The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

sammy_kaye18

I am hoping to keep our spends low this month grocery wise. 

My son has picked me up a pack of takeaway tubs from the poundstore so I will go through nice the fridge tomorrow and make some soup from the sorry looking veg that's in there and give it a clean down in the process. 
Then once I have gotten that done I will take stock of what is left in the fridge, freezer, chest freezer and my small store. 
I also want to start making a list of things I should focus on for my stock pile. 

I have some strawberry plants to plant out, as well as cucumber and bell pepper seeds to plant so want to get them started soon. Possibly tomorrow as well. 

Also going to have a look at solar power panels that I will be able to use to charge my phone and things like my daughters switch etc as well. I think the investment now will be worth it. 

I have also found a small USB chargeable light on an amazon deal that was reduced down to £3.99 in a lightening deal. So I am hoping I will be able to use that a fair bit more as well for things like reading, crafting, writing etc in the evening. 

Euro norris - I am glad you are feeling better 

I did make use of leftovers today - my daughter and I had carbonara last night for dinner using up some sorry looking mushrooms and a lonely left over slice of bacon (seriously who leaves one piece?) but it made a nice dinner and there was enough left today for me to have a portion for my lunch so thats been used up now. 

Will also be doing some baking this weekend as well and making the most of turning the oven on! 

Im also trying to see if I can find a deal I had a few months back with flour on amazon - it was 4 kilo bags for £6. Im thinking that might be worth adding to my stockpile but I cant see to re-find it! 

CCW007

@Si_Clist this seems to be our model, it's a 7 ton Forest Master.  They seem to be around. £400, we bought it with my parents so paid half each.



Busy day splitting logs ready for next winter

euronorris

I feel like that is the kind of contraption that I would severely injure myself with I'd I tried to use it! I don't have a good track record with clumsiness..... lol

CCW007

Euronorris, there's no way I would use the chainsaw (18" husky so very heavy, but even if it was lighter they scare me!) but this is fairly safe.  You have to hold a button whilst operating a lever and as soon as you let go of one it stops - I'm the same with clumsiness and seriously lack co-ordination!  OH uses the chainsaw to cut own to suitable lengths and I split them, works for us.  

DigForVictory

I was planning to be quietly minimalist with the groceries this month, but Himself decided he wanted to hit the Big Morrisons in Ribbleton. It's bizarrely high ceiling-ed, as if it used to be an aircraft hangar, so even the lads recognised it. (They differentiate towns by statuary, libraries & Games Workshops stores <scowls bleakly>...) 

It being Ramadan, the World Foods Section (always big & fascinating) was filled with curiosities & there went the budget planning. Still, we now have several new formats of & flavours of curry, including a sort of mince curry kit -  you provide the meat onions & yoghurt, they provide the spices. I think we may need to be a bit more careful with that that with the pastes, which are tuned to a western palate anyway... Plus we got rice & dates which are my Ramadan budget specials & for which I was teased for about 20 miles. <So unsporting, I can't defend myself when driving!>  
They didn't have the 5L bottles of oil either but a couple of 2L bottles, which beat the bachelor specials (1L bottles) but Himself opined my 20L tank was Quite Enough. (I should have bought a tin. The plastic "bottle" in cardboard is surely not untended to be used as a bottle - but I've never asked what they decant it into!) 

LadyHarriet

Just ordered a Big Blue Bin With A Lid to store bread flour - I make two loaves a week on average for us (well, a mix of loaves and rolls tbh) and so the next order will be a bulk flour one. I'll bag it up and freeze the bags for a couple of days to kill any greebies. I think I'll also get plain flour too - I can add baking powder if I need SR (1 level tsp/100g flour).

Making marmalade tomorrow (frozen Seville oranges) with a slug of whisky - I always feel truly accomplished looking at those glowing jars of deliciousness!

daz378

Have you heard of the proposed  "Big switch off" tonight....and I'm not advocating for it....at 10pm social media urging electric switch off...to protest  energy rises....will this achieve anything? Been shopping  usually  do 1 basket shop    used to be under 20 pound....now very rarely is....you all take care

grace68

My dad has terminal cancer and has started clearing out "stuff" , this basically means giving me to get rid of! This comes close on the heals of him and his wife moving house and having a pre move clear out, once again everything seemed to end up at mine, and as an added bonus they moved into a showhouse so i also have a tone of excess stuff that was used as display in house. I am keeping fingers crossed daughter moves out this year so i can reclaim space!
 Anyway we have got to the stage of the tools/shed clear out. My son is extremely happy to be inheriting a load of tools, including many that have been passed down generations, and his grandad has just ordered him a shed to become a man cave. (son is 24 and autistic and always enjoyed woodwork at college). So we have lots of new stuff to help us prep, including plenty of ex army stuff from when my brother served in 90s!
But before i throw them out is there any use in prepping for stuff like jump leads? (we don't drive and everyone seems to have newish cars and tells me they aren't needed). 
Also is there anything we can do re shed and power without mains cable from house? solar etc has anyone done anything with sheds, am thinking it would act as a back up in future if with need a small source of electric.

silver-oldie

@Si_Clist just wanted to ask do you buy HD mylar bags or standard ones?
Thanks 

thriftwizard

@grace68 I've used solar lamps in my chicken shed, on my stall & in my van, which worked well; I bought the ones with their own little panel, which worked well in all 3 applications, though they "died" after about 5 years' fairly heavy use. Two of these were bright enough to light a 3m x 3m gazebo throughout the evening's trading.