difference between the pollen hack and the dying-of-something-else croup!

But unless there appears to be a shortage of an item I regularly use, I see no need to stock up on it. There's plenty of toilet paper and paper towels. If at my regular stores I SEE a shortage of an item I often use, I will buy more than one of it. But today, this is rare.

I'd say this is more of a "brand" issue. A few brands of items I prefer sometimes are hard to find. When I find them somewhere, I will stock up. Or when I've heard a particular item is being phased out. I'll buy as much of that as I can afford.

Otherwise, no. The shortages are over. And I don't have the room to have a stockpile.

[OlderAndWiser]

"Ummmmmm. You think you might be overdoing this stockpiling?" How so? As I explained, that photo is NOT me.

[Screenwriter]

Sorry. Thought that was an example of you... But still, no stockpiling, except of one or two items that I'd previously only bought one of if I can't easily find it...

[OlderAndWiser]

No harm done! We're good!

[WindAtMyBack]

Nope. I already had a large supply of things. During lock-down I didn't buy groceries for three months. I barely made a dent in my food. Before COVID, off the top of my head I guessed I had a 6-12 month supply of food. After COVID I realize it's much longer. It's probably closer to two years.

I have at least six months of toilet paper, and enough toothbrushes and tooth paste to last a couple of years. I have enough soap and dish detergents to last a couple of years. I haven't bought laundry detergent for at least five years, but I'm down to my last bottle.

Except for pants, I have several years worth of clothes. I have enough shirts to last more than the rest of my life. Shoes, socks and underwear will last several years.

I have plenty of garden seeds, and wood for heating and cooking. I have camping gear that will suffice through the coldest winters even without heat. I lose power a lot where I live and have a large supply of candles and propane for lanterns.

In general, I consider myself running low on something when I have less than three months worth. I don't intentionally stock up for survival. It's just good finances to stock up on stuff when I see a good deal. If I see something I'll actually use for 70-90% off, I'm filling the cart.

[BoopBoopBeep]

@WindAtMyBack
Same here. Fresh fruit and veggies was the only thing I couldn't get during covid vs before. I grow a lot of stuff, but if you suddenly get a hankering for kumquats they aren't always in season/on hand... that sort of thing. I've got several hundred cubic feet of pantry storage in the storm room in my house, most of which is occupied with stuff. Only a hundred or so gallons of water but honestly I'm maybe 300m from fresh water so that's only so much of a concern. 2x21cu. ft freezers, one at 100% one at 80% full. 7 or 8 cords of firewood when covid broke out. When everything shut down the only thing it changed for me is I didn't have to drive to work.

[WindAtMyBack]

@BoopBoopBeep

Yea, the food got pretty boring after three months. I definitely wanted some fresh produce. I had germinated seeds when the lock down ended. It would have been at least another couple months before I had anything fresh. I've also started to grow cool weather crops like carrots, radishes and lettuce indoors during the winter. I grow them in coffee cans. It's not a lot, but at least it's fresh.

I have both city water and the original well. If I lose power the well casing is large enough that I can draw water manually - although it would be a slow process. The casing is about 5 inches diameter, and it's about 65 feet deep.

[BoopBoopBeep]

I never thought about growing lettuce in coffee cans! Thanks for the idea!

[Massageman]

Of course, and about the same as before overall, with some relatively minor adjustments made for certain items. We would have food and drinking water for at least 6 months. Some items- by their nature - simply do not spoil- honey, salt, etc. so no problem there.

Some stores used this (covid) as an excuse to gouge the customers, too. One of the worse examples by us- 32 ounce 100% lemon juice in a bottle was $1.00 at "Dollar Tree". Now it's $1.25 - BUT- the bottles are now 0.5 L or 16.9 ounces, or 236.7% of the previous price per ounce. The list goes on, but everyone knows that the real inflation rate is more like double and not the 4.5% or so the government is accustomed to saying, so I won't belabor the point.

It would have been SO much easier if people had simply thought for a few seconds ( a strain for many, I realize) bought a reasonable additional amount- ie. maybe a third pack of TP if they'd usually get two- etc. But, no. They had to buy two CARTfuls, straining the supply chain.

[midnightmoon05]

Never have.
Just got extra toilet papers during Covid. (Just becuase everyone was horading)
now with a much bigger house, hubby tend to do the shopping and have gotten a few extra items…such as

1. toilet papers - 2 family packs 2. 6 tubes of tooth paste. 3. Large family pack of paper towels, 4. 8-10 packs of maxi pads (prob. should get life time worth for my daughter…price keep going up).

that’s about it.

we can generally get stuff around here…even during Covid… I don’t know why.

