Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

Morning all, I too think we are the lucky ones, because we have the awareness that nothing is EVER written in stone and that perhaps when bad stuff happens, whatever the bad stuff may be, there will be no cavalry dashing to the rescue and we'll have to rely on ourselves and our knowledge to get us through the moment. The very fact that we think that way puts us outside the normal as for most people I know, the world will always provide. It's their right to be looked after if they can't do it themselves, to be told where to go, what to do, fed and watered, sheltered and protected, kept safe until the problems have been dealt with by someone else and they can go back to life as normal because when they are away being safe someone else has also been there policing the area and looking after their home and property! If only!!!

I've all my life been aware of the fragility of the system we live by, saw the arrival of supermarkets and the move away from local living, saw the demise of so many small businesses and the high streets and the arrival of the throw away society in all its awfulness. Have watched with increasing unease the financial world becoming rife with greedy manipulative people, the way of life we knew as youngsters disappear into a morass of getting and needing and consumerism. I guess I at my age am luckier than younger folks because I can actually remember the post war years and the lifestyle of make do and mend that continued up to the 60s when things changed so much, and some of them not for the better. I have the knowledge that you can survive without central heating and indoor bathrooms and hot water systems, it's definitely something that is useful to have. For me the knowledge at a practical level of how to grow food, make clothes, light fires, forage, find and make safe drinking water, know a little herbalism, even knap flints and make cordage and shelters is far more reliable than expecting there to be someone doing it all for me in extreme situations and relying on being told what to do, I feel you could be a long time waiting and I would much rather be looking after us myself, maybe not as comforting as the thought that it will all be alright because someone will make it so, but far more peace of mind making!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

iris

jk0 wrote: »

On the subject of batteries, I find AA & particularly AAA very poor value.

I have a wireless outdoor temperature sensor, and also and also an electricity monitor, which in total require ten AAA cells which last around 3 months. Even at 50p each that's £20 a year.

I have cut this cost drastically by buying D cell holders from Maplin, and soldering the wires onto the AAA battery contacts. The D cells are about £1 each but last 16 times as long as the AAA's.

My husband uses Lithium batteries for his weather station and they last for years.

pineapple

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

I guess I at my age am luckier than younger folks because I can actually remember the post war years and the lifestyle of make do and mend that continued up to the 60s when things changed so much, and some of them not for the better. I have the knowledge that you can survive without central heating and indoor bathrooms and hot water systems, it's definitely something that is useful to have.

It's scary that there is a whole generation with no experience or comprehension of a life without these things. Things are moving so fast, it's almost a different world to say the 50s and 60s for example. Don't know what is covered in school history lessons these days but imo they should include recent history - with real people going in to talk about their experiences.
Then they should all be made to spend a week or so in a 1950s house without any gizmos - no TV even! :rotfl:
Hums 'If I ruled the world'......

short_bird

nuatha wrote: »

No matter how much money you throw at prepping there's always going to be a scenario that you haven't covered

When I worked in retail, this was described as "an elephant falling on the Basingstoke store"

Basically, you prep for the most likely scenarios instead of the once in a blue moon stuff. In my case? Most likely, it's gas explosion or flooding from neighbours until the soil pipes get replaced. However, there is always the risk of a helicopter taking the wrong turn when landing at the local hospital. Also means we need to be prepared for zombies as we're on the front line

[Deleted User]

PINEAPPLE it's more than one generation, and it's not entirely their fault either. I think the detachment from all things practical started with my parents generation, those who fought in world war two, certainly my parents and those of my peers all wanted better lives for their children and to that end we were detached from all the manual practicalities of life, we were going to be white collar workers, have a better life than that of our parents, education was all! So we grew up with lots of book learning and very few life skills that were of any use. Then the education system has dropped all the domestic skills from the curriculum, we have removed the chances of learning home skills completely. I learned the skills I have from books, courses, older neighbours and friends and made darned sure I have passed on what I know and what He Who Knows does to both the girls since babyhood so it's become second nature to them. It is so important that there is a channel still open to help those who do want to take on new skills and this and the Tougher threads are a very useful tool to that end, thank goodness!!! Cheers Lyn xxx.

Confuzzled

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

MAR dried mushrooms always make a good flavouring addition to stews and soups, tins of tomatoes and tomato puree very useful to have around
...To be honest though in a real emergency situation you would use anything you had in and if it went on long enough you would just be grateful for any stores, low carb or not wouldn't you? Cheers Lyn xxx

one thing i've made a point to save away is any and alll little seasoning packets. my daughter loves those cheapy noodle packs (ramen noodles) but we never use a whole packet of the flavouring they come with so i save them up. if i ever have to bug out (or if times get really hard and we're seriously living off our food stores and i've run out of spices) those little packets will be a lifesaver.

even if you were eating weeds if you had something to make it taste that little bit more normal i think it would be a huge morale booster, they are lightweight, sealed in foil so you don't have to worry about them going off and could provide much needed salt if you really were in a bug out situation...

not the only prepping i do by a longshot but it's amazing how something so small could be so easily overlooked when really it has some excellent prepping qualities

homesteadchick

It is not just this generation of teenagers that don't have any practical skills.
My generation (45 ish) still has some...
My mum always cooked our meals.. we didn't have ready made meals until I was an adult. Same with Microwave. So she taught us how to cook and how to sew basic things. We were quite poor, so that might have had something to do with it as though..

But people just 10 years younger than me, that's a whole different story! Young mums not knowing that breadcrumbs can be made, instead of bought...
and youngsters in their teens and twenties now... geeshh.. some of them don't even know what boiling water looks like!

How are these young'uns going to look after themselves in a pinch if they can't even do very basic things!? Sure they are great with smart phones and computers and such, but making raw patatoes edible by boiling them in water?.. they haven't a clue.
Partly because their parents are not showing them.. IF mum and dad are cooking, the kids are 'into' their smartphones.
And partly because they are not being taught in school anymore.
Here in HOlland it's all due to budget cuts mostly. there's no money to teach children how to cook, sew, knit, and clean house.

I think that is really sad.
just really really sad.

Life has shifted so much. Not all of it bad mind you, but the focus of living has shifted to internet use and electronic gadgets, away from basic life skills.
Why spend half a day baking bread? Just go buy a bread and spend the rest of the day online chatting with your mates!
(That's what some say..)

Although I am seeing a trend again, back towards more basic stuff. Growing veggies is HIP again. So who knows. ;-)

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

S'OK, I can still recall that cartoon from the Seventies; In the event of a nuclear attack, put your head between your legs and kiss your a**e goodbye.

I'm covered for that situation.

I have an NBC Suit.

homesteadchick

I have made and canned some squash soup today. :-)
garden harvest ofcourse.

And I had just enough beans for a small jar, so chucked them in and all.

At this moment I am making cake in the canner. Done that before and it works an absolute treat!
Just pour cake batter in a canning jar, close with lid, and waterbath!

Takes just over an hour in the canner. and the cake comes up lovely. It keeps forever ofcourse, but it is the perfect cake to have 'in stock' if you get unexpected visitors and need something quick and yummy.

the cake comes out lovely and moist. Eaten on his own or easily combined with canned fruit and cream.

For now, I've got some additions to my food storage. :T

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Such exciting stuff!

[Deleted User]

The company called 99p Stores (Check for one near you HERE), have some interesting food items, suitable for preppers.

In particular, 425g tins of Sardines and 425g cans of Pilchards.

For those who concern themselves with BBE dates, the sardines are dated May 2016, and the Pilchards are dated Aug 2015.