Honestly, I'm not TRYING to hoard, but having been burned...

[WolfpackJeep]

@gotpasswords

What are people doing with vinegar?

@Zyada

Making pickles?

Yep, I’ve been making loads of pickles to make up for not having access to an olive bar. (A couple of the local stores have been good about packing their usual olive bar options into small containers for purchase, but I’m not going into stores much at the moment.)

My area (Wake Forest and Raleigh) still has many empty TP shelves, although the cheap stuff seems to be plentiful in some stores. Paper towels are hit or miss. Cleaning supplies that also disinfect are impossible to find; detergents and other soap-based cleaners seem to be plentiful. Canned goods seem to be recovering. I only buy meat from one store; I haven’t noticed any shortages there, although their current distancing practices mean that I don’t always get to deal with my regular butchers.

My mom has gotten so worried that one of her friends has started sending her care packages of paper goods. I feel like we have a pretty good supply at home, but the pandemic hasn’t been good for her anxiety. Right now she’s worried about cleaning supplies and canned string beans.

[Seanette]

@aurora_maire

Every time I order for my weekly Kroger pick-up, I add some cans of soup, tuna, fruits and veggies. I’m storing these in my spare room. I plan to get additional cat food and cat litter later this summer and probably stock up on the toilet paper, too. I’d just like to have a good stash in case things really go sideways in the fall. I’ve started to believe we won’t see Clorox wipes again in stores for a long, long time. Any being produced are going to hospitals and businesses. And that’s fine. But if they should appear, I’d get as many as I could. That is something that never occurred to me to stockpile.

I’ve actually seen disinfectant wipes in the wild twice in the last couple of weeks. Snagged some each time (of 3 75ct tubs purchases, one WAS given to a co-worker who was having worse supply-hunting luck than I was). Lysol is starting to be nearly reliable at one store near my workplace, and hand sanitizer is coming back at another store near there. I seem to be developing a habit of devoting my lunchtime to supply foraging.

[Eva_Luna]

@mhendo

For the last few weeks, though, there has been plenty of all-purpose flour in stock around here. Bread flour has been in shorter supply, probably because the manufacturers have been focusing on the all-purpose stuff.

If you want bread flour, just add some vital wheat gluten (if you have or can lay your hands on some) to all-purpose flour. I usually add some when making whole-grain breads. My supply was running low, and a very dear friend managed to source and send me a 4 lb. bag of it, which is probably a 5-year supply! She also brought me toilet paper. She’s a very kind friend I sent her home with a pan of warm brownies and some veggie seedlings in exchange.

[RTFirefly]

@mhendo

Flour was about the last product where the shelves were constantly bare, but as you note, that was at least partly due to packaging problems. For the last few weeks, though, there has been plenty of all-purpose flour in stock around here. Bread flour has been in shorter supply, probably because the manufacturers have been focusing on the all-purpose stuff.

In my neck of the woods, for some reason, ordinary liquid hand soap is still a rarity, and you never see the antibacterial stuff. (Yeah, I know - antibacterial doesn’t kill viruses. It’s still gone. That’s the weird part.) I don’t use it much, but my wife does, so I’ve been keeping my eyes open for it. Fortunately we have plenty of regular bar soap.

[Seanette]

Today’s supply foraging was decent. Saw some hand sanitizer at Walmart, decided I don’t really need more right now. Also did see Lysol spray (did snag one can, plus alerted another customer who was obviously seeking cleaning supplies). I’ve noticed that of the stores I’ve seen Lysol in, I’m only seeing name brand. Store brands aren’t back yet.

50pk of disposable masks at Walgreens. I did need more, since I’m having a very hard time with fogging glasses if I use a fabric mask, and the disposables seem to do better with that.

Wipes weren’t around, but I’m OK on those for now anyway, since I only use them at work. At home, I have other options for disinfecting, such as Lysol or the disinfectant viricidal cleaner I got from a janitorial supply place used with terrycloth cleaning rags that can be washed and reused. so I’m not filling the trash as much and it’s probably cheaper.