Preparedness for when

missrlr

So in true prep style we now have a humongous amount of food in the house, plus cleaning agents, loo rolls (200+ and counting) house work done, ironing on the agenda for tomorrow. All food is stuff we eat, an AF order coming and a plan for the Big R money to save us. Also cancelled my one "indulgence" the gym so have 5 more weeks of this then that is it. Hoping the weather may be NOT snowing so I can make up for it by working out in the outdoors.

Snow came and went, heating turned even further down, budget redone we have squeezed it so far that assuming there is no disaster we may make it out alive. God help us if anything happens, or if anyone actually wants some,thing like the mortgage loan amount repaying!

Sadly Doglet seems to be unwell ..... It may be a trip to our friendly v.e.t. Lets hope the insurance covers it !

Car is also in need of 2 new tyres ,.. In the budget and CostC0 is the answ.

Heads up for those with a C0stc0 card, 8 raspberry canes for £2.99 or gooseberry trees £2.99 .........

THIRZAH

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

Hi folks.

Never been in this thread before but with the weather all around me I think I need to do some preparation for when the SHTF!

We have about 4inches of snow, I live near a main road so very lucky that it's cleared and the shop down the road is open.

But just 8miles away this is the 2nd day with a meter of snow and no power! Doesn't look like it will be clearing tonight either.

I keep panicking thinking about what if it had happened right here, I'm a single Mum of a baby and toddler and would have no idea what to do. I have elderly neighbours too. I don't have a single candle in the house or emergency matches etc. We don't eat tinned or jarred food etc so all our fresh food would be spoiled in a couple of days. I don't own a torch or anything like that. And how would I feed my baby (he is formula fed) if I ran out of formula milk.

I don't even own a torch! Or gloves, or decent boots! I wore ugg boots out in the snow today and came back with wet and freezing feet. My kids luckily have snowsuits, hats and gloves!

Where do I start, I'm not talking about preparing for the extreme here but just to keep us going for a little while?

The forecasters say that the worst of the snow is over for the moment.

Most supermarkets sell candles and matches. In our local branch of Mr T they are in the aisle with the cleaning products. IKEA are very good for nightlights-you can get a big bag for under £2.

Try Primark or your local market for gloves and hats.It's often possible to pick them up quite cheaply at this time of year although this year may be an exception since spring is so cold.

You say your family doesn't eat tinned or jarred food. Does that include things like baked beans or tinned tomatoes?What about pasta? That keeps for ages and if you have onions and a tin of tomatoes you can make a basic sauce.Or you could keep a jar of pesto in-I don't like it but my DDs love it and so does my 1 year old grandson.

You'll get some good advice if you read this thread.I built up my store cupboard by buying an extra tin or packet everytime I went shopping.

JayneC

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

Hi folks.

Never been in this thread before but with the weather all around me I think I need to do some preparation for when the SHTF!

We have about 4inches of snow, I live near a main road so very lucky that it's cleared and the shop down the road is open.

But just 8miles away this is the 2nd day with a meter of snow and no power! Doesn't look like it will be clearing tonight either.

I keep panicking thinking about what if it had happened right here, I'm a single Mum of a baby and toddler and would have no idea what to do. I have elderly neighbours too. I don't have a single candle in the house or emergency matches etc. We don't eat tinned or jarred food etc so all our fresh food would be spoiled in a couple of days. I don't own a torch or anything like that. And how would I feed my baby (he is formula fed) if I ran out of formula milk.

I don't even own a torch! Or gloves, or decent boots! I wore ugg boots out in the snow today and came back with wet and freezing feet. My kids luckily have snowsuits, hats and gloves!

Where do I start, I'm not talking about preparing for the extreme here but just to keep us going for a little while?

Well you've already identified things you might need, so why not start there? Get yourself at least some gloves and boots, a cheap torch is better than nothing and spare batteries, a pack of tea lights and some matches won't break the bank. Try to always keep an extra tin of babyfood in and what about having at least a day or two supplies of the ready mixed formula in-case of problems with boiling the kettle? Is there some reason why you don't eat storable food? Could you just have a few things in just in case you need them? And not everything will spoil quickly if it's stored properly. Spuds and root veg will last at least a couple of weeks =- handy hint, if you can get stuff that's not been ready washed it keeps better, so mucky spuds and carrots are the way to go, just wash before use. Eggs too will last a couple of weeks...

