Preparedness for when

Wyre

Morning folks, haven't read today's posts yet so have some catching up to do.

It's OH day off today so he took me to the school (and waited in the car 'til I finished bless him) then we popped off to Mr. T's. They are doing the FB pies for £1 so it may be worth checking your local ones if you haven't managed to pick any up in the £shop or the like. They had spam and some other bits on special which may come in handy for some.

I would also like to +1 the use of local merchants. The leading on the roof has gone and OH is going to replace it with a valley trough. He will be doing it himself as we can't afford the roofer to come out. So off we go heading to various well known building supply retailers. We call into one but they don't do the trough so we head to another. On our way we see a local company so we go in and ask if they sell the item we need. No they don't but they recommend a local roofing supplier, a bit out of the way but very good. We decided to go and check them out. Not only do they do the item required, it is cheaper and they give OH a talk through on what he will need to do (he had already spoken to a roofer and watched videos online but it was nice to get it confirmed). We now know a good roofing supplier all down to speaking to a local builder. I know who we will be using for any other purchases we need to make!

pineapple

Sorry if this has already been posted (I can't keep up!). It's just confirmation of the road we are travelling on - where bank deposits could be raided to pay back debt. Not us at the mo but slippery slopes and all that.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-27/bundesbanks-stunner-broke-eurozone-nations-first-bail-your-rich-citizens

Meanwhile Pineapple is alarmed at the increasing rate her meagre income is being eaten away with just everyday expenses. Maybe it is time to be a little more proactive in the money saving department. There have been stories in the news lately about communities clubbing together to negotiate their own energy deals. But also there was a recent feature about a group of people who have joined together to purchase staples in bulk. It takes trust and organisation of course but it seems do-able.
How much longer can we afford to live in our isolated little units buying packets of this and packets of that?

[Deleted User]

PINEAPPLE what you're talking is a FOOD CO OPERATIVE and as such if you could get it organised you might qualify for a cash and carry card if you have such an establishment near you. Bulk buying of wholefoods is usually considerably cheaper than small amounts but it needs transport, financial accumen, someone to weigh out the individual amounts required by participants and make up the individual orders and money up front from everyone or you'd have to fork out the lot for the order and hope that people paid and even more important still wanted the stock they'd ordered and hadn't changed their minds altogether. Then a base where the stock could be stored until collected or the means to deliver it to co operative members, nothing is ever straightforward is it?

thriftwizard

But also there was a recent feature about a group of people who have joined together to purchase staples in bulk. It takes trust and organisation of course but it seems do-able.
How much longer can we afford to live in our isolated little units buying packets of this and packets of that?

Pineapple, we've done this for years, with our neighbours. We started off as an official "buying group" from a well-known health-food supplier, but their minimum order eventually went out of our reach. But it's continued informally, with us investing in sacks of spuds (currently £8.50 for Desiree, everyone's favourite, for 25Kg - Wiljas are £6) and splitting them when they're likely to sprout, sacks of onions, "horse" carrots & apples which are mis-shaped but very tasty, sacks of flour from the mill whenever anyone has an errand up that way, etc. etc. Now number 2 Offspring is living "away" (2 whole miles!) he and his housemates have enthusiastically leapt on board too & none of us goes past one of our regular suppliers without checking whether anyone needs anything.

At one stage there were 5 households involved but we are now down to 4; by & large it's a well-settled neighbourhood where we all look after each other's kids, pets etc., hold street parties when appropriate, kids can play out in relative safety & there's certainly a lot of trust. However, the other thing you need is space; we wouldn't have been able to do this in rabbit-hutch executive homes with no storage. I store my grains in an old freezer in the garage & they come into the kitchen in huge glass bottles. Spuds, carrots & apples stay out there in the cool & the dark until needed, with onions stationed near the window.

