Currency of the Apocalypse

No, it's not the Apocalypse. Not yet, anyway. Let's hope it stays that way. I'm not even sure you can have an Apocalypse without zombies.

But ... Lysol. Or any brand of disinfecting spray or wipes. Who knew ordinary household cleaning products would ever become such a hot commodity? You cannot get disinfectant products anywhere. Not for love, not for money, not even for your firstborn. I didn't even think about buying this stuff until early March when the threat of Coronavirus suddenly became real. By that time, the store shelves were already empty of these kinds of items. I had on hand exactly half a can of Lysol spray, and that was it. I eventually found a can of disinfecting wipes at a dollar store and one at the grocery store. I figured no big deal, you can get these things online any day of the week. Wrong! Not one major retailer had anything left in stock. Neither did vendors I'd never heard of. I did finally manage to get some supplies from eBay and Amazon -- hand sanitizer, alcohol wipes, a can of off-brand disinfectant spray (which feels about half full), antibacterial hand soap, and a small bottle of disinfectant spray which is supposed to smell like orange blossoms but smells more like industrial (or outhouse) disinfectant. Before getting these items, I had to wade through a slew of listings to weed out the blatant price gougers. $75+ for a can of Lysol? I don't think so! Why do I need this stuff? I live in a building with a lot of people (who have a lot of visitors), a mail room, laundry room, and common areas, and you just don't know who has what or touched what. I'm not punching elevator buttons without a wipe in my hand while this virus is running rampant.

We know this disease will peak and then ebb at some point. That is not to say there won't be a resurgence in the future. I'm pretty sure it's highly likely. I plan to have enough supplies on hand if and when that time comes, whether I need them or not, and avoid a repeat of this craziness. If you'd told me a few months ago that I'd move heaven and hell to get some cleaning supplies, I'd have said you were crazy. You just never know, do you?