THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

[Deleted User]

The stove fits flush into the fireplace cavity so all I have is a shelf about 8" wide max that juts out from the wall. The ordinary fan has made such a difference to the warmth in the lounge this evening we've been up to 21 degrees and it's pushed warm air right through the whole of the downstairs, even the hallway feels warmer, it's amazing.

The washing up is up to date, we've been boiling kettles and hand washing it but having the hot water back on and turning on the tap for it is SOOOOOOOOO much nicer!

DigForVictory

I've just booked all the lads in for sight tests - and had thought even eldest in 6th form is OK but the receptionist said he's 19 soon isn't he, ooh, right, we'll see him This Saturday! (Bless the dear lady!)

OK I have to exhume a teenager before noon but it'll protect my wallet & his eyeballs. If I can find an old pair of glasses of his where the frames still fit or can be adjusted to fit, he may still get the "repair" option, which would mean he leaves school with two pairs of glasses of the right prescription. (A blessing at any time, but when he is apt to have seizures & his glasses are not a priority? Extra relief!)

The little brothers can wait (a fortnight) but I must get them to dig out their old pairs too. Our optician is a complete wonder about repairs & has even reminded me to bring in the old frames!

I'm very tempted by the online offers but growing heads are trickier to "fit" & you only get two eyeballs.

Shropshirelass

Thriftwizard I have also decided the 'meja' are no longer reporting local news, even about extreme weather. They prefer daft stories that will collect them the most audience 'clicks'.

Anyone interested in how to manage a shortage of water might like to search 'water shedding Western Cape'. They have had drought in Cape Town/Western Cape Province area for several years now. Even if they have normal rainfall this year, it will be years before the dams return to normal capacity. The council don't seem to be planning properly, so individual householders are making their own plans now, as they have serious water rationing, so digging wells, installing rainwater tanks, recycling systems for washing machine water etc. Those living in informal settlements face long queues for the small amount of water they can carry.

DigForVictory

I know you're all back & plumbed in MrsLW, and rousing cheers for it, but I saw this & thought Hm - tricky-ish but possible.
The 5-litre bucket bath hack does mean there's less water to heat to get clean, but I've no idea how much water is needed to shave.

[Deleted User]

I used a square washing up bowl and 2 x 1,7 kettlefuls of boiling water brought to the right temperature in the bowl with cold from the tap. I do more or less the same as described in the article and even had a little clean water left to rinse down the bath at the end. Nice to feel clean and warm even if you can't shower!

Karmacat

Shropshirelass wrote: »

Anyone interested in how to manage a shortage of water might like to search 'water shedding Western Cape'.

I did exactly that - its a whole new eye on the world, thanks shropshire lass.

Just thinking about convenience - Mrs LW, can I ask you, how much longer did it take to do your bucket bath, compared to just turning on the taps as usual? I suspect it wouldn't be quite as bad as we fear, and the saving in water would be utterly immense.

[Deleted User]

Very little time, partly because the bathroom was arctic! the time to boil the kettles, wet my hair standing in the bath and lather up with shampoo, one rinse into the bath not the bowl and another lathering up, rinse off the last shampoo wet the sponge and get wet over as much of me as I can reach, lather up with soap and then rinse off with the sponge. Most of the rest of the water is tipped over me from head to toe and it's 5 minutes maximum and a little water left to rinse the bath. A shower would normally take that long too the difference being that it would be constantly running water and I feel just as clean after a bowl bath as I do from a shower. Hope that helps?

VJsmum

I would struggle to wash my hair without a bath or shower, there is a lot of it. Growing up without hot water, I used to boil three large saucepans of water and wash my hair over the kitchen sink. That probably took more water than a shower as the rinsing isn't as efficient.

I only wash my hair every four or even five days though

I can wash all over in a small (cereal bowl sized) bowl of water - in a tent...

Karmacat

It does help, Mrs LW, thanks. And I was hoping the answer was something like that - though I wish for your sake your bathroom was nice and warm at the time!

Showers, even the plastic things you used to push onto the bathtaps, didn't get to this country till I was an adult, so I grew up washing my hair in the sink (and it was 1960s-long), so I remember it, but we were never cautious about wasting water in those days.

jk0

Cripe. That's all the more reason not to destroy our coal power stations.

BTW, has anyone been looking at the energy mix today?

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

Twice today gas has generated 27GW. That's the most I've ever seen it.