Preparedness for when

mrsmortenharket

Thank you bedsit bob & siege mode.

We are all electric so that will be my 1st priority, so I have heat & can cook.

Frugalsod

calicocat wrote: »

Briefly De-lurking again.

Nope....a year is needed I believe. Always been lucky enough to be in work myself, but under no illusion how hard it is due to lots of friend being axed, and my job (as with anyone) could go at any time. These idiots need longer than three months as that may focus their brains as to what would actually help rather than shoving a plaster on it all.

We should also link their pay to the minimum wage and not to what senior executives of FTSE companies get. Though I also think that we need a salary and wealth cap on potential MP's as well. If you are a millionaire you are not representative of the population and so cannot speak for them. Add in punitive punishment for fiddling expenses along the same lines as benefits and sanctions as well. Fiddle your expenses and get stripped of your pay for three months. :beer:

vivatifosi

mrsmortenharket wrote: »

Thank you bedsit bob & siege mode.

We are all electric so that will be my 1st priority, so I have heat & can cook.

I am all electric, so have been looking at getting one of the little one ring Calor gas stoves and several canisters. Small and efficient. I've also eaten plenty of tinned food directly from the can and cold. Cold baked beans are yummy. So in the event that the SHTF, I'd eat my fresh and frozen food first (expecting my freezer to expire), then dried, then tinned. That's with the expectation that I'd run out first of electric, then of gas, but never of a tin opener!

I'm not a full prepper, not sure I'd want to live through anything apocalyptic, but I'm quite happy to live off my own supplies for a while because I think everyone should be able to do that (flood, power outage etc). I have a cousin in Australia, who just because she lives slightly outside of the town has to harvest her own rainwater and generates a lot of her own electricity. If she can't harvest rain, she has to have a tanker deliver it, which is bl**dy expensive by all accounts. It's a drought year at the moment, so pretty tough.

I did consider building an outdoor oven with the old storage heater bricks, but frankly cba. Sorry:o. My cousin would call me a pommie wimp I think.

Frugalsod

elantan wrote: »

Hi again everyone, slowly working through the thread and the ideas

Still trying to decide should I go for the Excalibur or another dehydrator? The Excalibur seems to be the best one around but it's a lot of money, so thinking maybe get a cheaper one and then think of getting an Excalibur at a later date, although knowing me I would either moan about not having the Excalibur as it apparently does things better or I would never replace the one I bought

I am in the same boat. My current plan is to work out exactly what I would use a dehydrator for, and then plan around that. I am hoping to make my own bran flakes and so the larger excalibur would actually very good for that. Though I am also planning to make freeze dried meals for camping and dehydrating soups and the Stockl would be better and cheaper for that. To covert the excalibur to the same basic set up as the Stockl will also be an extra, though it will be easier and cheaper to repair. So horses for courses.

elantan wrote: »

Was also wondering if anyone had any opinion ions on a " wonderbag" ? Am thinking of putting a BOB together and was thinking that might be a handy thing to put in ... Any opinions ?

I think that a wonderbag is a great idea, I will get one eventually but since I already have a slow cooker and no suitable stock pot it is not urgent for me. Very handy if you need things get bad and gas and electricity supplies become limited.

As to a BOB get things that would be handy for any 72 hour period away from home. Think about tent or hammock for sleep and shelter. How will you cook food and make drinks? As to what you put in it depends on what you think is most likely. You could call it your emergency bag and pack accordingly. So if the most likely thing is for you to go into hospital pack the things that would be handy for you in hospital, such as pyjamas or night gowns, so as the ambulance crew take you out you can get them to add the bag.

If a call for an elderly relative is likely then pack a few days clothes and contact details etc for dealing with an extended stay in a hospital keeping an eye on someone.

If you live in on a flood plain then pack things that will be handy in a flood, like contact details of insurance etc.

If you are afraid of the zombie apocalypse plan to have axes and baseball bats for defence as part of the BOB.

What ever you think is most likely to impact you then plan around that.

