WIt happened again this week almost instantly. My husband came down with a sudden and violent case of food poisoning on Monday, and I have to admit, I was only half way ready. Both my girls were pretty sick just a couple of weeks ago and I was ready for that round, but I hadn’t regrouped and made sure I was able to readily care for my family this time around. So here are 3 things that YOU can do to have your home sick ready.

1. Check your pantry and freezer

One of the easiest things that you can do to be ready for sickness is be stocked up the right kinds of food for sick bodies. Having foods on hand that follow the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast) that are bland are great things to always have around. I also like to make sure I have things like oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Saltines, chicken broth and sherbet on hand. It’s good to have Pedialyte popsicles and other frozen fruits to put in mesh feeders if you have really small ones to get some electrolytes and good calories back in them.

One thing that I always try to have is at least 1-2 freezer meals ready to go, one of them usually being a soup. That way, when sickness does strike, you aren’t having to worry about preparing and cooking food for your family, you can just whip it out of the freezer, thaw and cook. It simply makes one less thing for you to have to worry about so you have more time to be hands on and take care of your family.

2. Check your medicine cabinet

At the beginning of the month, I always look through our medicine cabinet to make sure that we have what we need on hand; Tylenol/Ibuprofen for each of us, Tums, Immodium, eye drops, allergy medicine, Neosporin, Band-Aids, Kleenex, Vicks, cough drops, etc. At that time, I like to go through and double check expiration dates as well, so I always know that what I’m giving my family is not old. By doing this, you are reducing a trip to the store to get medicine, and you will thank me for that when your little one spikes a fever in the middle of the night and you are out of Tylenol 🙂

3. Keep up with your daily housework

This is probably the hardest one. Sometimes it’s so easy to forget to keep up with a bathroom cleaning schedule or washing towels and sheets. BUT, by doing these things every day a little at a time when your family is well, you can ensure that things will be clean and ready to go when your family is sick. There is nothing that is more of a blessing to your family than the opportunity to throw up in a clean toilet. Because no one wants to throw up in a toilet covered in….well, fecal remnants (yes, I’m a nurse, I totally just said that). By staying up to date on the cleaning and tidying of your home, things are ready to go and you won’t be overwhelmed or fall too behind in your normal housework while caring for your family. This gives you more time to be doing what you NEED and WANT to be doing – cuddling, song singing and loving on your people.

I hope that this encourages you to get your home sick ready. So the next time that someone suddenly starts spewing their lunch or has a ridiculously goobery nose, YOU are ready!