Preparedness for when

jk0

VJsmum wrote: »

I agree too - we started it, and so we have to finish it. With however heavy a heart.

on another note - DD leaves for Uni tomorrow. She is in halls for two years.

I don't think she is going to allow me to put too much SHTF stuff in her room, so any suggestions as a bare "don't look too crazy" minimum?

i have one of those lanterns that Bob has on test with spare batteries. I might get away with a bottle of water or two. She has the usual paracetomol, plasters etc and a spare fleece blanket for her bed. She will have some supplies of pasta, tea bags - but clearly when money gets tight, these won't be replaced except on an "as needed" basis.

Oh, for a minute there, I thought you were asking what supplies you could fill her bedroom at home with, now she's off at uni.

moneyistooshorttomention

1Tonsil wrote: »

Some very good advice in this article, even though it is a nightmare scenario we all hope will never happen to us

http://thewatchers.adorraeli.com/2014/09/26/sierra-leone-announces-indefinite-citizen-lockdown-two-million-people-forced-into-endless-quarantine-as-food-prices-skyrocket/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+adorraeli%2FtsEq+%28The+Watchers+-+watching+the+world+evolve+and+transform%29

...and you know the depressing point that isn't even hinted at in that article?

It's the "what happens 'afterwards' " thought and I'd be willing to lay odds on what that will be. The only thing I'm not quite sure of is which particular country it is that might decide to "make hay while the sun shines" from whatever is left in certain African countries after this Ebola episode is over. Land is land and some countries want land outside their own national boundaries and I'd be willing to bet there are "eyes across the seas" currently weighing up how much territory they might be able to get their hands on later as a consequence of this and what decontamination procedures they think would be necessary before they try to walk in and take the land over...

Or have I just become very very cynical indeed by now?

I used to take the view that it would be wisest not come out with thoughts like that and hopefully no wrong'uns would think them up for themselves (as in not wanting to put ideas in their heads in the first place). These days I've come to realise the wrong'uns WILL think these things up anyway...so might as well say and hopefully at least a few people will be prepared to deal with it.

StanwithaPlan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-29391246

And this is why I really do need to start stocking some water! - on my shopping list for this afternoon

GreyQueen

Water queues 200 yards/ 1 hour + long. A salutatory reminder of the wisdom of having a few days' worth of emergency water put by. At 17p for a 2 litre bottle of basic still water, this is a very affordable and worthwhile prep.

Have got my second water butt back in situ on the allotment shed. It astonishes me how quickly they fill, bearing in mind that each butt drains just one half of the apex roof of a 6 x 8 ft shed. An incredible amount of water must fall on the roofs of even modest-sized houses/ bungalows. Might be a neat idea for householders to collect that to use for non-potable purposes (flushing loos) in event of a water outage. You can even have several water butts lined up with overflow pipes leading from one to the other.

I took half the water from one butt and put it into the other- they're the same size but one had been out of commission for a few weeks due to problems with the thingy it was standing on. Which means the next rain will have two biggish barrells to top up, not just overtopping the rear ones. The allotment water supply will be switched off for the season any day now, so what's there is what's there, and no more tapwater til April.

I also have 12 litres of bottled water up in the allotment shed, for tea-making in winter or post SHTF emergencies.

Righty, time for a bite of luncheon, then back to my allotment to scrabble around a bit in the dirt and show some weeds Cold Steel.

jk0

GQ, there's no way you could install a water butt in your shed at home is there? (I'm thinking about WC flushing if your mains broke.)

There must be some awfully smelly WC's in Bristol at the moment.

If you attach one of these to a downpipe, the butt won't overflow once it's full:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strata-Ward-Water-Filler-Downpipes/dp/B007XV6Q7K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411816003&sr=8-2&keywords=water+butt+connector+kit

Frugalsod

StanwithaPlan wrote: »

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-29391246

And this is why I really do need to start stocking some water! - on my shopping list for this afternoon

I would opt for barrels which could hold a lot more water and will get you through a number of days without a problem. Plus if you are the only one who is prepared then you could get a few requests for help, but on a minor problem like a burst mains it will be over in a couple of weeks. It might allow you to inspire your neighbours to prep and if you have a number of preppers around you then collectively you will have a far better prospects when something serious erupts.

GreyQueen

jk0 wrote: »

GQ, there's no way you could install a water butt in your shed at home is there? (I'm thinking about WC flushing if your mains broke.)

There must be some awfully smelly WC's in Bristol at the moment.

If you attach one of these to a downpipe, the butt won't overflow once it's full:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strata-Ward-Water-Filler-Downpipes/dp/B007XV6Q7K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411816003&sr=8-2&keywords=water+butt+connector+kit

Sadly no. The way Shoebox Towers is built means that there's no way you could route water from the outside of the building to the inner hall where me and my neighbours have our bike sheds. And none of us have even a square inch of outdoor space to call our own. There is a river 50 yards away so one could theoretically lower a bucket on a rope into that.

If water was down, I would use a bottle and funnel to collect the pee and line the toilet bowl with plastic bags containing cat litter for the solids, as it were.

Not terribly nice to think of (apologies to anyone having lunch) but better considered beforehand than trying to wrack your brain at the time to work out what to do.

Hokay, this isn't getting the gardening done. Sun has finally emerged from the haze and I'm saddling the bike and heading to the plot. Laters, GQ xx

1Tonsil

We have a sterna, a huge tank under the house which fills with filtered rain water from the roof. It holds 28 cubic meters of water and the tank has been there for at least a hundred years. It was used because the village only had water three days a week in the summer, years ago. It is quite soft water and very useful if we get cut off from the mains.. The mains was off, with no warning at all, for 24 hours earlier this week.

The water from the house tap is not suitable for drinking so we use bottled water, or water in containers from the mountain spring down in the next village. Most houses do this in Greece or use water from their own wells. We have a stock of bottled water in as well, for emergencies.

The weather has cleared up and it has been 27 in the shade and sunny today. It was very cold last night though, we went out to listen to a band play and it was so cold everyone was scrambling through their cars to find old jumpers and jackets to wear. Luckily we had a jacket each in the car, but even then I was wishing I had kept my new gloves in my bag. It was so cold in the night that I got up at 4am to put the giant fleece blanket on that we use in the winter. We are going out tonight and I am going to wear my winter jumper for warmth. I feel for the tourists who may be in cold damp rooms with only a thin cover or a sheet on the beds!:eek:

StanwithaPlan

Frugalsod wrote: »

I would opt for barrels which could hold a lot more water and will get you through a number of days without a problem. Plus if you are the only one who is prepared then you could get a few requests for help, but on a minor problem like a burst mains it will be over in a couple of weeks. It might allow you to inspire your neighbours to prep and if you have a number of preppers around you then collectively you will have a far better prospects when something serious erupts.

thanks, when you say barrels, I'm thinking of the plastic sort with a lid? My Dad used to home brew and a full one of those would hold plenty, but would be a pain to empty and refill.

I'm going to pick up two five litre bottles today as a start...and I've actually run out of baked beans :eek:

[Deleted User]

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote: »

VJs mum, I was going to suggest a supermarket giftcard.. to be used only in Emergencies, so at least you know she will have money for food, but prob if it was my kids, they would buy booze with it lol..

How about a pre-paid card (I have an Orange Mastercard), with virtually nothing on it?

That way, if she gets into a major difficulty, she can ring/text you, you can top it up at your end, and she will have the money to spend within minutes.

Also, might be a good idea to get her mobile on a talk plan, with unlimited land line calls, so she can always ring you, even when her mobile allowance has run out.