make do and mend for tougher times

Popperwell

Evie, one site said you need a gallon of water per person per day to wash, cook and drink...:eek: Well I have 55 litres but I think a gallon a day is a lot. So as long as I have enough to drink, I'm afraid most of the washing would be the last thing I'd worry about...I'd do the essentials...and flush the toilet sparingly. Can you imagine using mineral water? It would have to be bath water or whatever...and some bottled water boiled for tea/coffee...

If I could not wash the plates etc...I'd use some disposable one's...

Shropshirelass

Hi everyone

I've never posted before so please excuse any daft things I say. I have enjoyed lurking here on this new thread what wonderfull support you all give eachother.

Had to tell in case it helps anyone avoid mistakes and flops I have made - I started bread making 5 years ago when I retired, now use bread maker to knead/rise till first knock down. Most of my flops and 'concrete' bread have been because the kitchen was chilly, or 'someone' opened a door and let in a draught at a crucial moment. I now do second 'rise' with dough wrapped in greased cling film, tea towel and blanket and warmed by hot beanbag. Then at the end when it comes out of the oven, wrap it in clean tea towle to cool slowly if you want soft crust (hubby has dodgy teeth!).

WWII recipes seem like a good idea the way things are going - I'm sure we remember the good tips our Mums taught us, but always useful to learn new ways.

mcculloch29

katieowl wrote: »

Every day carry.... I had to google. I think it's the male equivelent of a handbag, but with along with plasters and aspirins it has pointy things...:rotfl:
Kate

So what's wrong with 'man-bag'? Or is that out because it's gender-specific? My son has a man-bag, with the amount of carp he hoicks around I wonder how he would have managed a generation ago, when nobody had them

Maybe that's why Barbour jackets became so popular in the Eighties... big pockets.

Evie, thank you for saying the preppers site scared you. I don't scare easy and it had me concerned!

Tax credits ... I will lose my disabled persons' tax credits shortly, but having had a big drop in income since Dec. I am hopeful that I can re-apply soon.

Durham Miners Gala Day today - had it not been for arthritis :mad: I would have gone up to listen to the speeches. I'm hopeful that some will be on the Net. It is a fantastic spectacle, a reminder that the UK does still have a working class with a voice.

My mate always goes and frankly, she usually gets completely trollied, as do many, no doubt there will be a tale told...

Hopefully she will keep herself in one piece this year and not crack ribs, turn an ankle, lose her bag or get herself stranded ... all of these have happened in past years. :eek:
She's not a heavy drinker and never goes with the intention of getting pie-eyed, but it always seems to happen!

Mrs_Chip

Can I ask those that go there - what is everyone prepping for? I used to deal with Critical incident planning in govt buildings, which was a minefield (not literally :rotfl:) because no one could decide how long we needed to plan for - with nearly a thousand people to supply the projections for stored drinking water became ridiculous as some people wanted supplies to last days and days!

I can see that unless you decide on types of 'incident' and their potential duration you want to prep for, it can be easy to feel you are just not doing enough.

Is anyone really prepping for SHTF in a major infrastructure way (I don't mean water/leccy off for a time, I mean breakdown of society/infrastructure/law and order etc)?

Mrs_Chip

Hi Shropshirelass - welcome to the madhouse! :wave:

Evie74_2

Mrs_Chip wrote: »

Can I ask those that go there - what is everyone prepping for? I used to deal with Critical incident planning in govt buildings, which was a minefield (not literally :rotfl:) because no one could decide how long we needed to plan for - with nearly a thousand people to supply the projections for stored drinking water became ridiculous as some people wanted supplies to last days and days!

I can see that unless you decide on types of 'incident' and their potential duration you want to prep for, it can be easy to feel you are just not doing enough.

Is anyone really prepping for SHTF in a major infrastructure way (I don't mean water/leccy off for a time, I mean breakdown of society/infrastructure/law and order etc)?

Mrs Chip - personally I had only ever felt I needed to prepare for temporary situations - getting snowed in, power cuts, etc but increasingly I am using my food stores as an alternative savings account - buying things now at a lower price because I think they will be much more expensive in the months to come.

I had never really considered the "major infrastructure" problem until recently with the problems in Greece etc. But I agree with what you say, it's hard to see how anyone could be completely prepared for any eventuality - I think you'd always feel that you could be doing more.