[Deleted User]

mrsmortenharket wrote: »

We are all electric so that will be my 1st priority, so I have heat & can cook.

Shouldn't cost you more than £13, including 8+ hours of fuel.

B&M Bargains sell a stove, identical to this one (different name), for £8-99.

A pack of 4 220g butane cartridges (each lasts around 2 hours on full power), also from B&M Bargains, will cost you £3-99.

As for lighting, there are a number of ways to go, depending on such thing, as, how much you want to spend on buying and running it, how much you object to a slight odour, and if you have very young children.

Cheap to buy (and safe around young children) are collapsible LED camping lanterns.



Currently available from £land.

Of course, you have to keep putting batteries in them (4 at a time), and you will probably need more than one lantern, if your living room is roomier than a dog kennel.

There's wind up lanterns, but they tend to be a bit more expensive to buy.

If naked flames aren't a major concern (eg. you don't have very young children), then good old fashioned candles are reliable (no moving parts to fail) and fairly cheap.

Even if you go for another type of lighting, it's worth investing £2 in 100 tealights from ASDA, as an emergency backup.

Then there's Hurricane Lamps.

Not the cheapest to buy, although not the most expensive either (a local hardware store sells them for £3-99 each), they are quite economical, burning for around 40 hours on a Litre of paraffin.

They produce a, not inconsiderable, amount of heat, in addition to an impressive amount of light.

An added benefit is, they're safer than candles, not merely because the flame is enclosed, but also because they self-extinguish, if knocked over.

[Deleted User]

I've replaced my cheap goggles, with a decent pair.

[Deleted User]

Aldi are selling a 17.2Ah Jump Starter Pack.

I think I might invest in one, as it'll keep my notebook (not to mention my portable DVD Player) running, in the event of a power cut.

Also, the USB socket will enable me to charge my mobile phone.

ArthriticOldThing

Hello to all. Had a SHTF situation here today. Tax office have messed up AGAIN and altered tax code so this month I've been left with £11.13 when all necessary bills paid.:eek:

As my income is well below the basic annual allowance minimum I really should not pay tax at all. When I phoned the (admittedly v nice) young lady just said that they will recalculate at year end and refund if had overpaid. Didn't seem to understand that its not a lot of help now.:mad:


Am SO glad that as a member and avid follower of this thread I can live off my stores til get paid again - 25th March. Might be short on fresh food but won't starve.


Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your advice.

GreyQueen

:eek: OMG (((((AOT))))).

Do they think you have a private income somewhere that you can live off whilst they sort out their errors?! Thank goodness for having a preptastic cupboard so you won't go hungry. I think several of us are grateful to know where our next meal is coming from, regardless of if/when the money supply in the bank dries up.

Mar, someone else said it, but t.p. or kitchen roll tubes won't disintegrate. I usually start peas in t.p. tubes and then plant the tubes out and several of the tubes are still partially present after months in the soil when I lift the peas. Although they will go a bit mouldy. I gather them together in fruit punnets to keep them upright. This year I've just planted them on the soil and hoped that the meeces don't scoff them all.

I've had my rent increase letter and it's very modest, a lot less than last year's increase, which is a blessing. The council tax bills aren't out yet but I rang them last week to set up a DD for the new financial year and asked what the increase would work out at and it's under £10 extra per annum, phew!

Getting enthusiastic about the excellent weather prophesied for the weekend as plan to spend 2-3 hours per day on the lottie. Still plenty left to do but more than half is already planted up. A pal will pop by and collect a few of the potted-on spare strawbs. I've promised a few to another pal, and may just put any spares in random corners and/or offer them to lottie neighbours.

Going to be a time to start getting plots into shape and to perhaps think about cultivating previously uncultivated areas or starting from scratch. Every penny not spent in the grocers is money which can be spent elsewhere.

I'm gonna have sausages and mash for tea. YS sausies and instant mash. I'm a class act, hey?:rotfl:

Uniscots97

AOT, can they not sort it out sooner for you?