Preparedness for when

Frugalsod

2tonsils wrote: »

I have seen quite a few tourists in town, but some of the resorts are reporting no visitors and I am already hearing of people who have worked for a month and a half and not been paid yet...... I also heard of some places who are laying off staff already. That is not good for mid June!

I think that the problem is that the real cuts in prices have been because of cuts in wages to staff, but the cost of accommodation is still too high, as the ECB is doing everything to maintain super high property values. This means hotel room rates are seriously over priced, and is basically like a bank tax on the rest of the economy. The same applies here. Look at the stagnant wages for most people yet property prices are far higher than they would be if we could only get a mortgage of 3 times earnings.

2tonsils wrote: »

It was very hot today and it feels like we are in for a scorcher of a summer. I am continuing with the prepping as I still feel things are going to hit the fan big style. I think there is trouble brewing in the middle east but it will be small in comparison to other things that are going to happen.

I think if Iraq were to break up longer term the problems will be minimal once oil supplies fall significantly over the next few decades. The lifestyle we have now is based on cheap oil and once that is gone then our standard of living will fall significantly. Commuting long distances to work might be impossible for most people.

Though the short term is still way too unpredictable.

2tonsils wrote: »

The sun (as someone said earlier ) is still flaring and we have two big sun spots which are earth facing for the next few days. This puts us at risk from flares and makes earthquakes more likely. According to many of the conspiracy/early warning/truth teller sites, tomorrow, June 14th is a high risk day for natural disasters world wide. I am hedging my bets and staying prepared for anything. As one of my friends says.....stay safe folks, heads up, no fear!

I think that the real risks are if there was a large Coronal Mass Ejection that hit earth and induced huge currents in the national grid. This could wipe out most electrical devices if not surge protected or turned off and disconnected. In many ways it is a natural form of EMP and which can be avoided as we can have as much as three days warning. Last time we had a such an event I just turned everything off and had an early night.

ALIBOBSY

kittie wrote: »

I see that some are interested in off grid power so I am just coming in now to say that my solar lighting was up and running from yesterday. Massive wooden insulated building (interior is 3 x 8 m at least) with 2 `rooms` and a door space in between. 2 large vents on one 3m wall and 1 large vent on the opposite wall. Mostly in the house shadow as N/S and next to house. One end faces the sun so the opportunity remains to take that wall out and make a home office etc. Really thick insulation ie two layers of wood and kingspan in between, on all sides and top and bottom so a very constant, nice temperature and protective membranes in the construction. Garage foam flooring so altogether nice to be in. Could be an alternative mini home tbh. Cost was < £6000. Roof is 2 pitched and fills big and attractive water butts then the excess runs into the water harvesting tank

A dark space apart from the vents, which we sandwiched with fly preventative mesh. It had to be an airy ventilated building. Lighting was designed and set up by me with dh doing the drilling where needed.

40w good make solar panel with hm angled frame on a high wall a few inches higher than the shed, the shed has a protective wall on each long side, no gap on one side between wall and wood and 6 inches on the other side as we cannot pierce the house at all (airtight). We put an earthing rod into the ground near the panel and earthed the panel and took an earth into the building, so everything is safe, no earthing point was available so we made one.

Solar charge controller, fuse box and the appropriate size fuses all wired in. An inline fuse close to the battery+. 3 really good led strip lights wired in parallel. The lights were bought as strips and cost a fair bit but are wonderful. 2 x 60 LEDs and 1 x 30. 3 switches right by the door. I did carp soldering and had to repeat some joints but hey ho, succeeded in the end. Set all the wiring up and then very tentatively put the battery fuse in and uncovered the panel. We had lift off and everything worked right off, the 12v battery had already been charged by the manufacturer as a charge is needed to boost the controller into action. All loose wires are now fastened down and the whole set up is fantastic. One battery full will give us 70 amp hours and each light strip takes under 1.2 A so a single charge will give us at least 20 hours if all 3 lights were on the whole time.

It would be a relatively simple matter to wire up a 12v socket to power other things but I don`t want to start a battery bank, one is enough and safety is paramount. Cost was about £300 for the solar set up and about £135 for the lights but from now on it is free and tbh the temperature and ambience are so nice that I might just take my spinning wheel in there to shelter from the heat. The lights are wonderful, like a lovely daylight and I could easily read in there too

Slightly different tack while I am on here. I am bottling gooseberries, very easy to do and saves a lot of freezer space. So easy to forget to do the preserving for winter but very worth while getting non-freezer preserves sorted, I do believe that we will have rolling power cuts this winter, Russia and Iraq, not good at all. Jars, tins, easy cook and alternative cooking sources all more important than ever this coming winter

Back to spinning now, waves goodbye and blows kisses

Sounds an interesting building, well done for doing most of it yourself.
I have a bush full of gooseberries ready to pick so would love to know how to bottle them.

