# Has stockpiling daily essentials suddenly become a smart move? Are you going to do it?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-stockpiling-daily-essentials-suddenly-become-a-smart-move-are-you-going-to-do-it/850597>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 29, 2020, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-stockpiling-daily-essentials-suddenly-become-a-smart-move-are-you-going-to-do-it/850597 "2020-03-29T17:34:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-stockpiling-daily-essentials-suddenly-become-a-smart-move-are-you-going-to-do-it/850597/81 "2020-05-03T12:01:52Z")

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Answering the OP: yes, it’s smart to stock up on essentials. So much stuff is still only intermittently available that if, like me, you’re trying to go grocery shopping only at 10-14 day intervals, your trip might hit a time when some essential is available, or it might not.

So my thought is, I want to have enough of X so that if it’s not available on my next two trips, I will still have enough to last until the third trip. So I want to keep at least 4-6 weeks worth of everything I regard as essential that won’t go bad in that time span.

For things that are especially hard to get (like TP), maybe more: I’ve got enough TP to last our family for about 2 months, and I’d like to maintain that margin if possible, given the the store shelves locally are still usually devoid of paper goods of all sorts.

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**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-stockpiling-daily-essentials-suddenly-become-a-smart-move-are-you-going-to-do-it/850597/82 "2020-05-03T14:44:08Z")

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Face Intentionally Left Blank: Have you looked into local food pantries/food banks? I believe many deliver to shut-ins. If not perhaps your sister or a friend could pick up for you.

Also check out local Meals on Wheels programs.

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