It's quite a new concept for me and I'm still getting my head round the possibilities - partly I'm scared to look as I will feel overwhelmed and descend into anxiety again, but partly I feel I ought to have some plans in place as I have a responsibility to do the best I can for my children. At the moment I am concentrating on making sure I have the basics (hence the ponderings about water) and think about the bigger, altogether scarier picture once I've done that.

Sorry. I am rambling again...:o

Evie xx

Evie74_2

:wave: Hello and welcome Shropshirelass!!

Evie xx

ginnyknit

Hi Shropshire lass, I use my breadmaker to make in as I dont like the bread baked in it but its excellent for everything else. However I do make gingercake in it from start to finish. I like the idea of wrapping the bread up for a soft crust - thanks for that.

I need to sort out my stock cupboards and freezers this weekend as they are all mixed up. Its freezing here and OH has left the back door open so I had better go and wrap up. Off to buys some more cheap freezer boxes.

Mrs_Chip

Not rambling Evie, sounds sensible to me!

I have fairly good stores for the same reason as you - I buy offers and things that are cheap to save money generally and as a hedge against future price rises.

I can see the sense of plans for things like power/water going off or getting snowed in/flooded out, but do wonder how far to take things.

Mar - I presume you have an emergency stash of sweeties .

GreyQueen

:hello: Hello and welcome, Shropshirelass, glad you have de-lurked. I shall be kind and not oblige you to put t'kettle on as I'm nicely sorted with a big mug of Sainsbugs Basics finest at my elbow. Actually, ought to move that to a more sensible place or I'll be sending it flying in a minute.

I stock up on things which I use regularly when I see them at a good price. I've had far too many experiences of not buying something, thinking I'll buy that tomorrow/ next week and then going in, sometimes the very next day, and finding it has gone up 50-100% in one fell swoop.:eek: So, given that I have to eat, and the pathetic so-called interest obtainable on banked money means it's losing it's purchasing power by the day, it seems reasonable to me to lay in supplies of things which I will use when the price is sweet.

As to preparedness, and the reasons why, who knows what might happen? There's pretty much no such thing as a secure job, none of us can know if we will suffer ill-health or a sudden catastrophic accident. We've grown accustomed in the last few decades to the idea the State will provide for us and it seems pretty clear that the will and the money to cover us all in any kind of disaster isn't there. It probably never was, but we were able to hang on to the illusion of security and the goverment was prepared to borrow to keep us quiet.

I work for an LA and I have seen how easily "the system" is overwhelmed by even a relatively-few people needing emergency accomodation at once, for example after a fire or flood. You could get offered accomodation but in a town 50+ miles away. There simply aren't the resources to pick up and care for everyone in an event of a disaster.

If one happens, they will have to prioritise the limited resources on the most vulnerable; young children, pregnant ladies, the elderly, the disabled. If you're basically able-bodied, you'll be fending for yourself and hoping you have family and friends who can assist you. There are plenty of times in Provincial City where there is NIL emergency accomodation and we have to send people 2-3 hours' travel away. They're not happy, and who can blame them, but it is as it is.

I also know the number of cells in Provincial City, police cells and court cells, and in a civil emergency, there wouldn't be enough places to put the crims. They can barely cope on a normal weekend. The thin blue line is pretty darned thin in a lot of places.........

Working in the LA's call centre, people ring us when there is anything going wrong. A heavy rainstorm causes problems over the whole city, trees can come down over major roads. It the LA couldn't respond to these calls in a timely manner, the citizenry would be left to cope unaided, at least for a time. An urban environment, with its power grids, drainage and built enviroment is an incredibly fragile organism and easily damaged.

On a personal note, I know an awful lot of people, inc people in what would be deemed professional jobs, who are a short slip from disaster even when they have health and work. A blip will see them losing their homes. It worries the heck out of me. At least with a store cupboard, I can feed a friend in crisis.

Gosh, those EDC kits, eh? Who knew what gentlemen were carrying in their pockets? It's a wonder they can walk. Perhaps a future tailor, instead of asking a gent whether he dresses to the left or the right, will be asking him which side he carries his EDC on..........:rotfl:

I have been having fun in the Army Surplus. They're a very blokey enviroment but I'm not easily-phased, nor am I a girly-woman. Once you have a chat and they realise you know your hexamine from your elbow, we can talk business. I now have something which I have coveted since my bushcraft course; the army waterbottle with the aluminium cup with the foldaway handles you fit over the bottle's base. Very handy indeed.

Right, off for a little browsing of the EDCs.......thanks for the linkie.