[Adaeva]

I have no reason to stockpile anything since whatever I need or a substitute is always available at a high enough price. For example, even if toilet was not available in the stores, if I place an ad in Craigslist offering to pay $25 per role, there would be sellers. Or else, I could buy tissue paper or cotton undershirts and cut them up.

Furthermore, the supply would quickly restored because when the price was high enough manufacturers would work overtime to meet demand since that would be very profitable.

[Blueeyes81]

As someone who works in a plant some of the shortage was due to loss of production. My company quarantined anyone who tested positive until 2 weeks after a negative result. It left us understaffed and with mandatory overtime we couldn't keep everything running. The crazy amount of forced overtime also drove people to quit leaving us even worse off. So some of the odd ball shortages you'd see at the super market likely were a result of that. Our plant was a breeding ground for covid. I had it once but many of my coworkers got it 4 or 5 times. Lost a few to long covid and unless they find a treatment they'll probably never work again.

Now to your question. I still don't hoard anything.

[Jersey2]

I have some longterm food and a few extra cans of tuna or such around. When the pandemic hit, I had N-95 masks. I remember getting some looks from people as they wondered how I got the rare masks at that time. Well, I bought a pack of them 2 years earlier for about $10. I have replacement ones now.

A little preparation will provide some calmness when crazy times hit. It’s just cheap insurance.

[Jersey2]

Oh, I have had longterm food, water straws, guns, ammo and other items for years. Always good to have a bit around. We had people want to stay with us during the early days of Covid-19.

[19magic]

I think the only difference with me is medicine I've always have one of things, but during COVID we ran out of our half full bottle and went to 6 different places about 12 shops to find one. So now I like to have an open bottle and a sealed bottle.

[the_sinner]

I always stockpile toiletries and sanitary stuff but that’s what I’ve been doing way before covid because we have a big storeroom which can’t remain too empty. Stockpiling these supplies hs actually saved us from visiting the store multiple times and these products have a high expiry date.

[Dinklex3]

Nah. I didn’t even stock during the pandemic. My roommate and I almost ran out of toilet paper, lol.

[SpyderMurpph]

@Dinklex3 do you mind giving your advice and opinion on a girl problem?

[socially_confused]

I don't stockpile any more than I did previously🤷

[Fireguy17]

No, I never have and don't plan to start.
Certain items we will buy when it is on sale, mostly consumables.

[katiesmuff]

Didn't stockpile then and we certainly don't do it now!

[exitseven]

Yes, I put up a few shelf units and have canned food, bottles of water and paper goods and other stuff.

[Nikki1989]

No, nothing changed during or after Covid for us.

[Agape93]

Nope. I always stockpile, covid didn't change anything except to prove I was correct in doing so.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

I seem to hoard extra things that are not needed, like cell phones

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

@OlderAndWiser I watch Hoarders and some of them people are something to write home about.

[Unit1]

No, i was inhumanly broke and i am somewhat broke still. Whatever happens, it happens and i'm not dead.

[sheikalana]

Absolutely not! I get rid of things as soon as I don't need them anymore. I hate clutter.

[andreasderjuengere]

I now keep an extra roll of tissue paper.

Better safe than sorry.

[Sparkie460]

Our buying hasn't changed. We always had stock of can goods, paper towels, plates, napkins and toilet paper. We only buy stuff when it's on sale.

[Raperonzolo_Viv]

A little bit more cuz I don't wanna deal with shopping again and again.

[douride2]

Not any more then I did before covid came along.

[driven159]

I have always stored up at least 6 months of supplies and generators to keep freezer fridge going for some time

[DiegoO]

Noup. We never could have done that. The economy here doesn't permit to buy that much.

[AviatorTom]

No, we pretty much have the same supply of things now that we had pre-pandemic, about 2-3 weeks worth of food and enough toilet paper and paper towels (bought in bulk) to last about 6 weeks.

[gamer2x22]

no. i only get enough thats enough for me. which isn't much tbh

[jamesgoldman]

No but then I am a hoardy stockpiler like my parents are

[BLP11520]

Just a bit nothing massive

[OlderAndWiser]

I have no idea how much you are storing, but EVERY hoarder thinks what they are doing is "normal" so that clarification ("nothing massive") doesn't really mean anything.

[LiamJHayden]

No, but I do have a water purification system.

[Jazzy54]

Nah. My shopping habits have returned to normal.

[Jamie05rhs]

Yes; it has turned me into a bit of a prepper.

[CuriousMufuxka]

No changes personally.

[WhiteBoyChill]

I dont stockpile

[Astarlessnightsky]

No, not enough space to store stuff.

[FunkyMonkee]

Still just records.

[Cubus]

I don't