covid prep list
By: Amelia Nagoski
Tags: Coronavirus, Covid 19, Feminism

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.

covid-ready bedroom microkitchen

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.