Preparedness for when

mardatha

In this thread we're working on short term emergencies only. If the S ever does totally HTF then we'll just have to deal with it as & when it happens
For powercuts you need an old fashioned phone that plugs into the wall. Mobiles are no good as the repeater masts go off, ours here goes off immediately the power does.
We once had a powercut of 5 days and life went on as normal in the Mad Arthur house We put the freezer contents in plastic boxes in the back garden, which was feet deep in snow. But the whole village got a compensation payment from Scottish Power as well . That was a bad winter a long time ago.
I'm thinking up a new disaster for today
:rotfl::rotfl:

Hardup_Hester

I work for a secondary school, we have an evacuation procedure in case of fire & a special password in case of armed intruders. We have a text alert system but we have no other emergency procedures in place.
Hester

grandma247

Mardatha I remember reading on one of my groups about people living in Alaska having a long power cut. The lady was mad and asked why when the temperature was minus 30 people were upset about their freezers and what were they going to do?

She said all they had to do was put the stuff in their uninsulated sheds and leave it there as it would stay frozen.

fuddle

grandma247 wrote: »

Mardatha I remember reading on one of my groups about people living in Alaska having a long power cut. The lady was mad and asked why when the temperature was minus 30 people were upset about their freezers and what were they going to do?

She said all they had to do was put the stuff in their uninsulated sheds and leave it there as it would stay frozen.

Goodness, that has actually shocked me. You would think living in those conditions that they would know that instinctually.

Short term sh*t sounds good. Ordered another 2 litres of water - that's 6 litres now. Still not enough but when is enough. How much would you buy to have in store?

SpikyHedgehog

valk_scot wrote: »

A lot of folk do seem to be worried about "surviving" with no heating but really, remember it's only within the last 30 years or so that central heating became the norm in houses. The first house I had with central heating was the one I bought eighteen years ago, before that we had houses with a gas fire in the living room and no heating at all in the bedrooms or bathrooms. We wore a lot more clothes in the house, that's all, and had things like hot water bottles and lots of blankets. And I don't remember the gas fire going on at all from April to September, we simply didn't expect the house to be cosy warm all the time and to walk around in a t-shirt. You'll only really suffer dangerously in cold weather without any source of heating if you're really young or really old, in poor health or undernourished or if you've got inadequate clothing, bedding or if your house is not weathertight as to leaks and excessive drafts.

So one of the things to do in preperation is to make sure your house is as sound as possible, fix the roof and top up the insulation. Put draft excludes on inside doors as well (watch out for ventilation when using gas appliances of course) Get in some extra bedding, old blankets and duvets from the charity shops can be washed or aired out on the line and if you're really cold you're not going to care if they're second hand tbh. Make sure you've got extra layers of warm clothes, socks, thin hat for wearing indoors and fingerless gloves are great for indoors as well. A couple of cheap fleece blanket/throws for the sofa.

The maxim while camping is to heat yourself, not your space, so hot drinks are good here too. Fuel will be scarce of course so when you do make hot drinks or soup, keep a little extra in a Thermos for when you start feeling cold. Having something warm ready always helps. Have a hot drink before you go to bed.

You can put your PJs on under your clothes in the evening so you're already warm when you go to bed or fill up a hot water bottle an hour ahead and chuck that under the duvets. Doubling up keeps you warm too so if the kids want to share a room or bed let them, or have them in with you. Have the cats or the dog too, it may be unhygenic but it's better than shivering.

I remember when the winters were really cold when I was a girl we'd put our next days clothes under the pillow and get dressed under the blankets before making a run for the bathroom and the warmer living room. Or my sister and I would get dressed behind my dad's big armchair in there. We even got washed in the living room in a basin of water rather than brave the freezing bathroom. It was all just routine and we were used to making sure we didn't get too cold as it was harder then to warm up again.

My point being that it's better to adapt your routines in a difficult situation rather than to stress too much about how to maintain your routines, iyswim? We all knew how to live in unheated houses back then and it's not like we're a different species or less healthy in general now.

I remember wearing wooly hats & gloves & my dressing gown over my pjs in bed (don't remember wearing socks but I'm sure I did) & having the frost patterns on the windows. I went to secondary school on a new estate, so most of my friends had new houses with double glazing & central heating, but thought we were posh for having a 5 bedroom house!

The thing that worries me about the house we live in now, is it's 5 years old & totally reliant on electricity to run & heat. There's no fireplace or chimney to convert to solid fuel.

I got a camping cooking set last year so we could cook over tea lights in the grill pan, & we have a bbq for outside. Plenty of hot water bottles & fleeces & layers of clothes. Have just admitted to my mum that part of my emergency planning is getting to my parents as they have an open fire ;-). More practically, when we move, I'll be looking for an open fire or stove, or the ability to have 1.

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

WATER PURIFICATION - I've just checked on the Milton Sterilising Fluid site for something I thought I'd heard long ago and it is possible to make water fit for drinking by adding 2.5mls of Milton Sterilising Fluid to 5 litres of water and letting it stand for 15 minutes before drinking. This is the same stuff us oldies used as a bottle sterilising solution when our kiddlers were babies. It's under £2 a bottle and available in most chemists shops. Cheers Lyn.