Hope that's helpful, have a good read back through the thread and I'm sure you'll pick up some good hints. Use what's useful, ignore what you think is OTT

BigMummaF

maryb wrote: »

My lowest moments come when I realise I've turned into my mother. And my DDs go very quiet when I tell them one day you will also catch yourself using my expressions and then you will know you've also turned into your mother. It comes to us all

That brings back memories I was in full flight this one time, telling The Offspring they couldn't wear their new shoes out to play, when I suddenly stopped mid-sentence & started giggling as I realised I'd heard it all before :rotfl:

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

Hi folks.

Never been in this thread before but with the weather all around me I think I need to do some preparation for when the SHTF!....

I keep panicking thinking about what if it had happened right here....

Where do I start, I'm not talking about preparing for the extreme here but just to keep us going for a little while?

HiYa :wave: Nice to 'meet' you & you'll love it here as we go from one topic to another (no chance of getting bored) & while there's lots of deep thinking, we also manage to have a larf too.

Right..first thing is NOT to panic. You just need to look around your home & see what you've got already so you won't have to spend more than you need to.


I guess most important things to consider are Warmth, Shelter & Sustenance so we'll take one at a time.

Warmth...it's easier to keep one or two rooms warm, than a whole house. When the weather is really bad, you could 'camp' in the lounge with lots of fleece throws to cover cold leather-type furniture (if you have it) & to snuggle under while looking thru a book or something. They don't have to be flash, pricey things; the best ones I bought were the supermarket value ones for around £4 each. If you're crafty you could embroider or applique them if you don't like them plain colours.
Lots of thin layers of clothes are better than two or three thick ones.
Get some curtains from a charity shop to hang at doors &/or to line thin curtains at windows, or to make draught excluders.

Shelter...bubble wrap makes good insulation on the inside of windows; just stick it on to the frame with sticky tape--especially good for bathroom & loos as generally they're already frosted so it doesn't show If you have gas appliances, leave some kind of gap for ventilation tho & invest in a carbon monoxide monitor alarm.
I would suggest--with having littlies moving around--having more wind up/battery powered things rather than candles or hurricane lamps, unless you can be sure they are safe on a higher shelf.
Something a lot of people forget is to (often) practise moving around the house in the dark. You could make it a game with your toddler & the darkness would become less scary for them too.
If you have a landline phone, get a cheap corded unit to plug in to the phone socket on the wall, as cordless don't work during a power cut. It's also advised not to use cordless during a thunderstorm.

Food & Drink...value bottled water is just as good--or better tasting in our case!--as tap water & I would think would be fine for Bubbs bottles if you couldn't get a kettle boiled, but do check with your health visitor first (do they still have those?) Or I believe you can get formula already made up in cartons now.
Baked beans on wholemeal toast is touted as the most nutritious meal ever :T so I suggest you begin adding an extra tin of something to your shopping basket when you can. Soup, veg, potatoes, fish, meat & fruit, plus cartons of long-life milk will keep for a fair while & will leep you going for a fair while too.
Things like crispbreads & crackers can replace bread, & porridge oats & cereals can be warming & filling.

Don't forget loo roll, liquid soap & disinfectant plus over-the-counter pain killers for both you & the children. If any of you are on prescribed medication, make sure you get them replaced regularly so you don't run out.
You may like to try putting a carrier bag over your foot before putting your boot on to help keep it dry, but not if you'll be wearing them all day.

Think that's the basics but the others will tell you more...they've had more practise than me ...& keep calling in; we love new faces joining the Krew :j

BigMummaF

Forgot to say that you can get tinned veg in just water, reduced salt &/or sugar versions of soup, baked beans etc & fruit in juice which make for healthy meal makers. In fact, they are recommended by the NHS as excellent alternatives to fresh f & v (see HERE)

grandma247

I have just had a quick google for alternative lamp oil and it seems you can use olive oil or canola (rapeseed) oil instead. I am pretty sure any old oil will also work because I used to have little burners that floated in water which used chip pan oil. Rancid oil is supposed to work best so it makes sense that chip pan oil would work. I shall have to find a small oil lamp to test it out.