Ali x

2tonsils

Have to make some prepping plans now as the water in the village is being cut off from 11pm till 9am now. I presume they are trying to conserve water by stopping people refilling emergency tanks and swimming pools. I have not known them do it this early in the summer before. We have an emergency tank full of rain water under the house but I can't leave the pump on all night in case it floods the kitchen and keeps us awake with the noise of it kicking in every so often. Our drinking water is in containers anyway as it comes from the spring. We are going to fill the sinks etc before we go to bed and some buckets so we can flush the toilets and rinse any pots etc....and have a nice cold wash am. I can only imagine the complaints from the tourists.... Off to raid the car boot sale for whatever goodies for prepping I can find......I have caught the bug of you good people again...but that is a good thing

thriftwizard

Off car booting this morning too. It's our annual Folk jamboree this weekend so the town will be insane later with people wearing flowery hats and bells, waving sticks & hankies. Most of the roads will be closed & the rest will just be blocked. No chance of moving the car at all after about 10am, until tomorrow evening, so S & Fs will have to wait!

jk0

Due to very sweaty feet, I have to wear pure cotton or wool socks. These wear through quite quickly, so I am always discarding them. I pin my socks in pairs for washing, so I know that both socks in a pair have had the same wear. Therefore I feel justified in discarding both when a hole develops in one.

I could probably save up the odd socks until another of a similar colour loses its partner. Anyone else tried this, and did you get much wear from the new partners?

Frugalsod

jk0 wrote: »

Due to very sweaty feet, I have to wear pure cotton or wool socks. These wear through quite quickly, so I am always discarding them. I pin my socks in pairs for washing, so I know that both socks in a pair have had the same wear. Therefore I feel justified in discarding both when a hole develops in one.

I could probably save up the odd socks until another of a similar colour loses its partner. Anyone else tried this, and did you get much wear from the new partners?

I only get black socks and lots at once so there are plenty of spares even if one of each pair gets holey?

[Deleted User]

He Who Knows and I have decided that although it's early we're going to order in our winter logs NOW!!! and we're also going to get another pair of the I*ea Sunnan solar reading lamps not to use now, we already have two we've had for some time, but to keep uncharged and use in the future if ours start to fail. It's all at a price we can afford at the moment but I think as things go forward the price of everything, particularly useful things like solar items and fuel will go sky high and might be out of reach. The other executive decision I've made is to get in quantities of tins of corned beef, tuna,ham,stewed steak and other protien items as they have usually got a very long best before date and I'm banking on being able to provide the fresh stuff from the plot or foraging. I'm also going to get in quantities of crispbreads which keep extremely well and will replace breads if fuel supplies dwindle. That and peanut butter along with homemade preserves should be enough to keep us going in tough times, which I've a nasty feeling aren't too far off in the calendar!!!

Have made another executive decision too after a little consideration I'm going to save up and invest in a couple of single sized All Wool Blankets to go on top of quilts as a top up in the colder weather, I'll get them in a dark colour if I can and make sure they're washable, I think this will be a good investment of cash for the future and add to our comfort if the reality of oil depletion and a failing national grid both come to fruition.

the_cake

This morning's car boot yielded a treasure, a book called 'Keeping the Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs' by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead. It's American, and covers canning, jams & jellies, freezing, pickling, drying, curing and cold storage. It was £1, in aid of the local hospice: win, win. Sadly, all I seem to be able to grow this year is garlic - everything else is either not flourishing (think I need to check my soil PH) or being eaten by slugs, despite my Nemaslugging. Something is nipping off the strawberries and making little holes in them - any ideas? They are now netted, so I don't think it's birds .... we would starve very quickly if we had to rely on my veg growing skills at the moment.

[Deleted User]

Woodlice love strawberries and apples too in season, they make a hole in the berry climb inside and eat it from the inside out. Birds too will peck at and damage strawberries given half a chance, we keep ours netted but they still manage to get any berries within reach of thier beaks from the edges of the net.

the_cake

Thanks MrsLW - we also have loads of red ants, and I am SO tired of getting bitten by them every time I garden, I have just ordered a 5kg tub of diatomaceous earth. I have never used it before, so would love to hear from anyone who has. I figured it would do the slugs, ants, and as the cats are keen hunters might also tackle their inevitable worms and fleas too!