Preparedness for when

vanoonoo

batty club member here too please!!!! xxx

vanoonoo

I actually have a little wooden bat hanging from the rear view mirror in the magical marvellous mended mini and we have bats locally and often have some flying round in the back garden, plus, I'm nuts, so i think that qualifies me fer sho x

hope you're all doing ok xxx

GreyQueen

fuddle wrote: »

I've been thinking about what to put in my family's emergency grab bag. I have had several attempts over the last few months but I always get carried away and stray away from the basics and get a bit over the top and try to think of everything.

This time it's a holdall and no bigger. It's for an emergency evacuation to a centre/safe base. I can't think about any other kind of having to survive. If it's worse than that I'll just have to try to survive any way I can.

So, 2 children, 2 adults:

first aid kit
torch, probably wind up
maybe a wind up radio?
face cloth/wipes
toothbrushes
toothpaste
copies of id
some money? how much?
ring pull cans
snacks
spoons
water, how much?
books, colouring books
any medication
change underwear/socks
jumper for each if room?

Is there anything vital you think I've missed out? Any feedback would be great.

Hi Fuddle, list is looking good.

Re how much cash, it's hard to judge. I remember reading about a couple who'd been flooded out of their home in C-ockermouth (sweary filter will have a field day otherwise, I suspect). Their home was going to be uninhabitable for months. She said that they went thru over £1,000 in ready cash in the first 10 days, getting themselves set up in the new place inc things like getting the telecoms in.

If you'd have to spend a night or two in a hotel, could you try pricing up family rooms in the chain hotels? There is also walking around money, which you'd burn thru if you were having to eat out. If you would be taking refuge with family (your or DH's) have you enough fare money to get to them?

I'd look at 2-3 pairs clean undies per person and 1 pair of fresh socks. Deffo a warm layer for each person (microfleece tops pack small) and coats accessible for a fast grab-and-go, as should footwear. It might seem a little off-centre but something that each person can sleep in if you can find a non-bulky option.

I'm thinking you arrive at your emergency accomodation/ family/ friend's place possibly wet, cold and grimy with not even a full change of clothes. If you have jammies or a nightie, you can get into them and sleep and maybe your clothes will dry out/ can be washed out overnight.

A basic toiletry kit for each person could be a toothrush (toothpaste to be shared), a comb, ponytail bands (if you or the girls have long hair), a flannel, bar soap (to share), razor for the DH, deodorant for the adults, a small bottle of shampoo, shared) and lipbalm.

Lipbalm is important. Chapped lips can split and it hurts like heck.

Being me, I have a mini-sewing kit in a tiny tin, enough for running repairs. Little volume and less weight but can be very convenient. A length or string (or even paracord) and some safety pins and you can make an emergency indoor laundry line if you have to wash thru your smalls. Perhaps a squeezy tube of travel wash if there's room? You can get Dr Beckmann's in the laundry bit of the supermarket, think it was 79p last time I bought some.

Don't forget some sanitary supplies as well, don't want to be dodging zombies looking for those in a crisis......:rotfl:

You can get combi radio-and-torches (see my mention of the Columbus II) but not a bad idea to have a torch per person with a wrist-loop. Sporks are cheap and you can get child size ones (spoon-fork combo for those who've never encountered them).

You won't be able to carry too much water as it's blinking heavy so you'd best carry a couple of litres each and keep hold of the bottles afterwards to refill on the hoof. Perhaps some water purification tabs in case the source is iffy?

Definately have your important papers. Also NHS medical cards, proof of NI number for the two adults, driver's license (you may need to hire a vehicle). I have a copy of my eye prescription in my BIB paperwork and my med prescription is always in my wallet. Plenty of meds if you take them, also some OTC stuff like painkillers, perhaps one of them should be ibruprofen as it's anti-inflammatory. Always follow the instructions on the packet and if symptoms persist consult a doctor.

Not a bad idea to have a hat or something like a Buff which can double up as a hat/ scarf. Bad situations have a distressing habit of being both wet and cold.

As you're going to be using a holdall rather than a rucksack, I'd like to make a coupla wee suggestions; carrying a holdall is awkward as you'll be off-centre and when it's loaded you'll get tired very quickly. Perhaps choose a holdall which comes with an option of a very long strap which can be worn across the body? This would be less good than a rucksack but would leave your hands free to hold the girls' hands, f'rinstance.

Or a holdall on wheels. I have one of those as my regular luggage (£1 from a bootfair). Or you can get luggage trollies (choose one of the stronger ones with good wheels) and bungee-cords (2 for 99p in the 99p Store) to hold it on.

Very important to morale to have something comforting like chocolate or other sweeties.

Oh! Nearly forgot, and me a Hitchhiker's Guide fan as well; a towel. Microfibre. To lessen the misery of being caught out in a deluge.

Must go and wind up my tea........... it's a recipe which started life about 25 years ago as Pasta Provencale and has morphed into One of Those Tomato-y Things. It wouldn't win any prizes but with peppers, tomatoes and courgettes from the Magic Greengrocer, it's cheap and tasty.