We certainly save money by buying in bulk. But I also have the peace of mind engendered by knowing there's nearly always more out there, if for some reason the shops run dry!

nuatha

pineapple wrote: »

Meanwhile Pineapple is alarmed at the increasing rate her meagre income is being eaten away with just everyday expenses. Maybe it is time to be a little more proactive in the money saving department. There have been stories in the news lately about communities clubbing together to negotiate their own energy deals. But also there was a recent feature about a group of people who have joined together to purchase staples in bulk. It takes trust and organisation of course but it seems do-able.
How much longer can we afford to live in our isolated little units buying packets of this and packets of that?

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

PINEAPPLE what you're talking is a FOOD CO OPERATIVE and as such if you could get it organised you might qualify for a cash and carry card if you have such an establishment near you. Bulk buying of wholefoods is usually considerably cheaper than small amounts but it needs transport, financial accumen, someone to weigh out the individual amounts required by participants and make up the individual orders and money up front from everyone or you'd have to fork out the lot for the order and hope that people paid and even more important still wanted the stock they'd ordered and hadn't changed their minds altogether. Then a base where the stock could be stored until collected or the means to deliver it to co operative members, nothing is ever straightforward is it?

I've been involved in setting up and helping to run several food co-ops. Lyn's covered most of the logistics so I'll just add some bits from experience.
One group started as a car share shopping trip, the village we lived in had a couple of expensive corner shops, four of us sharing one car to do a large supermarket shop, passing a fruit and veg wholesaler en route became 9 households splitting boxes of fresh fruit and veg and bulk buying several supermarkets worth of special offers.
Another group of mainly vegetarian/vegans wanting to improve their diet and make their money go further got together to bulk buy cereals and pulses from a wholefood cash and carry. Deliveries were made to one member's house who was fairly central and three of us would be on hand to unload and check the order. Splitting 10 or 15 20Kg bags of cereals and pulses into 1-5Kg individual orders is time consuming faff, but meant that serious savings could be made. We started with kitchen scales and a couple of rolls of sandwich bags, and ended up buying a set of fruit and veg scales from a car boot sale and building up a stock of 5lb sweet jars (mainly from a local sweet shop which was delighted to be able to rehome them) The majority of members would call by the house that evening and pick up their order, and get details of any upcoming deals we hoped to take advantage of. The same evening the following week, they'd drop off their next order with the payment, orders would be collated that weekend and placed on the Monday morning for delivery on the Thursday. It worked well as long as the members were in regular contact, when it tried to grow to friends of friends and cousins living 50 miles away the logistics became a nightmare. Some of the folk living a distance away formed their own buying group, the original group tightened its membership criteria went back to being a much smaller buying group.
Cash and carrys which supply corner shops are regularly more expensive than supermarkets, but will carry bulk items that can work out cheaper and have their own special offers. A small group of us take advantage of the fact that one of us has a Costco membership.
Several friends have a different approach, which is sharing information - any good deals they see get shared by sms and email as do any particular requests, several washing machines and ovens have been found very cheaply this way.
I'm happy to help if anyone wants any specific infomation or questions answered.

short_bird

Having looked at Pinterest (cheers grandma 24/7!) would it be an idea to wrap your duct tape round your mini survival kit, depending on the size of container you're using?

Ooh, and I noticed another one: spare sim card to a different network. I'm sure someone knows if that will be of any use here in the UK
http://teotwawkiblog.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/wallet-urban-survival-tricks.html

elaine241

Wow! speedy and interesting thread as usual.

With regards parents and kids I think each scenario is unique and if you scratch the surface you often find underlying problems that are leading to the presenting problems, mental illness of parents, abuse domestic, physical and mental, addiction, disability, financial worries including loan sharks the list is endless! I am not saying that there are the "cant be arsed" parents out there but there are also families where many problems are hidden.


I have worked in many comunities labelled "disadvantaged" and have come across child neglect, cruelty and abuse. In most cases I have referred the cases to social services/police and they have been acted on promptly; I can only speak as I find.

