The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

silver-oldie

I've just opened a pack of Asda dried apricots and noticed the bag looked like a mylar bag. 
 I looked on YouTube and there are several people saying you can re-use packaging from Capri Sun and other products
Wondered if anyone has tried  this or has any thoughts ?

Happy_Sloth

personally i wouldn't re-use them, as your likely to leave moisture or contaminates in a re-used bag. 

I use Mylar for very long term storage so no point scrimping on a new bag.  The last thing i want is to open a 20 year old bag and find there was moisture in it and the food is ruined.  

DigForVictory

cbsexec said:

Judging by the amount of people out and about eating and drinking this weekend I’m not sure they are battening down the hatches.  

Aye, our garden centre looked like Nero's garden party - that lot were absolutely eat drink & be merry & they weren't buying veg seedlings. Ornamentals galore, (I observed having acquired the Dill my husband insisted was essential while he got weedkiller. If I don't post for a couple of months, please agitate for an exhumation?!)

thriftwizard

I was out & about with my stall this weekend & can report that my sales, along with everyone else's, were down by two-thirds compared to "normal" for that venue. There's always the odd not-so-good day but there's a real feeling of change in the air now. Normally people come in out of curiosity, have a wander round just chattering & looking, then something takes their fancy & that's it, they're hooked. This time, people were coming in, but keeping their eyes firmly fixed at head-height, scarcely glancing at the goods on offer, racing round the hall greeting us all, then leaving. Between us, we can offer something intriguing, wearable or genuinely useful for almost everybody - but not if they're not looking! I think people with any sense are hanging onto every penny for all they're worth - and the eat-drink-&-be-merry, buy-now-&-pay-later crowd probably wouldn't be interested in our wares,  anyway! Interesting times...

Karmacat

thriftwizard said:

I was out & about with my stall this weekend & can report that my sales, along with everyone else's, were down by two-thirds compared to "normal" for that venue. 

Thanks for this, thriftwizard, that's so useful that you've got that comparison to make with how things usually are when you're selling there.  I really hope it's just a measure of our concern, and that nothing even more terrible is in the offing, but I get that sense of foreboding too.

Thriftygifty

elaine241 said:

Where has everyone gone?

To the FB groups that someone kindly posted! 

I've got food in the cupboards but no where near where I would like to be. However... We still have those little lice things in the house which I still think are booklice, nowhere near the qty that there were but they are still here grrr it makes me nervous stocking up on cereals etc until they have finally been evicted. With this in mind I bought a shark hoover on offer on Amazon and am now deep cleaning one room at a time and removing any paper and wooden boxes or baskets which they seem to be drawn to, that and mould which we have an issue with around all of our doors and windows, they need resealing and airing we were previously drying alot of washing inside along with the boiler having a leak the bathroom cupboard in mouldy and needs ripping out, I am going to invest in a dehumidifier for the winter, apparently if I can get the moisture level below 50% they should die!! However I feel like I'm going around in circles and not quick enough, my husband commented it looks as though we are moving as I've packed up the whole house into boxes or black bin bags. 

euronorris

I'm still here, but I haven't really had anything prepping related to add, so I haven't posted.

Hope everyone is keeping well.

CCW007

Picked up a pork joint on offer in Mr T so plan today is to pressure can pulled pork.  I've also got parsnips (5p a bag) and new potatoes (35p a bag) to do.  

Supermarkets round here are seriously lacking salad at the moment. I've got some lettuce seedlings in the ground from my parents and have just sown a load more.  Any small space in the garden will be filled with lettuce! Also planted seed potatoes in bags and asparagus crowns as they were reduced in Wilkos.

LadyHarriet

Our pantry is pretty well stocked now, and I have bread, SR and plain flour stocks, as well as dried yeast, dried whole and dried skim milk, dried mixed vegetables and a whole lot of different pastas, plus another 5kg basmati rice. 
We've just put in a third raised bed and I have my mini greenhouse ready for my tomato, mini cucumber and salad leaf crops. Planted potatoes and getting ready for runner beans, peas, broad beans and onions, with cauliflowers (Romanesc ones) and cabbages for later in the year. I did get two more blueberry bushes -I got them from M*rris*ns  - but they aren't looking particularly inspiring at the moment - we shall see. My two new rhubarb crowns are thriving but no rhubarb until next year, of course.

elaine241

Hello all!
Glad people are still here!! and yes I went to the FB groups too, the Uk women's one is very informative.

I have been trying to maximise my garden in the hopes that I can grow as much as I possibly can. I have cleared a huge area which has onions, potatoes already planted and space for my seedlings when the frost risk has reduced. I am aiming to grow enough roots and brassicas etc to see me through the winter. I have experimented with lentils and chick peas this time round. The lentils have amazing germination, loads of plants although I now need to look up how to grow them. 

I have been adding to my preps every time I go shopping, which is once a week as I too am reducing my trips. I now combine shopping with my paid mileage when undertaking property searches. I also visit a garden centre when doing water searches in Cardiff as they often have vegetable seedlings in the reduced section. I have managed to get a Bookers card organised and I am aiming to do a big prep shop once I have cleared a space in a shed on the farm yard. I am going to buy catering sized rice/pasta/tomatoes/dried goods and bottled water and decant into smaller portions if needed. I will be breaking out my pressure canner and going mad (still haven't used it but then not much to can from the garden yet). Just got to source a reliable supplier of preserving jars that are safe to use in a pressure canner. I have asked a couple of suppliers of ball preserving jars and I think they can not be the original Ball jars used in the USA as both have said not suitable for pressure canning! Any ideas/suppliers gratefully received!!