Preparedness for when

Caterina

I make jam alright, it is not supposed to be dangerous with sugar and it is not strictly anaerobic. It would take me a lot of learning before I attempt the canning process though. Went on a few American sites and they are even more scary than I thought!

However I am very interested in the dehydrating process, will explore that more in depth. This year unfortunately my allotment did not do well at all and we only have enough veg to eat day by day, nowhere near enough to store, but in future the situation might change hopefully. Also, good buys at the market surely must be worth storing!

Thanks for all your suggestions, I am learning so much on this thread!

D&DD

Just waiting for my boy to send me a photo for you of my preserving cupboard

I love canning and its easy once you get into it,I'm very fortunate as my cousin lives in the states and brings me supplies twice a year.

I also got tons of kilner lids earlier in the year from Amazons warehouse..they had damaged boxes and were selling them off at £1.49,I've enough to last me years now

ginnyknit

I am interseted in canning but cannot afford the outlay of the canner thingy. I do de-hydrate quite successfully, not as much as Kittie but I listen to her advice a lot. I have a biscuit tin full of bags of carrots, peppers, onions and mushrooms and it works well for me. I just add a handful to the slow cooker and they come out well. We never used to use up a bag of economy carrots and they would go soggy. i also manage to pick up YS peppers and mushrooms a lot. Im hoping they work well in my 'world war 3'cupboard as DS calls it. Bonus is it saves room in the freezer, which obviously would be s*d all use in a power cut :rotfl:

Still got no flipping candles but have wind up lamp and tea-lights. Note to self 'Buy candles woman'

D&DD

Here you go theres all sorts in here as you can see but all either made from the garden or foraged for free

Dippypud

rosieben wrote: »

to add to what dippy said - insurance policy details, bank account details? utlities account numbers and contact numbers

Oohh, silly me fancy forgetting insurance details and such ...:o

it's a good job, your on the ball Rosieben :T

[Deleted User]

Afternoon all, been away for a couple of days 'cor, you lot don't half natter!!!!!! CATERINA - I would go with fish rather than meat if you want to resume eating non veggie foods, the seashore would be a much easier place to survive in a really survival situation, try molluscs like winkles, and bivalves like cockles and mussels too. Learn how to catch razor shells with salt and even fishing would be less hard (you notice I didn't say easier) than hunting or trapping. Early man seemed to spend lots of time gathering on the shoreline, they knew a thing or two!!!

If I was away from home when it all kicked off , provided it was safe to attempt it I would try to get home. If not I always carry with me a small survival tin with a lighter, some cotton wool balls,matches, a firesteel,a tea light,safety pins,a whistle,fishing line, hook and weights, a small sewing kit,a pencil, some thin wire, a wire saw, a compass,a pencil, some paper, some water purifier tablets and a small penknife all of which fit in a small waterproof tin. I always have this in the bottom of my day sack, along with a multi tool penknife, I always carry a small first aid kit too. I could make a shelter and for a very limited time find edibles, but probably only enough to stave off hunger, not to live on.

Long term, I would try to get to DD s but they both live 2 hours drive away from us in different directions and both in fairly large cities so I might find that impossible.

For me having aquired a few usable skills like shelter building etc. I think the real problem would be avoiding other folks who were panicking, that would probably be the most difficult thing.

Cheers Lyn.

Gigervamp

Re survival kits, if you have a needle and thread, magnetise the needle by rubbing it on a magnet. Then you can use it as a compass.

GreyQueen

I remember the last time I had to sign on for JSA, I had to produce my passport (as I did when I started my current job) so proofs of ID can be needed for the darndest of things.

Insurance companies can be disputatious about whether you actually did own X, Y or Z item so you might want to think about scanning manuals/ receipts/ warranties etc and saving to a removable drive. A household inventory (I know, I should be so lucky) can help proof of loss.

Something ugly which happened when the rubble finally stopped bouncing in the area-formerly-known-as-Yugoslavia was that people who had fled returned to their homes to find others in occupation and claiming ownership of their apartments and houses. There were sometimes legal fights lasting years to get back what had been taken over. So, maybe have your deeds etc in more than one secure place, if you own such things.

I once overheard an insurance wallah saying that they always dispute the original amount that the householder puts in but if the householder disputes back, they'll mostly roll-over as it isn't worth the hassle and cost of continuing to squabble. Worth bearing in mind, I thought to myself..........

Today's little project is to make a sewing kit out of a darling little hinged flat tin I got from the c.s. It's about 3.5 x 4 inches and is big enough to hold a pair of snips. I shall fire up the glue gun and tack down some felt from the fabric stash, only gluing the felt around the edges of the tin and it's lid. The middle is being left loose so that I can stick needles through it. I shall make little spindles of card and wind across some cotton thread in black and white and some extra stong polyester thread suitable for bag repairs etc. May add a few buttons, a couple of snaps and a few wee bits of velcro from the stash into it in a mini ziploc bag and some straight sewing pins and safety pins.

It'll only weigh a few ounces but could save some trouble later on. For the want of a nail the shoe was lost, for the want of the shoe the horse was lost etcetera

I was cruising thru a BOB list when I came across mention of having work gloves and had an aha! moment. I'm a gardener and pretty tough but when living in the wild woods and gathering larch all day for firewood (you spend a lot of time gathering firewood when you live in the wild wet woods) and my poor palms ended up soooo sore and stingy and tender that I could barely believe it. Plus you pick up wings and dings and little cuts. Also, when I was on a multi-day kayak trip, I discovered that your paddle ends up eroding several layers of skin in a patch on the web between your thumb and first finger.

So, as they have those fingerless cyclist-type mittens in £land and 99p Store, I shall have a pair of those. Heck, I could even wear them for cycling............:rotfl:

Well, the polis are down here on blues n' twos so I think we are having a drugs raid. Hang on to your hats, people.

grandma247

I have this book on my hard drive.

westcoastscot

grandma247 wrote: »

Where did you buy your tinned hummus Westcoastscot? If you can could you put up the brand?

Its Cypressa hummus from the deli in the nearest town to us - haven't seen it in ages and am down to my last tins.