People and neighbours are often wary of getting involved as they risk being attacked, their families abused and their homes targetted. One example was an elderly gentleman who brought into the community resource office a two year old he had found wandering. He didnt want to call the police in the fear he would be accused of abduction/abuse etc so he brought the child to the only place he could think of where he didnt have to leave details and get involved. The child had a mobile phone in one pocket and a bong in the other! When social services were called they initially tried to pass to the police until I insisted I had their names and that of their manager! They then got their ar*es in gear! Before they arrived a young man turned up at the office demanding the child, asked if he was the parent he said no but had been sent by the mum. WHen I refused to hand over the child he threatened to call the police, response "Please do!!" Thankfully TPTB turned up , took the child into emergency care and investigated the family and the welfare of his siblings. They were all taken into care as the mother was a drug dealer and addict and was sentenced to a custodial term in jail.

I have three boys and again each are totally different in their ability to take on manners, toilet training etc. My eldest was "dry" at just over a year, my middle boy totally trained at 18 months and my youngest I can not get dry at night even though he is 8! I have tried restricting fluids, waking up at about 10.30 for a wee and waking up early as well all to no avail! He has to sleep in pyjama pants and the health visitor reckons it is due to the fact he sleeps so deeply. He has done since a baby the loudest SHTF event could happen and he wouldnt even stir! I am assured he will eventually grow out of it!!

My eldest 19 has made me a grandma! Yes kids having kids! But this scenario is different, from age of 10 he would change nappies, bathe, feed, change and generally "parent" his brothers with the only complaints about pooey nappies that had gone all up the back into the hair!! YUCK! He could make feeds from scratch and when not fed by me make up bottles to the right temp etc.
I put this attitude down to being taught self reliance and skills from an early age, he could cook from scratch, clean, do washing, plan and budget for meals, buy yellow sticker items and make meals from what he had. He now has a home with his partner and little girl and the comments from health visitors etc are that they have never come accross such a mature, organised young parent.
He sent me a pic via FB of CS buys that were his latest finds for decorating the flat!! 19 going on 60!!

At the moment I seem to be YS fixated! I find it difficult to buy things that are full price, even then, for more expensive items I check mysupermarket to see who has the cheapest price. I find that I make sure I visit shops during the week that I am passing at reduction time, co-op on the way back from swimming Weds & on way home from work Thurs & Fri, Tes*os after evening class etc If I have to go out in the evening I often drop by to see if there are bargains. I think I may need help!!! LOL I am going to get a grip by inventorying my 3 freezers so that I know what I have and can target YS/reduced buys to what I need. (well thats the plan!!LOL)

Prepping wise I have added to the candle mountain and bought a great little kettle from CS for a £! It is like a camping aluminium kettle complete with whistle, when the electricity goes off I can use it on my cooker or even on the log burner, a world without tea is not one I could live in!!! Dont laugh but I did contemplate buying a tea bush from the Cornish place that makes the UK tea, I could pick and dry my own and never have to worry!!

Anyway I have rambled on again putting my twopenneth in. I am supposed to be working but apathy seems to have got hold of me like a zombiefying virus! LOL

Take care all, Elaine x

System

My goodness... Been away for a week and I think it is going to take me a fortnight to catch up !!

Will have to ration myself to reading as a reward for conquering the laundry mountain..... maybe one item ironed equals one post read ?

maryb

I think you'll run out of ironing!! At least I hope so - HOW big is your laundry mountain:eek:

System

I think you'll run out of ironing!! At least I hope so - HOW big is your laundry mountain

ha ha !! (where have the smileys gone ?) hopefully not THAT big, having skimmed back to where I last left off.....

still, in replying to maryb I have been caught taking a sneaky peek and the ironing board isn't even up yet..... and I've still got to get some food supplies in - I used up Christmas leftovers and ran down the stores to save up spending money and I'm torn between continuing to empty shelves for the rest of the week, and needing to get straight again in case of bad weather later in the week....