THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

jk0

I'm a hoarder, (and proud of it. )

Every week my gf needs something or other, and I usually have it here. She says: 'J.... you're so organised.'

[Deleted User]

GreyQueen wrote: »

I've done wallpapering, precisely two drops.

I actually don't mind wallpapering, provided the walls are reasonably plumb.

I certainly prefer it to painting.

GreyQueen

A pal described the rather waspish survey (for a prospective purchaser) of an ancient weaver's cottage in this city; the oldest part being 500 years old, the newest part 300 years old, all seems sound and without dismantling the building, that's all he could say.:rotfl:

Actually, that cottage was the gold standard in wonkiness, she used to demonstrate the unevenness by putting a marble on the floor and it would swoop, at speed, down and across the building. All furniture had to be chocked in one way or another as there wasn't a single level bit of floorboards in the entire place.

I love it. It's solid as a rock (I pass it most days) and will likely see out millions of these ghastly modern rabbit hutches.

Re stuff, I don't like too much of it around, and have very little space, so am whittling down, through usage, some of the food supplies, and not adding to any of the other things. If the economy is functional, cash is an excellent prep, if it isn't functional, we'll all be in trouble sooner rather than later, no matter how many tins we own.

mardatha

Added to my book of Great Quotations:
"To prep or not to prep, that is the question". Fuddle.
:D:D

[Deleted User]

GQ that's it!!! ideas of surviving for months/years on stores and staying safe in situ or anywhere else are I feel as fictional as 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Harry Potter'. The idea that enough tinned beans is the answer to staying alive in adversity is outgrown and seeing just how this world and its inhabitants are changing makes me feel foolish to ever have been convinced that having enough and having the books on how to would see us through. I'm increasingly of the opinion that the less you have to anchor you the easier it would be to escape and not look back with regrets if you made it out!

maryb

I get the impression a lot of us are stepping back from the kind of prepping that involves having plenty of supplies - I know I am. I wonder if we finally feel a bit safer that the world economy is not going to implode? After all it's ten years since the first tremors of the financial crisis. Another recession is possibly on the way, because these things do go in cycles but it seems unlikely that the ATMs would run dry.

I will still make sure I have enough in stock so I don't have to go out in bad weather, for example. And I think I am no longer physically capable of just buying staples without noticing whether it is a good price or not and buying extra if it is. But the Armaggedon cupboard is looking a lot emptier these days

Karmacat

Just catching up ..

kittie wrote: »

Is house maintenance part of prepping? I think it is

I definitely think so. And gardening maintenance, in the sense of being able to reach all the corners (so that, for instance, tree seeds that take root can be hoicked out).

kittie wrote: »

exactly what happened here, except not that price but very expensive for what is a plot with a load of waste and rubble held together by anything they could find and filled with anything to make very thick walls that will crumble if not maintained. Really scared many of us and was a lesson going foward ie anyone looking to buy an old cottage

In Sussex, there used to be a name for that, though I don't know if it survives to the present day. I had some work done in the late 80s and the builder described my house as being made of "clunch" - i.e. whatever the original guy had to hand :eek: :rotfl:

maryb wrote: »

I get the impression a lot of us are stepping back from the kind of prepping that involves having plenty of supplies - I know I am. I wonder if we finally feel a bit safer that the world economy is not going to implode? After all it's ten years since the first tremors of the financial crisis. Another recession is possibly on the way, because these things do go in cycles but it seems unlikely that the ATMs would run dry.

This discussion is really interesting. I don't think there'd be Armageddon either ... but its a very visual image in that it connects to a lot of films and TV, and because of that, I think its where most people come in. I *do* think, in addition to what's been said, that there'll be near-Armageddon for the NHS, unless we're very lucky or something changes, so I do intend to keep my first aid stocks up.

[Deleted User]

maryb wrote: »

I get the impression a lot of us are stepping back from the kind of prepping that involves having plenty of supplies -

this thread is so interesting and the above quote is me. I keep a few dried stores and a few tins, the special water filters which can filter very dirty water, a gaz cooking stove, candles (because I hoarded so many), matches and a good bicycle with bags. Woollen clothes and bedding to keep warm

The threat now is nuclear and no doubt about it, I will stand outside if that happens

Back to prepping for old age, I had a look at bungalows etc this week, only on the net and talking to people who live in certain areas wrt buses and shops. I have come to the conclusion that I am staying put for the foreseeable. There are not buses here there and everywhere unless you live on or close to a main road. Trains are not everywhere thanks to Beeching. The transport infrastructure to small towns is pretty dire. One place had the shops and someone said `we are on a main bus route`, I looked it up, one small town to a run down seaside resort. That was it, I may as well save for taxis in my dotage. I noticed an ad for a new mcCarthy and stone development in same small town £350k for a small 2 bed apartment. I nearly choked on my tea. Anything half decent is far and away over-priced, many large gardens are large no more as there is another house built on it and almost back to back and the rest are new.

Prepping and kondo, I think I am mixing them up but they are very much interlinked. Some outside prep now, storage boxes

fuddle

My preps have never been about grand scale issues. I prep for financial hard times, times of illness, difficult weather, power cuts etc. I can't look further than that. I don't look to bug out other than for a short term emergency situation.

It's all volatile out there and I'm afraid i don't feel any safer now than when the recession hit in 2008. Infact, I feel like there's a force of issues ready to ram raid into our lives. Personally, and this might be a little defeatist, I think we are mere mortals responsible for living in the here and now as best we can. Being prepared for little bumps in the road is extremely sensible but anything more than that is out of my control and out of my capacity to thrive healithy and happily in. I don't want to give oxygen to misery.

I'll prepare my castle for life as I know it and appreciate every damned thing because I don't know when I'm going to loose my castle, loose my life as I know it or loose my life.

short_bird

maryb wrote: »

...but it seems unlikely that the ATMs would run dry.

Oddly enough, I was watching something on TV and thought of you lot. Let me explain...

The Handmaid's Tale novel by Margaret Atwood is now a TV series; episode 3 portrays 2 of the main characters going to a coffee shop and attempting to pay with a bank card, which is declined by the machine. The powers that be have removed all rights for women to own property or manage their own money...

So having cash might well be a good thing as none of us know when we may be "unacceptable".