The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

MingVase

I'm the same Mary. I'm fine with one end but not the other. Cats dogs owls ferrets  kids - the back end is ok to clean up but not puke!

[Deleted User]

CCW007 - great stuff with the turf! 😊 
Logs and fires - I use a combo of logs, hm fire 'bricks' and coal 😉 lots of heat from all three to be fair but I don't leave it going overnight (open fires, not burners). I remember we used to 'bank up' our open fires for overnight when I was a kid but as we also have central heating there's no need these days! 😉 I need to make more 'firebricks' now though ready for the autumn/winter - I'll start that today! 
Some of our veggie seeds that we sowed direct just over a week ago have started to germinate which I'm very pleased about and the plants that we put in are (other than the brassicas) are doing well! I'm hopeful that despite our very late start, we may have a bit of success this year! 🙌 I'm hopefully going to get a bit more compost today to finish off planting and repotting jobs - I've got some new blueberry plants coming too so that's exciting! 
Food stock wise we are still bursting at the seams thankfully- dh is only going to the shop for fags, booze, soya milk and cow juice these days - if we didn't want those and our veg works, we could happily survive for at least a year on what we have in! Once ds and dil move into their own place it could be 2! 😉

euronorris

OMG!! I had forgotten about the Wrights Coal Tar Burner! We had one too. Wow, that took me back. I am always amazed at the things some people remember from their childhood with ease, that I had forgotten about completely until they mention it. I remember the smell distinctly!

Si_Clist

Zentimes said:

... Makes me wonder how much space those of you with a 6 month stash need ...

In our case, more than we've got.  What we need is a pantry and/or a cellar but we're not going to get either.  Instead, we're simply getting better at squirreling stuff away in unlikely places, although we're not in Grey Queen's league yet.  Having said that, though, it would be interesting to have somebody walk into this room right now and see how long it takes them to spot all 9 of the 5kg bags of sugar tucked away in various places (there's 6 more downstairs in the bathroom cupboard, but they're obvious as soon as you open the door 'cos they're on top of the tins of paint that are on the floor in it).

The fun comes later when we harvest the spuds and they have to go in one of the sheds, both of which are already difficult to walk into unless you take something out first ...

GreyQueen

If you looked in my kitchen cupboards, you wouldn't see a freakishly-large collection of foodstuffs, you'd think there is a woman with a few tins, jars, packets etc. Relatively normal woman.  I don't actually eat that much processed food, even the mini freezer is mainly for allotment veggies. You'd have to look further afield to find surprising quantities of shelf-stable foods, toiletries etc. A determined burglar would find it, given enough time, as would the Police on a proper search. Hopefully, I will never have been so naughty as to have the Police search my home and therefore speculate why I have so many jars of olives etc. And most burglaries are sub-10 minute jobbies and they're unlikely to be after the tins.

Tins are heavy; I shop by pushbike and I know.

PS, if anyone has access to a Farmious Foodius, their Little Duck 18 pk TP was formerly £3.99 or 3 pkts for £11. It is presently 4 pkts (72 rolls!) for a tenner. This is a rather nice quality 3-ply in case anyone reading hasn't used it before. At 14p a roll, that has to be the best deal of the year on TP. Get in there, my lovelies, get in there.

And, if you have a car to haul away the goodies, and one of the FF leaflets, their vouchers work out at 10% (minimum spend applies). And no, I don't own the chain.

GreyQueen

Si Clist, nearly forgot, there are blogposts online about hiding stashes (food stashes!) in small quarters, if you have the time and the inclination. F'rinstance, most sofas do not fit flush to the wall all the way to the floor. You have the top against the wall, and possibly 12-18 of floor at the back due to the slope of the sofa. Norralot of people utilise that space....... just sayin' .

Living_proof

euronorris said:

OMG!! I had forgotten about the Wrights Coal Tar Burner! We had one too. Wow, that took me back. I am always amazed at the things some people remember from their childhood with ease, that I had forgotten about completely until they mention it. I remember the smell distinctly!

OK euro, I have another one for you of the same sort of time. How about the dreaded Virol? I can to this day remember with a shudder the vile taste and texture. My mother had an enormous tin of it in the larder and every morning without fail we were made to have one gloopy disgusting teaspoon of the stuff to keep the germs away. I am guessing it was vitamin B of some kind, but I am sure someone will know and maybe even liked the stuff!

annieb64

I remember Virol. My aunt told my mother we should be taking it but after one taste we all refused to try it again.

Si_Clist

GreyQueen said:

Tins are heavy; I shop by pushbike and I know.

Same here.  Mind you, it's hard work towing the bike trailer too when it's got 4 x 6-packs of beans in it plus other tins, stuff in jars and whatnot.  But at least it's mainly downhill going home ...

BTW, that's a lovely idea stashing stuff behind sofas, but alas we've no room behind ours.  Flour's behind one and jumbo oats behind t'other.  Under the bed's packed solid too.  Last resort will be to rearrange the stash of bricks of baked beans into a suitably shaped block to support a rectangle of plywood to serve as a coffee table in the front room. I suppose if we did Wotsup or whatever it is the millenials use as a mutual admiration network, we could then post a snap of it with which to impress our attractive friends, if we had any

GreyQueen

I own two painted metal bread bins, both chazzer buys. One lives in the kitchen and is where the oatcakes live (don't usually eat bread). T'other one is in the LR, presently roosting on the back of the sofa. Full of pkts of pasta. I have never had to account for why I have a breadbin in the LR, but it means if I get any mice in here, the pasta's definately safely incarcerated!