Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Possession wrote: »

In case it's of use to anyone: (portable camping stove £6.94)
http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/portable-camping-stove-only-6-94-free-delivery-cpc-1563483

According to the comments, it's out of stock until the end of September.

ClootiesMum

"However, I can make twine from nettles (and soup)"


GQ - you can make twine from soup? You're good

Sorry - couldn't resist

GreyQueen

ClootiesMum wrote: »

"However, I can make twine from nettles (and soup)"


GQ - you can make twine from soup? You're good

Sorry - couldn't resist

That's nothing, petal; I can knit museli jumpers, too.

You don't want the twine in the soup, it gets stuck between your teeth, where you can use it as a substitute for dental floss, if you like.

S'pose I should wash up........after another cuppa.

ginnyknit

Its a good point Mar, we do need to try and see how we would fare if the SHTF , I would do really badly as my stocks are a bit depleted as money isnt going far now. I would definately have to bug in and the kids would probably need to camp here too as they dont have gardens to do things in - ie cook. DD is getting well stocked up with food as she now has a pantry and just bought a good bar-b-que but other than that she has yet to work on things.

I am considering getting a hand cranked washing machine. They are for caravans and work on pressure. Years ago when we were poor 9 thats never really changed:D ) we had periods without a washer or cash to repair the one we had and I tried handwashing but its really like painting the forth bridge. You dont really get stuff as clean by hand without using immense amounts of water - its all in the rinsing yer know. A friend lent me her little machine, its like a ball on a stand and you spin the handle and using pressure it cleans your stuff. It was hard work, I wont deny, but it was 100 times better than nothing. With the large amounts of washing I have with OH I need to be prepared so am going to have a google.

Cheapskate

Evening, peeps, been a tad busy of late, toppled off the OS wagon a bit, too, but am home now.

I think that, despite all my know-how, my physical preps are sh!te right now, we'd not last 2 minutes! :rofl: We are slowly re-gaining space in our house, which will be refilled with SHTF preps by autumn, even if our SHTF scenario is only bad weather this year.

I spent an entire summer washing clothes by hand, including jeans, towels and bedding, and I had a new respect for older generations who had to do so all the time - even in my early twenties it was bliddy hard work! :eek:

DD will be at nursery this September, so I'll have a little more time for my various preps (GC, Chr*****S, SHTF, etc).

A xo

elona

Before we all beat ourselves up - nothing will ever be enough if things get really bad but anything is better than nothing.

Even the knowledge to look for flour and yeast rather than just buy all the loaves you can get is an invaluable skill.

Having the water cut off because neighbour is having work done and getting 2 litre water bottle out of cupboard and making a pot of tea is a good feeling as is when dds look in fridge and say there is nothing to eat and then making a meal out of the "nothing".

The ability to think outside convenience and wonder "What if?" is an incredible gift and one we should use.

I need medication too and know that 70 years ago I would have been dwindling fast and am grateful for the science and technology that lets me be me but still want to be able to do what I can in other areas.

I experimented with soda bread type scones and had a conniption at buttermilk being 75 pence - but felt triumphant on finding a way to turn ordinary milk into buttermilk :j

They may be small victories but otherwise we get crushed under the juggernaught of big business and lack of choices.

lovefullshelves

Hello everyone, hope the long w/e was good for y'all:) I managed to plant over 700 brassica plants!
I must admit to feeling a tadge old today, my legs ache and when the shtf i'm fairly sure i'm not healthy enough.
Reading 'patriots' by James Wesley Rawles the the moment. Seems to be more of a 'how to' than fiction! And there's alot of guns! (Obviously alot more readily available in the US)
Anyone else notice that the Communications data bill is back after the 'terrorist' attack?! A bill that was called the 'snoopers bill'.:D
I see economic collapse as one of the most likely scenarios coupled with oil getting scarce due to transport costs, add on grid collapse due to lack of investment and a world population growing exponentially. I'm not what you'd call an optimist!!

nuatha

Afterthoughts from my earlier post in answer to Mar's challenge.
I'm currently putting together buffet and canapes for 120 people, the basic skills for which are based in the fact that I bulk cater for us anyway*, therefore have the large pans, the baking equipment and even the spare freezer and fridges needed.
*I'll keep a fairly substantial number of meals or their components in freezers ready for use - spending a weekend bulk cooking. This particular form of prepping came in very useful towards the end of last year when Herself became seriously ill, followed by my own mishap later in the year.
When one of the freezers died, the igloo coolboxes kept everything frozen for 5 days while the other freezers were sorted and repacked. The same coolboxes will ensure that all the food that needs to be maintained at fridge temperatures will be safe to eat and be easy to transport to the wedding venue.
Transport wise, I drive a largish estate car (the largest capacity I could get that my mechanic will work on, he's good, reliable and affordable - so he gets the final say on what I can't buy, though I'll do some of the basic maintenance myself)
Keeping a complete set of spare wheels/tyres meant I could wait and shop around for the right deal when I had two tyres slashed, another prep that comes in useful.
Picking up the replacement freezer would have otherwise meant a van hire, and arranging that may have meant I missed the deal on a really good second hand freezer.

Part of the reason I keep the food stocks I generally do is that being self employed my income can be highly variable, I'd rather have food in the house than go hungry - and bulk shopping works out a lot cheaper in general, the stocks act as a hedge against inflation and allow me to wait and pick up "bargains" as I see them.

Many moons ago, I'd planned to be at least semi self sufficient with a large small holding - being well aware of the amount of work this needed (and that a second external income would be vital) having family members who are in this situation and having spent a lot of time being the extra help needed at various times. For various health related reasons this is no longer possible for me and in an EOTWAWKI scenario I'm less likely to be one of the long term survivors, however I have invested time in learning and practicing skills that might make the difference both to my own survival and those I care about. But these aren't just obtuse and arcane skills, but things that have a practical application in improving my current quality of life - other people may have a very different perspective on this

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

On those criteria I have a little way to go and in some areas I'm a bit rusty but I can fill in on a few of the things Heinlein missed.

D&DD put it beautifully

For me it's all about balance yes I can knit a hair shirt if need be but do I really want to wear one at present if I don't have to??

Anyway that's enough of my late night ramblings.

vanoonoo

morning all - I went shoppping in te$c0 yesterday and couldnt believe the prices! what's happened?! since my move we've been mainly living on former stores and bulk buys from c0stc0 topped up with bits from ald! and c00p with probably more take out and eat outs than usual so we havent done an awful lot of "ordinary" shopping in our usual supermarkets. I went to look at the pasta and was horrified at the price - however I did find the soup pasta that someone was asking about recently, but at 79p for 250g i think i would rather break up bits of spagetti http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tesco+soup+pasta&qpvt=tesco+soup+pasta&FORM=IGRE

i didnt manage to sort my grab bag out as I had hoped and I also didnt get any "work" work done, but I did get to spend time with my two gorgeous nephews (one is 2 yrs old and the other just 4 months) and with my husbands family, sitting, eating, chatting, drinking and enjoying the sunshine.

I hope you all had a lovely bank holiday weekend and are all safe, warm, dry, fed and watered.

vanoonoo

nuatha wrote: »

buffet and canapes for 120 people, .... to eat and be easy to transport to the wedding venue.

ooh, is you and herself going legal?