Preparedness for when

pineapple

mardatha wrote: »

What about attitude? How important do you all think that is? What can you do to develop it? Let's have a talk about mental stuff lol

I'm not alltogether sure you can prepare for an extreme possibly life threatening event. Or even know how you will react. Those typically seen as 'strong' might crumble and others regarded as 'weak' might prove surprisingly resilient.
Myself I've gone to pieces when I didn't expect to but I've also astonished myself how I held it together on other occasions. :huh:
But I do think it might be a good time to resurrect friendships, practice neighbourliness and foster networks. Because however tough we think we are, we are likely to need others for both emotional and practical support.

Helen2k8

You can order raw (unpastuerised) milk online too, but beware the minimum order amounts! http://www.naturalfoodfinder.co.uk/unpasteurised-raw-milk-uk

As for attitude... Well, someone who freaks out at the thought of not having their hair straighteners will probably have a big adjustment. Having said that, someone who was needlessly happy / "Pollyanna" would drive me round the bend. I think you would do best to cultivate an attitude of calm confidence - "this is what we have, we know what we need, now how to best do it".

Realistically, I would be looking for assertive people to team up with, as I am a wuss, and there will be bullies and thugs out there!

siegemode

thriftwizard wrote: »

Anyone else remember the original 70's TV series Survivors? About life after some ghastly manmade bug has devastated the world? A few years ago I found one of the videos in the local library & brought it home to watch again, then ordered the two others that had lasted this long; the kids were fascinated & horrified - not just by the fashion/hairdos - and talked about it for weeks afterwards. I can't tell you what an effect it had on me back when I first watched it as a teenager; it's probably why I am a prepper (in a minor way) to this day. The feeling that it could all fall apart quite quickly has never really left me.

I didn't like the ending, though - getting the hydro-electric power grid up & running again seemed to mean that they were just going to make all the same mistakes all over again... I know they re-made it a while back, but the few snatches that I watched just didn't seem to have the raw power of the original series.

I'm sure my prepping mentality was also fueled by the original series. I found it compelling and disturbing, that along with the constant fear of a nuclear event. I have a fear of nuclear disaster. Growing up within 25 miles of about 10 bases didn't help, although some have closed 2 large ones are still very close and we usually have an incling when things are about to kick off. Doesn't help my anxiety levels any though.

mardatha wrote: »

Survivors stuck with me too.I haven't seen the new one because everybody said it was rubbish.

We watched some but didn't think much to it and were quite dissapointed.

Confuzzled wrote: »

most certainly they'd come back, skin conditions will be one of the most commonplace illnesses in a post SHTF world. without proper diet, sanitation, and/or shelter you'll see a proliferation of things that still happen now but are so uncommon that we now pity the poor souls rather than accept it as an unfortunate aspect of life in general.

better diet, santiation and shelter have helped humankind along enormously healthwise, good preparation would also include knowing natural replacements for soap, brushing your teeth and dealing with nits and insect bites etc etc.

also making a mental note of what plants offer what vitamins in abundance and understanding the role of these vitamins play in our health would also be very beneficial for long term survival. it's sad to say that despite having all this information at our fingertips most of us are still clueless. knowledge truly IS power.

Couldn't have put it better. When there was a glitch at boots earlier this year I stocked up and then topped up when w'rose reduced a load on a multibuy offer. I never seem to be very good at remembering to take stuff generally but if food was scarce then I might have to rely on them to stay fairly healthy.

sb44

Another item for the store cupboard or car glovbox.

Disposable hand warmers.

These are the ones that start to warm up as soon as you open the packet, you can not reuse them but would be ideal to keep in the car in case you break down.

I have just activated one (not the same brand as below) and they do give out a reasonable amount of heat.

A bit like holding a warm cup of coffee between your hands, not too hot but a comfortable heat.

Can't remember which shop I bought mine from but they were about 80p for a pack of 2.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mycoal-hand-warmers-10-pairs/dp/B001THB8RM/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

siegemode

sophlowe45 wrote: »

Unhomogenised milk is available in Waitrose.

I have heard Borough market sells raw milk as well as various other farmers markets.

http://www.duchyoriginals.com/Full_Fat_Milk.php

Also found Calon Wen milk at Ocado not homogonised http://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Calon-Wen-Organic-Whole-Milk/57661011?prevPageIndex=1&from=shop&tags=|20000|20002|40489|40490|40503&parentContainer=|20002|40489|40490|40503_SHELFVIEW

Rosetta92

Hi everyone,

I usually lurk, as things have been tough in RL for a while, but I learn so much from you all that I thought I'd make a small contribution.

Hillbilly1 wrote: »

Thanks GQ - reminds me of:-

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-horses/

When the horses came - alot about waiting in an isolated community and how the arrival of horses gave them hope.

