Week 19: Food - Fruit
Fruit can be used in desserts, main dishes, side dishes, smoothies and even added to cereals and oatmeal. I like to add my own toppings to the take home and bake store bought pizzas, much cheaper than ordering the extra toppings.
There are so many ways to use canned and frozen fruit that even though they may not be as tasty as fresh, they should never be overlooked. The juice or water, that fruits are packed in, are great for cooking hot cereal when water supplies are low.
This week's challenge is to store 5 cans of fruit per family member. (Remember to replace any cans of fruit that you use. We are buying foods that our families regularly use so that we are always rotating and keeping foods as fresh as possible while building a 3 month (or longer) supply.)
Week 19: General Store - Bleach and Disinfectant Wipes
This week we are storing bleach and disinfectant wipes. While many viruses live only a few hours on surfaces the Norovirus can live up to two weeks. At the beginning of the COVID pandemic stores were sold out of bleach and wipes leaving many people unprepared. Even in some areas of the Mid-Atlantic (according to Nicole's first hand research) stores are still limited or even have bare shelves where bleach and wipes are usually sold. During any health crisis such as a flu pandemic or simply a common flu attaching your family, you will want to keep all surfaces disinfected as much as possible - so stay stocked up.
A few years ago during the spring, I had been suffering with a terrible cold. It may not sound like much of a challenge, but I was well into my second week of coughing and sneezing and blowing and I felt like it would never end. One night I went to hand the remote to my honey and he threw his hands in the air and said “not me!”
Disinfectant wipes make it so easy to clean many surfaces such as remotes, phones, and door handles in a short time. (Nicole remembered her travel pack this last week and used them in her hotel room and other stops along the way.) Remember a wipe is effective as long as it is wet so they go a long way when cleaning small surfaces. Stock up and remember to keep them in an area where they can’t be confused with baby wipes, had that happen too, not fun!
Remember - we're buying enough for 3 months usage in our own homes. You may use more than we do or you may use less. It's always good to have a little extra in case out of town people end up staying with you, but remember that bleach does degrade around 6 months so don't over stock.