The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Suffolksue

Love the idea of a photo of dinner in the post !
wonder what the chemists reaction would have been developing it 
do you remember taking films out of the camera and taking into be developed?

Si_Clist

How come nobody's mentioned pressing button B in every phone box they passed as a kid in the hope of being able to buy some sweets?  I think I only ever hit the jackpot once 

Anyhow, getting back on track - is everybody stocked up as best they can ready for the shortages that are bound to come before very much longer?

annieb64

We were on a party line. My parents  were really conscious that the other party had agreed  to this so we only ever used the phone for important  calls.

LadOnTheHill

We had a "trial run blackout" a couple of nights ago. Waited until it was dark out, then turned all of the lights off. It was quite instructive to see where the pitfalls were.

Candles were useful for low level lighting, but we needed a few for enough light to actually see in the room. One on it's own mostly showed vague shapes of things, so was enough to see where the table was and avoid it, but not actually see what was on it unless it was right next to the candle. A few tealights in a holder was better than one big candle. Lighters weren't an issue, we had them filled and dotted around. I do want to keep room-specific lighters, though, so they don't leave the room that they're supposed to be in.

We have a couple of head torches, which were great. They're so great that I use them a lot, for things like going down the garden in the dark. They weren't where they ought to be when DH went looking for them. The simple solution is to buy another that's used only during blackouts. Having a model that had a lower light output meant we weren't dazzling each other when we looked at each other. A red light seemed to dazzle less than a white one, too.

We have a couple of camping lanterns that worked really well, hung up on the lampshade. They're about equivalent to a 40w incandescent, I'd say, so not massively bright, but much better than a candle. Spurtar is the brand, on the big River website, about £20. One thing I did find is that going from a room lit by a lantern into one lit by candles was a bit disconcerting. After a minute my eyes adjusted, but it did catch me out. A couple of rooms now have their own specific lantern, but I need to get a couple more.

We've also got some other led lights, that look very much like light switches. Lzonunl is the brand I got, but they all seem to be the same, just named differently. ~£20 for a pack of 4. They take three AAA batteries, and I've put them in places it'd be awkward to reach the light switch, such as near the toilet.  

Something that DH pointed out was the usefulness of an ordinary lighter. It's good for lighting candles, etc, but it's also portable illumination and something that you're more likely to have in your pocket than a torch. Also mentioned was the necessity of keeping the floor area clear of stuff you could catch your feet on in the dark.

Si_Clist

 ... led lights, that look very much like light switches. Lzonunl is the brand I got, but they all seem to be the same, just named differently. ~£20 for a pack of 4. 

Is that Amazon pricing there? We got four more of them a couple of weeks ago on Ebay and paid £13 delivered.

MingVase

Three or more candles or tealights grouped together in front of a mirror work ok.

Thriftygifty

We are not remotely stocked up, I've had my head so deep in trying to figure out presents for the kids that don't cost a stupid amount of money for a giant piece of plastic that preps have slipped. Our 20m old has 2 new small pieces and others are the other 2 toddler toys from the loft being wrapped for him, I am done spending cash on Christmas now. 

That's such a good idea trial run of a power cut, all of our torches are nowhere to be seen the children are like heat seeking missiles for them and never put them back or they run the batteries down. 

muffin_man_7

I got those switch lights in 1 below and they came with batteries  too for a quid  I'm happy  I've been getting 1 everytime I go there we don't have a £land anymore 😥
Thrifty re the torches  just an idea how about a hook or a nail on the side of the doorframe where the main light switch is that way you'd see if they go missing but if up high enough  should be out of reach    something else I did when mine were little was to buy them there very own torch some were wind up some had batteries  some even doubles as a projector  with Christmas  or Halloween  discs I still have some some where  th they were from £land b4 it closed  in our area

LadOnTheHill

MingVase said:

Three or more candles or tealights grouped together in front of a mirror work ok.

That's clever, I never thought of using a mirror.

tboo

Re matches/lighters.

Possibly not useful to some but last Christmas 2020, my daughters gifted me a USB lighter. Handier and safer than matches I think.

It does have a substantial initial cost at first but it is reusable etc. It has to be charged but I have only done that once since last year. (eta initial charge, then another)