The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Toonie

thriftwizard said:

It's actually very easy to make re-usables; I did some years back, when on the cusp of no longer needing them. They were good, too, in those unpredictable days. DD2 makes & uses her own to this day; there are plenty of patterns online.

I'm useless at sewing, somehow I can't wrap my head around any type of needlecraft. Give me a drill, a paintbrush, a veg plot, a pencil and I'm fine, but sewing and me don't mix well

Today a friend of mine posted something about scones which made me chuckle and then it made me want scones! DP will be pleased as he can take one tomorrow to work for breakfast.

Prep wise I've manage to clear out a larder shelf so will be able to get extra supplies in next time we go shopping of things we use often. DP has plenty of pasta and rice, so I think I'll stock up on tinned spuds, some pearl barley, and flour.

oceanspirit

Thank you all for your replies about the landline phone situation.  Will get a power pack for mother as well as myself - they'll be handy to have in any event.

Bought a trivet/heat diffuser plate thingy for my woodburner back in the spring and will try it out when fire season starts. I already have a small french enamelled casserole dish that I inherited from my grandmother plus an enamelled kettle I use on the gas hob (although I think it could be too big - will check later).

Trying not to buy too many extra things for prepping as I'm busily decluttering my small home as it's overwhelmed with stuff even though I've already got rid of loads.  I want to keep food stocks up as I have intolerances and free-from items are not always in stock at the best of times so it's not an easy task balancing prepping with minimising.

pollyanna_26

I've fallen behind on some of the threads so having a bit of a catch up. Thanks for the info about Power Packs for the Landline. I mainly use my basic mobile when out and about if needed so with a good package for the Landline I use that a lot.

My tomatoes have been fine. I've never had blight since moving here in the mid seventies. I've often womdered if it's because I'm near the sea. I've only heard of one commercial grower here suffering blight this year. Our little Coop have had a lot of local tomatoes in store only a few times having to sell Scottish ones . Same with Strawberries only a  few times they haven't been local but from Scotland.

pollyx

CCW007

Getting quite concerned about the increases in energy costs, my fix ends in December but there's no exit fee so I'm going to start looking now. 

Has made me think about how reliant we are on electricity and what we could do if there were power cuts. We have a log burner so going to try using it for heating water and cooking as Si_Clist suggests in case we ever need to use it.  It's in our living room which is quite large so if we lost power and couldn't run the heating we could camp out in here.

Just had an oil delivery which should see us through the winter - kept waiting for prices to come down over summer but they never seemed to so bit the bullet. We have a large oil tank though so didn't fill it, if prices do come down we've got space to add more.

We've cleared an area of garden to put in a fruit cage - my parents donated loads of raspberry canes and a few other fruit bushes so we have enough to get started, just need to do the research and work out what we want. I use a lot of soft fruit so it would be great to be able to produce it ourselves.

euronorris

I've literally just come on to talk about energy prices! We were with PFP, who exited the market a couple weeks back so our account is in the process of being taken over by British Gas. I can't switch until that has completed and not due to happen until 4th October. Having looked at quote from BG online, it could be around the £135 per month mark!! It's a 2 bedroom house! Compare the market aren't doing comparisons for energy at all, as so many of the tarriffs are being pulled and energy suppliers don't really want new customers. I have checked the Cheap Energy Club and that is coming out as £116pm, and even that will probably be long gone by the time our switch to BG has completed. Sigh.

Going to have to look into more ways to reduce our energy consumption.

jk0

You know this government advice about not switching after supplier bankruptcy, is for their benefit, not yours. The switch is initiated by the firm you are switching to, and you give them your meter readings, so there should be no problem.

When Economy Energy went bust a couple of years ago, I immediately switched to EDF, and it went through in a few weeks without any problem.

PM me for £50 EDF discount code.

MingVase

Don't forget to stock up on matches - people often forget them. Tealights too are very handy.

grace68

what do those of you who don't have wood burners have in case of power cuts for heating water etc.?
 Was thinking of getting a camping stove, how and where would you store gas canisters, (don't have a garage). Have a BBQ and spare coals, will probably get some more but not much good for a cup of tea! I am beginning to think prepping, beyond food, is going to be more important than ever this year.
 I don't have loads of money to spare, and that's going to drop with the universal benefit cut next month, so does anyone have any money saving tips for buying stuff like batteries etc? We have torches, i am going to try and get a wind up one as well, I don't really like candles in house because of fire risk (when kids were little a nearby family died after a candle lead to a house fire), and i don't trust our cats not to knock them over! I have matches, but hidden, so don't always remember where!, autistic son has a fascination with fire I don't entirely trust.

euronorris

jk0 said:

You know this government advice about not switching after supplier bankruptcy, is for their benefit, not yours. The switch is initiated by the firm you are switching to, and you give them your meter readings, so there should be no problem.

When Economy Energy went bust a couple of years ago, I immediately switched to EDF, and it went through in a few weeks without any problem.

PM me for £50 EDF discount code.

I hadn't realised that. I thought it was because a switch was already in place that you'll mess everything up by trying to switch again. Especially as more companies went bust last week, and more expected this week.

EDF isn't the cheapest option for us, even with a £50 discount code (but thankyou). Though most of those tariffs are based on a smart meter being installed, which DH has always been against, so that might change things if I can't convince him.

@grace68 We have matches and tea lights, and torches and I stocked up on AA batteries when Morrisons were selling them off at £2 a pack of 8 Duracells a while back. Well in date. I assume a rebranding. That's the only advice I have for finding cheap batteries. Keeping an eye out and luck. Sorry, I know that's not very helpful. My brother did find packs of varta AA batteries, 12 packs, for 50p each in his local B&Q last week though. So worth a scout if you're nearby.

Have been trying out the grocery cashback apps this week and did it successfully on a few items.

MingVase

No use having matches if you dono where they are, when you need them it will be dark and cold...

Use the wee Ikea lanterns if you have cats.

And a Kelly Kettle is quite dear to buy but once you'e got it then you've got superfast boiling water from a few twigs.