The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Si_Clist

Auntycaz said:

... Did you see they have Nido on clubcard offer for £6 for the 900gm tin

Oh yes, but right now there's five of those and four of the smaller ones under my desk plus one on the go in the kitchen, so I think we're probably alright for the time being

Off now to get the Xmas puds on the next order, thanks to @boultdj

ETA - Ah well ... there's one there if you just go to Tesco.com and search for them, but as always if you log in and search for the same thing, you get what's currently available rather than what they sell, and it's still pudlessness. 

We have got the custard though

Jellytotts

Christmas foods we're going out on the shelves in Aldi this morning.  Not something we buy at all (me being coeliac and him not eating gluten because it inflames his fibro). 

Lots of gaps on shelves again today.  The shop was virtually empty though, it is lashing down with rain and blowing a hoolie here and all the local petrol stations are sold out so it's put a lot of people off venturing out.  Luckily we have an electric car so we're ok.

Si_Clist

Seems that British farmers are now getting a very good price indeed for their wheat this year, so stand by for the inevitable price rises of anything made from it.  Apparently one of the reasons is the amount going to ethanol production to add to petrol.  So we grow food to make petrol from it so all the cars on the roads can keep motoring on.

You really couldn't make this stuff up, could you ...

thriftwizard

Shelves pretty empty in our L!dls this morning too. Not the "middle of L!dl" which is still well-stocked with (unsold) camping things & summer toys, but the grocery shelves were half empty. Plus the roads were blocked with queues for the filling stations - it's all getting a bit silly.

Audited our stocks earlier and we have what looks like plenty of tins, packets, flour, herbs & spices. I can walk to our two (expensive) supermarkets and the local shops; the one thing I will need to use the van for is to visit Mum and restock my stall at the emporium down there. Otherwise we can sit it out...

Serendipitious

I am beginning to think I need to make a stock list or even keep a stock notebook so I can more easily review what I have.

Today the Co-op had red meat only, all chickens gone. It's getting interesting just noticing what's available. I didn't buy any, I don't eat much red meat and have plenty of it in the freezer already. I did buy their own brand frozen sprouts though, I've had them before and they're quite nice.

Has anyone tried hugelkultur in the garden? I tried a container, when I ran out of compost mid-summer and needed to pot some tired-looking petunias in something bigger. I used twigs and grass clippings and a few dried leaves from under the hedge, then topped that off with my last remaining few handfuls of compost, and planted the petunias on top. The results were quite amazing - I counted 28 flowers at one point on one plant alone. The container idea came from a gardening magazine, but here's a link to some large scale projects:

https://insteading.com/blog/hugelkultur/

What I'm thinking now is that even my mini amateur version could halve the amount of compost needed per container, because you only need compost for the top part.

annieb64

Our only local supermarket is Waitrose.  They did seem to have lots of chicken but there were large gaps in the frozen  food section.

grace68

prices are rising. I used to find morrisons one of the cheapest, in many lines this isn't case anymore, especially dog and cat food! My kids, fussy/autistic, only like warburtons small toastie bread, it was 79p a loaf, last night 95p a loaf in morrisons. I will have to shop around more, and try and get when reduced.
 I am going to do a big shop on thursday evening. Store cupboard stuff for baking etc. hopefully it won't be too expensive and i will be able to find items i need! I like the idea of a stock notebook, think i will start one up this week as well. Also need to refill up our first aid kit and buy the usual cold/flu treatments.
I have brought 3 new battery powered lanterns, a supply of batteries, to go alongside wind up torches we already have. Think i will also buy candles this week, and store them somewhere kids can't find them, but i know they are available.  Have invested in new thermal slipper socks and sorted all spare duvets and throws out ready for it getting colder.
Since we seem to be lurching from one national crisis to another i think it will be amazing if power cuts don't happen this winter. I am trying to decide which is preferable this winter, i know we have no control, but a mild winter, which will probably mean more rain/floods and wind or a cold winter. I think for me a cold winter would be easier to deal with as we are half way up a hill and tend to get blown around! 
Yesterday i was helping, baking and sandwich making, for a lunch club, the amount of food waste, bowlfuls of crusts (we serve a high tea/finger sandwiches meal) and cuttings from edges of cakes etc.was appalling. So next week i am going to take food bags, bring home and see what i can make/freeze, even if only breadcrumbs!

MingVase

I'm just thinking what if an electrical sub-station failed, and the part they needed to fix it was in Holland..      - we def need to prep like never before for this winter.

Get some bottled water. there's problems with water and sewage. Shortage of chemicals or something.

euronorris

The weather suddenly turned quickly! Sunday I was at a local farm for a party for one of DD's friends and it was 20C and sunny. Yesterday, temp dropped to around 15C, windy, rainy and a heavy storm at school collection time. Thunder, lightning, hail, heavy rain, the lot. DH and DD were drenched and it's a 3 minute walk. Although luckily DD thought that it was the best thing ever! lol

Temp cooler again today, so the house is beginning to cool down further. But still 21.4C in DD's room where I am working, so just switching to things like jogging bottoms rather than shorts at the moment. Took advantage of the showers at the gym where DD has her swimming lessons last night, so don't have to use our water or leccy to rid her of the chlorine.

Prices very much going up. I am keeping a tight rein on everything this month, especially as we have a Butlin's holiday booked for first week of half term (booked much earlier this year and already paid for). Thankfully there is a lot of free entertainment there. We are self catering, and MIL is coming with us, so we will put a meal plan together for the week and get a food shop when we get there, so there should be very little extra to pay for. 

Found some money in my topcashback account that I had forgotten about. Not much, but have withdrawn it all the same. Also using apps like Lidl (has £5 off a £25 spend this week), and shopping cashback sites to reduce costs where possible (ie Shopmium, Checkout Smart etc).

Haven't bothered with aquiring more candles as DH assures me we have many many battery operated LED torches (both household and for his fishing), and a couple of large battery banks that should recharge mobile phones multiple times over in the event of a blackout.

Oh, and I did a big batch of slow cooker chicken korma on Friday, a big batch of cottage pie on Saturday and a batch of slow cooked beef and ale stew on Sunday.

Si_Clist

annieb64 said:

Our only local supermarket is Waitrose.

Allow me to offer my heartfelt sympathy.