Laters, GQ xx

fuddle

GQ thank you so much. That is unbelievably helpful. I'll take notes, I need a shopping list. Something to be working on. I really appreciat the help. Thank you

GreyQueen

fuddle wrote: »

GQ thank you so much. That is unbelievably helpful. I'll take notes, I need a shopping list. Something to be working on. I really appreciat the help. Thank you

Always a pleasure to help, hun; you give so much to the OS board. I've done quite a bit of travelling and know that things always tend to weigh more than you'd think. Which is why the standard advice to anyone contemplating shifting a pack is to load 'er up and do a practice run.

A lot of that stuff can be bought very cheaply. As you've got growing children, you'll need to monitor whatever you put into the bag for them, prolly twice a year to check it still fits.

How about a c.s. shopping trip for fleeces with the girls? You can get fleece hat-scarf-glove sets very cheaply on most markets or at the c.s. but only pay pence as they're not dear new. You can look out for or even make stuff which does double-duty such as knitting tubes out of not-tickly yarn which can be worn around the neck as scarves but can be pulled up over the head to become a scarf/ hat if it's parky out.

My BOB is a 35 litre rucksack (day hike size) and I have a complete change of outer clothes in there, plus a pair of black leggings from Primark (£3 I think) and a black vest-type top. These could function as PJs or as underlayers if it was very cold and aren't obviously pajama-ish so wouldn't look amiss as outer layers. They take up very little room.

I also have a black microfleece. One think I have learned from hiking and camping is to put every blessed thing into plastic bags. I have WebTex brand ziploc bags from the Army Surplus at the moment, the bigger ones have clothes, the smaller ones documents and medicines.

I also have an army water bottle in very heavy duty plastic (they're called the pattern 58 I think) with the aluminium cup which fits over it's base. Keep it loaded and change the water every Sunday which takes a few seconds. I also have a set of titanium cutlery in there because I like it and paracord because I like that, too.;)

I've had a pretty fantastically prepperish run of luck at the c.s. today; a brand new LifeAdventure washbag (hanging kind), a Silva compass, 8 pillar candles and a collapsible blanching basket. All for £5.

Do you have any idea how long I've been after a collapsible blanching basket?! Over 10 years!!!!!!!!!!! Am so happy I could bounce.:rotfl:

Margaret54

Hi all Have been catching up on all the reading:) It is so very cold here today. Have been adding to our storecupboard cos you never know.......
Hope you are all well and keeping warm and dry.
Margaretx

fuddle

That's the thing GQ Do I use my holdall or my Lowe Alpine 65L rucksack (gathering dust as it's not been used since I had children)? I'd get more in the holdall but at least the rucky would go on my back.

Not preparing for anything in particular stupidmammy. It's just recently all over the world and in the UK there has been some freak weather. I'm about to move near a river and think it's only sensible to have a bag ready for my family should we need to evacuate our home

GreyQueen

If it was me, I'd go with the rucksack, simply because I'm not especially strong and it's much easier to carry the same amount of weight on your back than hanging off one arm.

And you may need that arm free to assist the girls or something.

There are two approaches to packing for anything, whether it's a holiday or a bugout; pack to the bag or choose your stuff and buy a bag big enough to hold it and hope to be able to move it when necessary.

You might even look at having the core stuff in the ruckie, for example, and having the holdall with the not-so-urgent but comforting stuff. I'm guessing that in a bugout situation it's possible that DH may be at work but equally-possible that he may be at home, in which case people with a Y chromosone get to carry the heaviest bag.............:rotfl:

I have a 65 litre ruckie with camping stuff in it sitting beside the BOB. In case of major SHTF run-to-hide-in-the-woods, I'll make a fast decant into the bigger bag which holds the camping stuff and take that one. Very low probability but I have to keep my camping stuff somewhere and so it's at hand.

The most-probable use for a BOB in this country would be to do an urban evac in the event that your home became uninhabitable due to flood/ fire/ mini-tornado/ fallen tree/ car crashing into the side of it and I certainly would prefer to be holed-up in a Travelodge rather than in the woods.

greenbee

GQ mentioned sanitary stuff. If your considering the implications in a SHTF situation you might want to consider changing to a mooncup. You can keep a spare one in your BOB so you know you'll have it with you. Doesn't matter if it gets wet and you won't run out. But don't have it as your solution if you haven't used one before as they take some getting used to!

GreyQueen

I've considered one of those MoonCups (there's a DivaCup, too, isn't there?) but am reluctant to shell out for one as am approaching the menopause and am hoping to be finished with the whole tiresome business before too long. But it's a good point.

People speak well of them, once you've got used to them.:)

Ah, that reminds me, I have a small notebook of the waterproof kind in my Travel Stuff Shoebox which I must flip into the BOB.

The explanation for that sentence is that I have a shelf in a very small but tall cupboard which holds 6 shoeboxes corralling small items by category and one is called Travel Stuff. It does what it says on the tin................