Everything you need at home if you are quarantined-and what you don't

Whether you've decided to self-quarantine because you may have been exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19), or your community has been locked down because of the pandemic, stocking up on at least 14-days of supplies now will be your best bet for comfortably making it through a quarantine.

Fourteen days of supplies means two weeks worth of provisions and sundries for all members of your household, including pets. While a declared pandemic may sound scary, hoarding products is not the right strategy to stay healthy. Panic buying of food, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper only ensures that the people around you don't have what they need to remain virus-free, making it more likely that they could potentially get sick and, in turn, infect you or your family. When it comes to preventing the spread of the latest coronavirus strain, our communities are only as strong as our weakest link.

To help you prepare for a potential quarantine, we've dug into exactly what you need-and don't need-for an extended stay at home. Here are our recommendations.

What You Should Buy

Most of the supplies you should invest in to prepare for a potential 14-day quarantine are the same sorts of food, personal grooming, and cleaning supplies you may already include regularly on your shopping list. But it's good to double check that you have all these items stocked up for at least two weeks.

Food

You'll need to stock two week's worth of non-perishable food for every member of your household. It's smart to buy foods that you and your family routinely eat. If you don't end up eating all of your canned, pantry, and frozen foods as part of your self-quarantine plan, you can incorporate them into your weekly meal plans, down the road.

Here are examples of foods you may want to purchase:

Pantry Items

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• Canned Goods: Soups, stews, tinned fish, fruits and vegetables are all great choices, due to their long shelf life. What to buy: canned tuna, chicken noodle soup, green beans.

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• Condiments & Sauces: Items like ketchup, peanut butter and spaghetti sauce all have long shelf-lives and do well under refrigeration after they're opened. These will help make your meals more enjoyable. What to buy: ketchup, peanut butter

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• Dry Goods: Pasta, beans, cereals, rice and instant potatoes are excellent sources of carbohydrates, protein and fiber that remain shelf stable for long periods of time. What to buy: angel hair pasta, black beans.

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• Beverages: Coffee, tea, juices and other beverages you enjoy. If you are drinking out of a can, washing its top before taking your first sip is a good idea. What to buy: coconut water, coffee.

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• Milk & Milk Alternatives: Condensed, irradiated (aseptic) or powdered milk are important staples. If you prefer milk alternatives, coconut, soy, rice or almond milk often have a one-month shelf life. Once opened and refrigerated, they'll remain healthy to drink for up to 10 days. What to buy: milk, almond milk.

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• Hot Cereals: Instant oatmeals from brands like Quake and Red River make for a quick, hot breakfast that requires nothing more than boiled water and a few moments of your time to make. What to buy: old fashioned oats, instant oatmeal.

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• Snacks: Munching on potato chips, protein bars, candy, dried fruit and nuts help to pass the time while gaming, binging on Netflix or reading an ebook. What to buy: Frito-Lay chips, peanuts.

Freezer Items

If you're unable to get to the grocery store for these supplies or worry that doing so could possibly increase your exposure to coronavirus, food delivery services are a great alternative. We recommend Instacart, which has introduced a 'Leave at My Door' option for food deliveries.

If you prefer ordering your groceries through other services, like Amazon Fresh, Peapod or Thrive Market, that's fine too. Just be careful when dealing with the delivery person. Either see if they'll leave the items at your door, or cover your nose and mouth while answering the door to ensure limited exposure between you and the delivery person.

Personal Hygiene

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises everyone to wash their hands as frequently as possible for at least 20 seconds with hot, soapy water, to help fend off the contraction and spread of coronavirus. That said, there's more to keeping clean than scrubbing your hands. During the 14 days that you'll be housebound, you'll want to make sure that you have adequate personal grooming and hygiene supplies.

But first, let's talk about hand sanitizer: it's pretty hard to come by these days. If you're stuck at home under quarantine, you don't need sanitizing gel as you can wash your hands with soap and water in your kitchen or bathroom sink-which the CDC says is more effective than hand sanitizer. The only time that you should rely on hand sanitizer is in situations where soap and water are not readily available-such as after a ride on public transit.

If you insist on having hand sanitizer and can't find it, you can make your own with a mix of 2/3 isopropyl alcohol (99% rubbing alcohol) and 1/3 aloe vera gel.

