The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

euronorris

I'm sure it would pay for itself in the long term, but being on furlough and with the future so uncertain at the moment, I have to give careful consideration to large purchases as they will obviously have a noticeable impact on short term finances.

In terms of use. I think I would definitely make use of it plenty at the moment, but once things have picked up and I am (fingers crossed) back working, i may struggle to find the time again. I still have some qualifications I wish to achieve, and that will mean evening and weekend studying again at some point. So again, it's not an easy answer for me. Would I find the time to do it later, after getting back into it during lockdown? Maybe. Maybe it would reignite the passion. It would also be great to show DD some basic sewing skills also. (On a side note, I have ordered some plastic canvases to start showing her some basic stitching. I remember doing something similar in school, and I think she would really enjoy it. I have a big blunt needle, and some wool and thread she can play with).

In terms of actual skills. I never got as far as curtains. I could do basic skirts, repairs, fold away changing mat etc. I think I could do the masks OK, and the scrub bags. Not sure how good I would be at the scrubs themselves.

-taff

mrs_motivated said

Mr M did look horrified when I told him I was a prepper and was reading tips from other preppers.  His response was Okaaay but I’m not drinking my wee....clearly he needs educating too.

Yes he does, his wee is for the compost heap

daz378

One of the most understated   prepps  is a   few full bookshelves ....if  the leccy goes..... is a good fallback....going to continue to add a few extra tins....to the cupboard...still worried about   the long term effect on supply lines  and even if maintained  may be more expensive 

euronorris

I am part of a grow your own fb group. Yesterday, someone on there suggested it was time to get stocks in for canning and preserving. So we are not the only ones thinking ahead to that aspect, and if you plan on doing any of this yourself, now is definitely the time to start topping up your stocks of sugar, vinegar, jars etc.

I hadn't thought about books. But they are bulky, so I think I might opt for a few extra batteries to recharge phone with. Have just bought a new battery for my laptop, to give it new life. The old battery would no longer hold a charge, so laptop would only work if connected to the mains. Battery was £15 on ebay. Worthwhile others doing, if they need to.

jamanda

Thanks for this.  Have just edited an online order to include pickling vinegar for the shallots that are hopefully growing in the garden.  Bit more sugar too ready for jam and bottling.

[Deleted User]

Books for entertainment, reference books, dried and tinned foodstuffs, meds, freezer storage bags, jars and sugar for jams and chutneys, vinegar by the big container, salt for all sorts of uses, candles/tea lights/solar lighting, alternative means of heating water/cooking food and the fuels to run them (best recommendation is a Kelly kettle which runs on twigs/small bits of dry stuff etc and will boil water/if you have the cooking set reheat/cook small amounts of food), big jars that seal properly for beans/rice/grains etc.,waterproof outer clothing in good condition, ditto footwear/wellingtons, warm bedding for if the power goes out in the winter, soap, soap and more soap, good stock of things like toothpaste, loo rolls, disinfectant, bleach, seeds for growing, a wind up radio to use if the power is out, water filter big enough to supply safe drinking water for daily needs BUT more than any of these you need the will to get through the pandemic, you need a positive frame of mind and to be bolshie enough to make yourself do the things that need to be done to stay safe.  Knowledge can be gained on the internet and from books, knowing how to start a fire with a flint and steel is archaic but if there are no matches??? knowing how to find/process clean water to drink is unnecessary while the taps flow but if they stop??? knowing how to build and run a compost loo is unnecessary as long as the water keeps flowing to toilet cisterns and the sewerage systems keep working but if either of these fail??? knowing what is safe to forage for food is unnecessary while the supermarkets are still open and supplying our needs but if the supply chain fails or the harvest fails what then???

Lots of factors to consider but perhaps while this lock down situation is in place the time gained can be put to good use to learn how to do things in low tech ways by using the internet for instruction and having the time to practise what you learn before you need to use the skills in earnest.  One of the most satisfying things I ever did was a stone age flint knapping weekend where not only did we learn how to make very useful tools (knives from flint flakes for culinary use are amazing) but also how to make cordage from the inner fibres of overgrown nettles and also the stone age cookery course where we  learned how to heat pot boiler stones in the fire to cook a shoulder of lamb in a bucket and cooked whole fish that we'd wrapped in hay, covered in clay and chucked into the fire and made a clay oven dug into an earth bank in which we made edible bread.  


The lives we live in 2020 don't usually include 'how to' skills because we can buy all our needs in ready made but the skills to do things ourselves are the most valuable tools we can ever know because, as we see every day since January this year, the unthinkable CAN and HAS happened in our lives hasn't it?

euronorris

Wise words MrsLW, as always

Well, the sewing machine dilemma has been resolved. I mentioned I was considering it on the family WhatsApp chat, and my sister in law said she had a barely used Brother one I could have. So she is going to send via a courier like MyHermes. I will pay of course. I can upgrade in the future, once some savings have been made  

boultdj

Good advice Lynn, and I've got soap covered, 2 11 kilo blocks, 1 basic white, 1 olive oil base, for the use of turning into smaller bars, or rather it's been mainly bugs and dinosaur shapes, just the right size for little hands.

[Deleted User]

Brilliant news Euronorris, sewing machines also should be on my list of usefuls and the knowledge that a needle and thread to mend things and darn holes in woollies and the 'how to' of repair and darning is also available online.

I have a very old hand crank Singer sewing machine that belonged to HWKs mother and both the girls learned to sew using it and we've at their request bought them both hand crank sewing machines in years past and they both use them regularly.  Again if the power is out then a treadle or a hand crank will still be useable.

C_J

Just wanted to thank you SiClist for the link to your old Singer blog - that was a fascinating read!