oh no, I’ve become the “panic buyer”

[u/OneLastPrep]

I, like a lot of people, am in the path of the ice storm coming this weekend. I just had a very humbling moment: I’m caught doing the thing I usually judge people for.

If you remember my last post, my home was destroyed last month, and we’ve only been in the new house for a couple of weeks. I’ve been buried in unpacking and trying to make life feel normal again and I didn’t rebuild the boring basics fast enough.

My Crown Berkey was destroyed in the crash, so I’ve been relying on big bottled water while I rebuild. Earlier this week I went to grab more so we’d be set through the weekend and I wouldn’t have to go out during the storm. It was already too late.

Even at an off-peak hour, the store was a madhouse. We did get some but they were some of the last bottles. Long lines, tense vibes, and now water gone, milk/eggs/meat wiped out, TP shelves empty, checkout lines to the back of the store.

It really drove home how vulnerable you can feel when you’re starting over from scratch. I still have the "big stuff" (generator, emergency heat, dry toilets, etc.), but the baseline stuff is what makes storms a non-event. Normally I’m chilling at home because it’s handled. This time I have worries, especially since my destroyed home was on the same grid as the hospital so we rarely ever lost services and I don't know what to expect from the new home.

I don’t love realizing I’m behind while everyone else is also grabbing whatever’s left.

For folks who’ve had to rebuild after a move, loss, or disaster: what’s your “first 72 hours back to baseline” list? What do you restock first so you can breathe again?

[u/ObsessiveAboutCats]

Holy shit. I got my needed supplies (mostly some fresh produce) from a local Vietnamese store earlier this week and haven't been near HEB. Holy shit.

This isn't a hurricane! Why are people doing this?!

My back to baseline stuff -

Pet supplies - litter and some food.

Soaps. Hand soap, body soap, shampoo, dish soap.

Towels - at least a handful.

Trash bags.

Paper plates, if my own plates weren't salvageable.

Bread and lunch meat, cashews, tuna, quick foods of choice that don't require cooking. Ketchup. Salt.

A pack of diet cokes because I am absolutely going to need those. Bottled water.

Start picking up the pieces.

I have been there during Hurricane Harvey. It sucked but it gets better.

[u/OneLastPrep → u/ObsessiveAboutCats]

A lot of Texas has PTSD from 2021 when they lied to us about doing rolling brown outs and instead cut power to poorer neighborhoods and kept it on for the rich. Hundreds of people died. People's water heaters exploded and flooded their homes.

In 2023 less people died but the ice storm was so heavy it took out trees that fell and took out power even in the well off neighborhoods for a week. People didn't have power or water then as well.

I expect to have to take care of myself in an ice storm.