Consider adding these items to your self-quarantine shopping list:

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• Bar or Liquid Soap: Just like a flu virus, coronavirus is protected by a shell composed of lipids (a fancy word for fats or oils). Washing with hot water and soap will whisk any traces of the virus on your hands away, in much the same manner as scrubbing a dirty frying pan with a dish soap (we recommend Dawn Ultra) helps remove grease. You can invest in soap with additional anti-viral properties, but any hand soap will get the job done. What to buy: Dawn Ultra, Presto! hand soap.

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• Tissues: The CDC states that if you've contracted COVID-19, your symptoms may include a dry cough, fever and shortness of breath. However, you could still wind up with a runny nose due to seasonal allergies or getting sideswiped by a flu or cold. Having tissues, like our best-tested Puffs Ultra Soft on hand, will make for a more comfortable time confined to your home. What to buy: Puffs Ultra Soft, Kleenex Ultra Soft.

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• Pads/tampons: If you use tampons or pads on a regular basis, you should ensure that you enough a 14-day quarantine. Another alternative is getting reusable period underwear like Thinx. What to buy: Lola tampons, Tampax Pearl Tampons.

Sanitation

A recent, non-peer reviewed study, conducted by scientists from the National Institute of Health, Princeton University and the University of California, Los Angeles, suggests that COVID-19 can survive on some surfaces for as long as two or three days. So, it's a good idea to routinely clean and sanitize your living area before, during and after your quarantine.

We recommend keeping the following supplies on hand, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency as being "qualified for use against COVID-19":

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• Disinfectant Cleaner: To clean floors, walls, bathtubs or other fixtures in your home, we suggest a cleaner like a heavy-duty cleaner disinfectant concentrate, which is a disinfectant and deodorizer that, when diluted in water, can be used to clean most hard surfaces in your home.

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• Household Chlorine Bleach: if cleaning supplies are in short supply, use chlorine bleach and water to sanitize your home. Start by washing the surfaces in your home with soap and water. Next, using a solution of one cup of household chlorine bleach, and five gallons of water, spray, mop or wipe down the surfaces in your home. What to buy: PureBright Germicidal Bleach

Medical Supplies

For medical advice, consult with the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO). However if you think that you've come in contact with coronavirus, call your family physician or local hospital, as soon as you can. But just as we've suggested in our guide to building your own survival kit, during a natural disaster or pandemic, the medical help that we can readily access, most of the time, could be overwhelmed and unable to help you quickly. So, consider the following:

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• Prescription Medications: If you use prescription medications, be sure to maintain at least a 30-day supply: this should prepare you to sit out a 14-day quarantine, with wiggle room to spare, in case having your prescription refilled proves difficult.

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• Pain and Fever Relievers: According to the CDC, a high fever is one of the main symptoms someone who's contracted coronavirus will present. So, be sure to have enough Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin or other fever reducers on hand to ride out the illness. You'll also find it useful for reducing the discomfort that comes with the constant dry cough. What to buy: Tylenol, Advil, Aspirin.

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• Humidifiers: According to the (CDC), humidifiers can help relieve symptoms of the coronavirus like a sore throat and cough. We picked the Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier as the best humidifier, and it also has a medicine cup that sits over the exhaust which can be used with essential oils or medicinal inhalants for further relief. What to buy: Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier, Taotronics Cool Mist Humidifie r.

What You Don't Need To Buy

We're dealing with a highly-infectious virus here, not the end of civilization as we know it. For now, there's no reason to believe that a large-scale coronavirus outbreak will impact our water supply, natural gas supply chain or electrical grid. The water from your taps will continue to run, the lights will stay on and you'll still be able to cook, in your kitchen, as you always have.

So, save your money: at this time, there's no need to invest in large quantities of bottled drinking water (unless that's something you regularly drink at home), a new propane grill for cooking off-the-grid, or a gas or electric generator to keep your lights and refrigerator running.

You don't need to invest in pre-packaged, dehydrated meals or military-style MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat) that you might take on a camping trip. They're expensive and your freezer, microwave oven and stove will all still work while you're under quarantine, so they're unnecessary.

Aside from the social distancing that you'll experience as a result of a quarantine, life should go on as usual.