Preparedness for when

GreyQueen

grumswifie, power outages can look rather eccentric. A leccy board wallah explained to me that it depends where the cabling is and what has caused the fault. It isn't at all uncommon of parts of some streets to be on different cabling, even houses which stand side by side.

Even at Shoebox Towers, the far side, as I call the bit where SuperGran lives, was without power for several hours due to a huge fuse in the substation having blown. It was only one of several fuses serving the block and the rest carried on as normal.

I would suggest looking for one of those stainless steel stovetop whistling kettles which are cheaply available new and which I have seen at bootsales for 50p-£1. The ones you fill through the spout, with a whistling bit which you raise with your thumb on a button on the handle. Very simple, and their flattish profile means that they don't take up much room in storage.

It's a good idea to have a plan B, and perhaps C, and to know where to drop your hands on your supplies, so that you avoid the panic when things go awry.

fuddle

We have a cheapy whistle kettle grumswife. it cost £2.98 so not too bad but I wouldn't be too bothered. You have your hob and a sauce pan, you're set!

The thing I get from prepping isn't about buying things to help us prep but to fathom out how we could use the things we have in a different way. Does that make sense? I guess what I'm saying is I think it's more about developing knowledge than it is buying in kit.

Yes the cake I am also lacking on the water storage front. I think if I budge the washer to the right I can fit bottles in a large space in the corner. I agree about your torch in your bag. I know I felt better having a small torch on my keys when I was working the evening shifts in the winter. Good idea.

GreyQueen

fuddle, my 6ft square kitchen has an area of mostly-useless space up one corner. Because the only place to put the washing-machine is at right-angles to the undersink cupboard, access to this corner is restricted by the 8" wide gap between the corner of the cupboard and the corner of the washer. This limits its usability to things less than 8", of course.

I keep bottled water up there in quantity, in 2 litre bottles, stacked in two tiers. I have some plastic trays (freebie bootsale discards) which stand on the top of the first layer to help support the second layer. There is a dark-coloured towel draped over the top which keeps any dust off and helps disguise what is there.

Every few months I haul them out of there, to make sure nothing amiss is going on with the plumbing, or the walls up the corner, and vac out the neglible dust. It's all going well thus far.

I have other water caches about the place, in case that one was all used or looted. Water is your critical resource, lovely peeps.

Have had to be around the homestead this morning as have had a workman in, but that's now done and I shall have an early luncheon then go to the allotment. It's grey and chilly but not actively wet atm, so mustn't waste my strike day. Thar's blackcurrants up there which need harvesting, don'tchaknow?

Frugalsod

fuddle wrote: »

We have a cheapy whistle kettle grumswife. it cost £2.98 so not too bad but I wouldn't be too bothered. You have your hob and a sauce pan, you're set!

The thing I get from prepping isn't about buying things to help us prep but to fathom out how we could use the things we have in a different way. Does that make sense? I guess what I'm saying is I think it's more about developing knowledge than it is buying in kit.

Yes the cake I am also lacking on the water storage front. I think if I budge the washer to the right I can fit bottles in a large space in the corner. I agree about your torch in your bag. I know I felt better having a small torch on my keys when I was working the evening shifts in the winter. Good idea.

That is part of the solution to find multiple uses for what you have now. If you know that you are going to have a water disconnection for a few hours you could fill saucepans and bowls with water to get you through the planned disconnection. This happens once a year where I live as they do maintenance on the hot water system where I live. So I stock up on water for the day. I do lack a longer term solution but I think that I will fix that soon enough.

[Deleted User]

GRUMSWIFIE only buy a kettle if you need one, you can heat water just as easily in a saucepan that you've already got!!!

mardatha

Absolute scorcher up here today - hottest day I think. My prepping today is getting a nice store of vitD and reading the Phoenix and the Carpet

grumswifie

Doh! Never thought about not actually needing a kettle as l have pans! As someone said, repurposing what we have already in emergancies.

Off out to Home Bargains and Aldi. Best but some extra chocolate in incase it goes off again tonight. Any excuse....

RAS

grumswifie wrote: »

Doh! Never thought about not actually needing a kettle as l have pans!

It works as long as the pan has a lid.

[Deleted User]

There ye go Grumswifie, you can now afford a whole kettlesworth of really important CHOCOLATE because you've just saved the price of the kettle..... That must add up to a wonderful amount of chocolate!!! Am I bad??? OH YES I AM !!!

[Deleted User]

grumswifie wrote: »

Do l just need a cheapish kettle?

I'd recommend a stove top kettle (price 2 or 3 pounds tops), as it will save gas, compared to boiling water in an open pan/mess tin.