It's also a very good bleach based cleaning solution, as recommended by our local health protection agency when I phoned them up through work when 10% of our children at preschool were off sick with sickness bugs.

fuddle wrote: »

I just couldn't walk off and leave my little ones. I'd want to be with them, it's where I would gravitate to even if it wasn't the schools policy to let me. I'd be there, I'd be wanting in and I'd be wanting to be with my girls. No rule is going to stop me from doing that, even if it puts me at risk.

The anxiety is creeping up - it doesn't take much with me does it. Really, really interesting though, and I can't wait for the bug out bag stuff.

I have 4 litres of water, I know it's not enough in the house but how much is an acceptable level without going into panic mode?

Fuddle, when the school goes back, go & ask to see their emergency plan. I think you'll feel better when you know where the girls would be etc. We were reviewing our policies at preschool (though thinking about this thread, I don't think we go far enough yet. I know the council include planning for us, but haven't told us what they plan for us ;-) ). We say if we needed to evacuate the preschool, ie for fire, we'd take the children to the school we're next to & say ' give us a classroom' to use while we phone the parents to collect the children. The thing is, you could go to get the girls but find they're already safely at another location. I understand you would want them with you, I'm thinking about the fact that DS2's school is 2 miles away from my preschool, & DS1's sixth form is 2 miles off in another direction & trying not to stress. But forewarned is forarmed, & that's what we're trying to do.

Caterina

mardatha wrote: »

Can I just say that if this thread makes you anxious - then please don't read it The idea is to make people think, not make people panic....

You know what panics me, Mar? The fact that my family don't take me seriously. That they think this is another of Mum's peculiar ideas. The twins would just not pay attention to a serious discussion about family plans for emergency scenarios. At 23, they are immortal, invincible, chillax Mum, the Zombies are not here yet! DH sort of goes along with whatever I suggest because he is a sweet, easygoing soul who just wants to please me, so if prepping makes me happy, so be it, let's prep.

But none of them think I am serious and rational, so I need to do all the prepping and stashing quietly, so that if something awful happens, at least we will have some chance of short term survival.

Gingervamp, the Zombie trailer is fantastic, can't wait for the release, that's a good film to go watch with the family!

Beetlemama, re. flour not keeping for long, the best thing is to have whole grains, then use a hand mill to grind them to flour. I have just enquirer about a hand mill that grinds and flakes too, but haven't had a reply yet, will update here when I do. Apparently the best grain to have is hard wheat but it is difficult to find in the UK from what I read. I have oats and spelt.

ginnyknit

Checked Manchester city council emergency plans - very comprehensive as you would imagine for a large town. Also checked the flooding maps for local resevoir - hmmm think I need some wetsuits in my bug out bag :eek: as I thought the flood would cover my estate, because of the tunnels the path of the flood comes from a narrow path right down our street but there hasnt been a problem with flooding of that kind since the 1920's and they recently built new huge drainage channels so think we are safe ...phew...looks scary in black and white (with green for the water).

mardatha

On prepping forums I've met one person who was away from home the day the riots happened in London - they had to find a place to stay until the next day.
Also a person who was on the Underground on the day of the London bombing, and he had to climb out of the train and walk in a pitch dark tunnel wearing a business suit and thin leather shoes.
One lady who got stuck in snow in Scotland the day the M8 motorway was full of people stuck in a blizzard. She had on a thin business suit & heels, and had no mobile phone with her.
All of these people now carry an EDC bag with them always. EDC=Every Day Carry In a backpack, or in the boot of the car. Big one or wee one is up to you. If you work in a city then wear comfortable clothes to work and change when you get there. Get a map and study it. Find the railways and canals and footpaths -you don't have to use them, just know where they are as it might come in handy one day.
What would you put in your EDC??

Byatt

Mardy, I'd put in a small supply (maybe 3 days worth) of my meds, some I can do without for a day or 2 without expiring, but certainly 3 others I would need. Some cash, a small amount, and a small note book with friends/family numbers if I couldn't charge my mobile. I'd also have a couple of high energy bars, as my blood sugar drops quickly, and some water, small bottle...

elona

Caterina

My lot think I am "sweetly eccentric" to put it politely.

DH does not object to me getting stuff, mainly because the AF cans and packets save a lot of money and saves him driving me round to go shopping all the time.

He does not know about the kelly kettle, tealights , matches and disposable lighters with a tiny bulb on them or the wind up torch and radio but has a good idea I have squirrelled stuff away.

He is on board with extra washing powder, toilet rolls etc when a good offer is on .

I did lose credibility a bit when I was ill three years ago and lost track of dates on tins etc. Sorted everything recently and had to take some tins to the tip Now I have promised him that I know where things are and it is all stuff that will be used.

He is very dubious about the bottled new potatoes but in winter when they are turned into a soup etc or a pie topping he will be happy to scoff them.