Thank you so much for reminding me of a favourite poem. And that's a great website.

kittie wrote: »

I am going to get my vac sealer out of a cupboard, I can forget to use it but it is so good at making foods stay fresh longer. I bought a great big container of instant coffee in costco. two months ago and I vac packed in packages and just keep in a cupboard. The aroma on opening a pack is as good as opening a fresh jar

Last autumn I shredded a whole cabbage and vac packed in two jars and it stayed good in the fridge over a couple of weeks.

Excuse my lack of knowledge. Can you post some more about the vac sealer. Not something I'd heard about except as something used in a commercial setting. Is it easy to use and where would I get a good one? Lots of options on Google but are they worth the money?

mardatha wrote: »

What about attitude? How important do you all think that is? What can you do to develop it? Let's have a talk about mental stuff lol

I think it's very important. The prepping probably helps, but some ideas on how to improve mental resilience would be useful. There are lots of reports of people surviving bad situations with next to nothing while others who were well equipped fail. I know there's been research on this - part of it says the key is to have a reason to go on.
The classic was written by a psychiatrist who survived the holocaust:
Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E Frankl.

It's well worth a read, tough in parts but also very powerful food for thought.

Bye for now:)

Rosetta

craigywv

so if tshtf today and we all went into survival mode a question i have always wanted to know is this....i have a large bucket of medicines quite a lot of them from last year when i was in a car wreck for my back and legs would these tablets work years after ther best before date? I know your not supposed to keep these but WOULD they still work i want to know why its reccommended you throw them away are they like ood food , evenmy shampoo has a best before date ??????????????????? if someone could answer me i can either free up some room by binning them of i could store them in a more approprriate way ie sealing or freezing until such a time they might be needed like the way greece is at the mo over medicines etc needing to be paid big money for thanks for reading would love a reply from someone who knows this info xxx

siegemode

I've wondered about meds too. I'm loathed to take them and have painkillers and antibiotics etc that are out of date but I've kept them just in case tshtf and something would be better than nout.

craigywv

siegemode wrote: »

I've wondered about meds too. I'm loathed to take them and have painkillers and antibiotics etc that are out of date but I've kept them just in case tshtf and something would be better than nout.

thats the exact same as me maybe someone can benifit out of them if i cant or a bartering tool .....see goin all mad max again!!!!:D

2tonsils

Have been missing in action over what have been two chaotic days...the weather took a real turn for the worst and we couldn't actually go out of the house yesterday, it was so bad. The high winds, torrential rain and lightning took our electric off and we had four hours with no power at all then four hours with one phase working out of the three phases the house has. Glad we have a log fire as it was cold as well as damp during the storms. The town centre was badly flooded with the sea coming right over the ferries and sea wall and 40 trees were lost, bringing power lines down and a warning was issued not to go near them due to the risk of electrocution!

It gave us a good opportunity to check out our prepping. My solar powered torch worked great the whole time even though the last time I charged it was weeks ago (not seen any sun for three weeks lol). It gave very good blue light and was strong enough to see clearly. My computer and Kobo were fully charged so I used them for entertainment for a few hours (we had no internet of course so I played Mind improvement games I had downloaded).

My husband lit the oil lamp I bought cheap so I could see to cook dinner on the gas hob. With the torch on one side and the oil lamp nearby on the table I managed great. We sat at the kitchen table as the lamp cast more light in the smaller room and we both enjoyed eating by the oil light. My husband asked me not to put my battery powered radio on as he felt really relaxed and peaceful. For someone who used to be hooked on watching tv that is a major breakthrough!

Knowing what food was where in each freezer was a great help, so we didn't need to open them up for long when we took out food.

Recently my husband and I have been indulging in many prepper style discussions and have found 0ther people have been bringing up the subject as well. Due to a real increase in house break ins and safety issues we have been talking about personal safety and security as well.
Fortunately we are both in the assertive mode of personality and have both trained in self defense in the past.

On Friday my husband offered to buy me something that I have wanted for a long time and took me to get a new high powered air rifle. The man in the shop was very helpful and registered me as the owner and I got my early Christmas present. I was taught to shoot properly when I was a teenager so feel at home with it. We will be going out target shooting in the near future. I feel its something I need to do. We have also taken up fishing again and had a lovely day out fishing last time it was sunny and warm...it seems like a lifetime ago...

The bad news is that although we are getting short breaks in the weather that last a few hours , the storms are going to continue along with the high winds and the flaming torrential rain........this is going to be a long wet winter.

Need to stock up on candles again tomorrow....you get through quite a few when the storms keep taking the leccy off. Stay warm and dry folks......xxxxxx