ALIBOBSY

I know if the power goes out its good to have the tins and dried stuff, but in the current sort of situation ie, probably power on but unable to get to the shops another option is frozen veg and in fact some frozen veg has been proven to have better levels of vitamins etc than the fresh stuff from the stores. I always have some cheap frozen veg in, or in our case surplus frozen from what we grew ourselves. Its also good if you see a knock down offer in the supermarkets eg. a few weeks ago we got about 5 bags of leeks from Asda all knocked down to 10p a bag (3-4 leeks in each). I used some that week from the fridge as fresh, but the rest were prepped, chopped and frozen and are brilliant to throw in stews/soups/sauces straight from the freezer-this is good for leftover bits of sweet peppers, onions and celery.

TBH I think most of us start with thinking about the most common things that can and do happen and prep for that. I think for most that is weather keeps you away from the shops and/or cost of food shooting up. This means most of us start by increasing our food and basic items stores, best bet is to look or bargains and stock up when you can. Don't expect to do it overnight (unless you have the spare cash lol) and build up a few items at a time. For me I like to have at least one full pack/bottle/tin of all items we use in my extra stores, but often alot more than one :eek:.

Alot have BOBs or bug out bags, basically a bag with the basic items you think would be useful if you had to get out of the house in a hurry-say the police knock on the door and tell you, you have 5 mins to evacuate, easier to have some of most of the stuff you need in a bag ready to go. We haven't done this yet, but with all the flooding last year I think we better get one done. Think basic food items-more snacks than anything, water/drinks,mini first aid kit, sewing kit, swiss army knife, copies of important documents like insurance/birth certs/passports etc in a waterproof bag, and perhaps spare clothes.

With there being 4 kids here I am not sure what to do about clothes as they grow out of stuff so fast, but think I may stick stuff in for me and OH and hope to have a couple of mins to throw spare stuff in for the littleones. We use our windup torches and the like but I reckon if I have the rest in a bag and just need to add the kids clothes and extra torches and the mobiles it will be ok.

Given the current snowy episodes its also worth sticking some kind of preps in the car boot, blanket/small shovel/heat pack/snack/drink especially for long journeys.

We are sat here tonight with blankets over our knees to save power as once in bed you don't notice it anyway, and so we don't heat the house after the kids are in bed. But thats about saving money, as well as having the side effect of meaning in a power cut in winter we could add extra layers to warm up. Again this wasn't done overnight, we picked up blankets here and there-cheap in ikea, passed on from others getting rid etc etc. Charity shops are greats sources of many basic items that can be useful-candles, candle holders, lamps, blankets etc.

Do things step by step and see how far you want to go, but beware it can draw you in fast rofl. Next thing is you will be sat drooling over real swiss army knives and wondering if your mum will think you have lost it if you put one on your christmas list.

Keep warm
Ali x

pineapple

maryb wrote: »

and then you will know you've also turned into your mother. It comes to us all

Not any time soon I hope - she's dead :eek:

VJsmum

Last year my young niece sat on my knee, studied my face and said "you look like Nanny". I don't mind - my mum, whilst no stunning model, was a lovely looking woman with barely a wrinkle.

As for what you say, I am not sure it is YOUR mum so much as A MUM

mardatha

hereigoagain22 wrote: »

Hi folks.

Never been in this thread before but with the weather all around me I think I need to do some preparation for when the SHTF!

We have about 4inches of snow, I live near a main road so very lucky that it's cleared and the shop down the road is open.

But just 8miles away this is the 2nd day with a meter of snow and no power! Doesn't look like it will be clearing tonight either.

I keep panicking thinking about what if it had happened right here, I'm a single Mum of a baby and toddler and would have no idea what to do. I have elderly neighbours too. I don't have a single candle in the house or emergency matches etc. We don't eat tinned or jarred food etc so all our fresh food would be spoiled in a couple of days. I don't own a torch or anything like that. And how would I feed my baby (he is formula fed) if I ran out of formula milk.

I don't even own a torch! Or gloves, or decent boots! I wore ugg boots out in the snow today and came back with wet and freezing feet. My kids luckily have snowsuits, hats and gloves!

Where do I start, I'm not talking about preparing for the extreme here but just to keep us going for a little while?

*****************************
You need something to see by in a power cut.
You need something to cook on in a power cut.
You need good warm clothes for bad weather.
You need extra food in the house for bad weather.
Start with that