The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

sammy_kaye18

London_1 said:

I remember back in the 1970s when we had blackouts and current was switched off for three hours at a time ,and you never knew when it was going to happen..Wrights ordinary candles were like gold dust, and so hard to get hold of Nothing like the lovely smelly ones we all have today ,just plain white ones 4 to a packet .My friend and I were always scouring the shops for them and often would share a pack between us..  As she cooked on Gas and I cooked on electric I would often be seen scurrying down our road with a half cooked dinner for her to finish off in her cooker for me. Bless her we are still good friends to this day.

I am carefully going through all the things I can think of for the coming winter, making sure I have plenty of candles ,thows ,hot water bottles, wooly socks etc, and a very large stock of my favourite tea bags as I can cope with anything ,fire flood and famine as long as I can have my cuppa

I genuinely think one of my first thoughts would be how do I boil water for a cuppa. Everything in my house is electric. Which isnt too bad if the gas runs out as we can still shower and cook etc but if the electric goes off I am pretty much screwed so I think I need to definitely look at an alternative cooking method - although I do have a BBQ outside which is in need of a pressure wash and a good scrub but it would do the job if needed. Maybe that is something else to add to my look up list for tonight when I cant sleep. 
I am slowly building stocks in my cupboards and pantry, I have extra flour, pasta, rice etc and tins but I think next will be a variety of hot drinks to keep us stocked up and at least I can warm us with a good drink then - tea, coffee, hot chocolate and I might even add some cup of soups into those too!

How fab that you have a lifelong friend. I have known my best friend since I was 15 so we are 23 years strong now and I wouldn't be without her.  

MrsCD

We're all electric, too, @sammy_kaye18
We have a couple of camping stoves which use a can of gas in the side. They have helped us cope over the past few years when we've had power cuts. I use one for a whistling kettle and the other to heat food, but you need to think of meals that don't take a lot of fuel and can be done in one or two pans. Beans and egg on toast, tins of chunky chicken with rice, tinned veggies with tinned steak in gravy...you get the idea? Cup a soups are handy, and even an oxo in hot water can warm you up on a cold day. Keep a flask handy for left over boiling water.
NB you need to let some ventilation in the kitchen when you're using the stoves, just to be on the safe side.

DigForVictory

Us too. Himself was so proud of himself, being ahead of the curve, & then the curve changed.

We have a Lot of camping tackle - I'll ask the kayak enthusiast to sort out the gas canisters & camping attachments he would not take kayaking so his brother can use them to cook with.

thriftwizard

We're half gas, half 'leccy, with a woodstove & a whole lot of camping gear, including my van with a double gas hob, several single gas-cartridge burners, a Kelly kettle & an elderly cast-iron potbelly BBQ stove, to fall back on. Plus my invaluable WonderBag, of course, and lots of solar lights & candles. My hob is gas, though the oven's electric, and the burners can be lit with a match as long as the gas is actually being pumped through the network - not a given, though, if the power's off. The boiler's gas, but won't work without 'leccy. We've had double-glazing installed this year after a couple of our original Edwardian windows actually fell out, and have good lined or interlined curtains at nearly all the windows & doors. And there are umpteen blankets & quilts lying around; it helps that one of my hobbies is patchwork. Plus lots of good woolly (and alpaca, and cashmere) jumpers, nearly all either made by us or acquired secondhand for a pittance. So freezing shouldn't be a problem, if it gets that cold anyway down here in the Deep South! 

But I will fret about DS3 up there in the Frozen North; if he ends up on his own in a flat (which would be his preference) he will probably try to keep it warm enough to potter about in a t-shirt, then be gobsmacked by the bills. But - mustn't nag, he's a grown-up now!

DigForVictory

@thriftwizard, DS3 will either learn fast or slow. All you can do is make sure he has intelligent choices like a couple of sweaters (perhaps fleeces - easier to wash right the first time?) within reach. Says she abandoning the home to the tender mercies of the young who do not wholly understand about turning things off, but it's still standing. (Please may I be, after the next bill.)

CJRyder

sammy_kaye18 said:

London_1 said:

I remember back in the 1970s when we had blackouts and current was switched off for three hours at a time ,and you never knew when it was going to happen..Wrights ordinary candles were like gold dust, and so hard to get hold of Nothing like the lovely smelly ones we all have today ,just plain white ones 4 to a packet .My friend and I were always scouring the shops for them and often would share a pack between us..  As she cooked on Gas and I cooked on electric I would often be seen scurrying down our road with a half cooked dinner for her to finish off in her cooker for me. Bless her we are still good friends to this day.

I am carefully going through all the things I can think of for the coming winter, making sure I have plenty of candles ,thows ,hot water bottles, wooly socks etc, and a very large stock of my favourite tea bags as I can cope with anything ,fire flood and famine as long as I can have my cuppa

I genuinely think one of my first thoughts would be how do I boil water for a cuppa. Everything in my house is electric. Which isnt too bad if the gas runs out as we can still shower and cook etc but if the electric goes off I am pretty much screwed so I think I need to definitely look at an alternative cooking method - although I do have a BBQ outside which is in need of a pressure wash and a good scrub but it would do the job if needed. Maybe that is something else to add to my look up list for tonight when I cant sleep. 
I am slowly building stocks in my cupboards and pantry, I have extra flour, pasta, rice etc and tins but I think next will be a variety of hot drinks to keep us stocked up and at least I can warm us with a good drink then - tea, coffee, hot chocolate and I might even add some cup of soups into those too!

How fab that you have a lifelong friend. I have known my best friend since I was 15 so we are 23 years strong now and I wouldn't be without her.  

I would strongly recommend a Kelly Kettle with hobo stove. Easy to use, will burn on anything combustible.

Si_Clist

sammy_kaye18 said

I genuinely think one of my first thoughts would be how do I boil water for a cuppa ...

There's a lot to be said for never going to bed without having a flask of hot water waiting for you in the kitchen in the morning 

RAS

A few random thoughts.

If you used a hot water bottle and keep it close, it's blood heat in the morning. Enough to wash your hands and face first thing. Did that back in 2010.

If you're reducing the heat in the house, you'll not drive off the moisture in the same way.

A dry house feels warmer. Get a screen wiper and an old flannel, absorbent cloth, and clear any condensation off the windows first thing, remove with the cloth and squeeze that out over a drain or the loo. Do the same to the shower walls when you shower, though you may not need the cloth. Even on a cold day, ventilate briefly.

If you are a large family and have a decent sized garden, or a community garden, consider building a pizza oven.  You don't need charcoal or wood, traditionally they were fired with short faggots, see Faggots | Legendary Dartmoor or the Elizabethan Farm video. It does need protection from the rain, but you can cook a range of meals over the single burn, starting with bread, other baked goods, then stews and soups, perhaps a loads of beans, baked puddings, as the temperature drops. It's how communities baked roasts, casseroles and pies after the baker made bread, as per pat a cake, baker's man.

Edit: found this rather posh version Building an Outdoor Oven – Mother Earth News

Si_Clist

For those who have been seeing all the stories this morning telling us what the new Ofgem price cap is but who still have no idea because all they tell you is about "average bills", the figures you need to know are on the Ofgem site. For the period 1st Oct to 31st Dec they are electric 52p per kWh, gas 15p and standing charges 46p and 28p respectively.

[Deleted User]

Si_Clist said:

For those who have been seeing all the headlines telling you what the Ofgem price cap is but who still have no idea because they don't actually tell you, the figures you need to know are on the Ofgem site and are electric 52p per kWh, gas 15p and standing charges 46p and 28p respectively for 1st Oct to 31st Dec.

@Si_Clist much appreciated xx