With COVID-19 escalating into a global pandemic, the urge to panic hoard anything you get your hands on is spreading. 

Hand sanitiser and masks (actually useful) have been out of the running for weeks. Toilet paper has also become a precious commodity, although why everyone suddenly thinks they’ll be needing the bathroom like they’ve had four cups of coffee an hour is still a mystery…

Despite the half empty shelves, a little ingenuity could help you find what you need to make it past this trepidation and carry on with life. If you dare to brave the people-filled world out there, here are some things you might actually find useful during a pandemic.

1. Baby Formula

Don’t have a can opener and slept through the morning’s supermarket madness? Luckily, previously enforced purchase limits mean baby formula should still be on the shelves.

It’s also full of nutrients and vitamins, and probably tastes better than frozen peas.

2. Kitty Litter

For when that precious last roll runs out.

3. A Zorb Ball

For a visible personal space bubble. (Also achievable through unrelentless hula-hooping.)

4. Duct Tape

Great for opening jars, a make-shift mask/gag (and free lip wax), or Home Alone style contraptions to keep people away.

5. A Tiny House

All else failing, escape society entirely and go off grid in a tiny house with a self-sufficient garden, so you don’t even have to risk stepping into a supermarket full of ~other people~. Plus, the garden would probably be useful since the supermarkets are empty anyway.