covid prep list
I’ve got the ‘rona.
It’s “presumed covid” because my test came back negative, but the latest research shows the tests are less reliable indicators of infection than symptoms, and my symptoms are covid all over. My symptoms are very mild, I’m in no danger. I’m quarantined on the second floor of my house with my husband downstairs.
Emily and I talk about a lot of the process of having covid on the Feminist Survival Project, but my main suggestion there is to prepare. Be ready. Make a plan for what you’ll do if each person in your household gets sick — who stays in which room? Which bathroom do people use? If you must share a bathroom with a covidite, what is the plan for bathroom sanitation? (Pro tip: close the lid before you flush.) Who feeds the fish?
If you’re healthy, but you have to quarantine with a covidite, make sure you’re stocked up on food you like so it feels like less of an imposition when you’re cooped up for what will seem like no reason. Grocery delivery is awesome but expensive.
If you’re sick, you’ll want supplies ready. If you’re living basically in one room for two weeks, what do you need in that room? Here’s what worked for me:
EQUIPMENT IN MY ROOM
tiny fridge for milk for tea and shakes
tiny electric kettle
smoothie blender
two mugs (one for tea, one for soup)
tall drinking glass
collection of disposable flatware from the junk drawer & trash bags
at least two fans — one to circulate air in the room, another blowing out a window
masks
thermometer
pulse oximeter
laptop & phone & chargers
baby wipes for hands and between-shower refreshing
saline wipes for nose
extra pillowcases if not sheets
at least five pajama tops/nightshirts
at least three pajama bottoms
at least eight (but if you have fifteen or twenty that’s not overkill) super comfy underdrawers you’d gladly wear regardless of menstrual status
EQUIPMENT IN THE BATHROOM
antimicrobial wipes for bathroom surfaces (you could just use cleaners and a rag, but that’s more contaminated laundry!)
antimicrobial spray
laundry soap for washing clothes by hand if necessary
menstrual supplies
at least four bath towels just for you
at least six hand towels or your own roll of paper towels for hand drying after washing if you’re sharing a bathroom
separate toilet paper if you’re sharing a bathroom?
FOOD/DRINK:
tea bags
shelf stable foods like freeze dried soups and meal replacement shake powders
ginger things for nausea
tiny single-serve cans of prune juice for constipation
DRUGS:
anti-diarrheal pills because that’s also a thing
NSAIDs for aches and fevers! Big economy size bottles.
cough drops
all my prescriptions I take every day, plus something for sleep
STUFF MY HUSBANDS LEAVES ON THE STAIRS FOR ME MOST DAYS:
disposable cups of milk
take-out deliveries
Here’s the micro kitchen I set up in the bedroom.
I could easily live like this for two weeks, with the help of my husband bringing me milk for tea and shakes, and the occasional single-serving, individually-packaged take-out meal. It’s a little like camping, but with way more cleaning.
Our cat has free roam of the house, but her food and litter are upstairs so I take care of that. I don’t touch her, though, because she could carry my germs downstairs. Our dogs stay downstairs, so my husband is taking care of them.
