Prepping for the challenge ahead...

Effician

Last year we spent quite some time on draught proofing with great results  & fortunately all our material prepping was done in the first 4 months of this year whilst there was still good free firewood available & food prices weren't quite so high ( always stock up when Sm's do special occasion offers).

We now have the luxury of time to concentrate on the less sexy task of reducing electric energy waste & therefore cost as well as more efficient usage of the energy we do use, a well worth venture for us as the savings so far more than make up for any rise in diesel & food prices & without feeling as though we've had a drop in lifestyle , at the rate we're going the £550 from the Gov't ( £150 CT rebate + £400 winter payment) will cover our April 22 to April 23 electric bill .

In the past our winter prepping would consist of waiting until September & then stock up, so glad we started early this year as the free firewood is becoming scarce & the price of bulk bag logs are rising quickly as is smokeless coal.

I fear those who generally leave their winter buying until the weather changes may be in for quite a shock.

JinJinBlue

A bit of a shock is putting it mildly Effician. I'm also glad that I've started my preps early. Something that has occurred to me is that as well as having supplies in and keeping warm etc, we need things to keep us occupied. I was thinking books from the library or charity shops, jigsaw puzzles, or whatever your thing is. If the weather turns nasty and we can't get out and about having a hobby of some kind might be an idea. I'm going to check my art and craft materials over the next few days and see if I can pick up a few cheap bits and bobs. 

Brambling

For any cat owners with cats who used litter trays, our local Pets at Home lunch time had very little cat litter on the shelves, only a little of the expensive bags.  A poor assistant was being berated by a older lady which got louder when he told her they unable to say when they would have more in stock.  Luckily mine doesn't like to use the tray even when in all night and has only used a half sack since he was first let out 4 years ago.  

Floss

I get mine online, its more economic to buy a mahoosive bag which lasts her around 4 months, and order her kibble too to get free delivery.

Longwalker

We use oil, coal and wood for heating

Luckily we still have two maybe three years of wood as last winter was so very mild. It was free wood as our neighbour had to top his trees. Mr L done most of the work so we got most of the wood

Coal has gone through the roof - nearly doubled, we still have some from last year but this thread has reminded me Id best start stocking up 

At the moment Mr L is making a decking area in the garden, using pallets so we have a lot of the middle blocks joining the wood pile , they arent treated and they give a good heat and pretty long burn

I wouldn't usually be thinking of fuel for winter this early in the year, usually get the summer holidays. by first , but I imagine even coal will be in short supply if the war carries on

goldfinches

Longwalker said:

We use oil, coal and wood for heating

Luckily we still have two maybe three years of wood as last winter was so very mild. It was free wood as our neighbour had to top his trees. Mr L done most of the work so we got most of the wood

Coal has gone through the roof - nearly doubled, we still have some from last year but this thread has reminded me Id best start stocking up 

At the moment Mr L is making a decking area in the garden, using pallets so we have a lot of the middle blocks joining the wood pile , they arent treated and they give a good heat and pretty long burn

I wouldn't usually be thinking of fuel for winter this early in the year, usually get the summer holidays. by first , but I imagine even coal will be in short supply if the war carries on

For those who can use coal might it be worth having a short break somewhere that one can pick up sea coal and then going home with a boot full?
I'm sure you can tell I've only ever read about this in novels, but I thought the possibility was worth mentioning.

Effician

Longwalker said:

At the moment Mr L is making a decking area in the garden, using pallets so we have a lot of the middle blocks joining the wood pile , they arent treated and they give a good heat and pretty long burn

What's not to like about a pallet project , no wastage as the off cuts go in the stove & even if the project gets dismantled at a later date it can still go in the stove.

Just made 3 off 50 litre trough planters from pallets which will be used for salad crops , these should hopefully help keep some extra greens growing into winter, fortunately we don't need to buy compost either as another part of our prepping has to become self sufficient in home made compost made necessary by our experience with poor & inconsistent quality of the shop bought peat free compost.

kacie

I've decided that I want to get the majority of my Christmas present shopping done before October. Also will be spending a lot less this year. 

Using this hot weather to give blankets a wash ready for winter. 

Longwalker

I got sucked into the Amazon Prime sale. I did only buy what we/ I wanted  One Item Ive been wanting for 6 months but way too expensive, got for half price - and at least £50 cheaper then anywhere else so very happy

Ive also been thinking about an air fryer for a while now. Being pretty old style, I cook from scratch every day, and the oven and hob is on. Ive stopped baking because of the cost of fuel. Ive been researching air fryers for a long time and the prime sale talked me into to getting one

Only I didnt buy it from Amazon, they were matching the brand sale, and the brand site were offering 6 months interest free - so no brainer

Hopefully I can get back to cooking more interesting meals without worrying about how much fuel is being used

JIL

I would suggest stocking up on things to stretch protein, such as lentils, quinoa, pulses etc.  They can be added to meat which I think will get more and more expensive and also can be used on their own. Aldi sell tins of mixed beans and other pulses as well as sachets that are ready cooked. 
I also think batch cooking is a great idea, a few hours in the kitchen and its possible to make so many meals, that may just need a side order of veg.

I use Instagram a lot for ideas, there a lady on there that doesn't actually batch cook but bags up meals and freezes them. For example theres a recipe on there that is a bag, with chickpeas, sliced halloumi, pesto, red onion and red pepper and frozen. The idea being that the bag is taken out, popped onto a baking tray and cooked.
Theres other recipes and some use undefrosted frozen veg.  For example chicken fajitas, this had chicken slices, spices, frozen onions and frozen peppers.  I thought it seemed a good idea to freeze it into a roasting bag and stick it in the ninja to cook it.