Prepping: the new world...

boultdj

Or combine the both and do a flask of soup with some sandwiches, then a sweet treat.

boxer234

Hello everyone new to the thread.  I started thinking about prepping during covid as I was unprepared at the time.  Since then with life it’s slipped my mind.  With the recent water outbreak in Devon it seems silly not to start.  Seems a big task.  My plan is to gather important documents, have some cash available and a bag with a few days supplies.  Then to think about stocking up with water, tinned food, torches, matches etc.  Where would you recommend a newbie start?  I live pretty much week to week with food grabbing it when I need it.  It’s just me and the dog so stuff goes off quick.  I have a small garden and then a separate larger one would love to grow some veg but am pushed for time and knowing where to start.

Also just because I’m interested what are you prepping for?

Small scale emergencies (a few days power cut or lost water supply)
longer emergencies (flooding) 
Covid style pandemic or similar 
Zombie apocalypse/ nuclear war

DigForVictory

I'm prepping for making my money go further.  So that when it is really lashing rain, or there are several inches of snow on ice out there (November with our luck), I can say flatly we do not need to go shopping, we have Enough in the cupboards & freezer. Going without fresh-picked-by-us-veggies is hardly going to kill us, especially when the frozen veg is good & routinely resupplied.

My technique is fairly simple, as we have a roster of about 30 dishes - I buy whatever is needed for the planned meals & one additional one from tins/jars/packets (more if said tins jars or packets are on promotion, or there's a buy one get one free on a freeze-able ingredient). And I stash that lot in the cupboards & gradually we accumulate a full week's shop, or the little fun bonus features for Christmas & birthdays & so forth.

I'm also a Costco member, so I can get some things in bulk that work out cheaper than individual things from the supermarket (I haven't yet built a fort from chopped tomatoes but when you get beans, chopped & plum tomatoes galore in one pass (start of pay month!) plus my annual tower of Persil,  my sons are close to having a point. Still, they appreciate not having to go out in rotten/unsafe weather too.) Costco membership is not free, but the cheap fuel means it pays for itself in a year before I buy Any food. (And yes, I do keep tabs on the unit costs to be able to say that, & not guess it.)

So when the lads want something that isn't on this week's meal plan, I can offer choices without having to spend more money. I can also donate more as I can afford to, not having paid full price for things.

Water is a real challenge, being heavy, and sold in flimsy containers & usually needed when pipes have frozen & guess what, so has the room I stored it in... If it's the water board & we have notice, I fill the bath, both kettles & ask the lads to shower at college. Then plan pizza - loads less washing up...
When we go down & see mum, we routinely 'over cook' to leave her freezer stacked with home cooked dishes & the lads know to run laps of the three supermarkets, consult on prices then devise the menu depending on who has what on promotion/discount for loyal customers (& we're loyal to every store in town). We sorted her LED lanterns a few years ago & routinely check the battery - they've small solar panels to maintain the charge loaded from the USB port.

I've a small rucksack with a first aid kit, a Swiss army knife, an LED lantern, a hand cranked radio, power bank & a memory card with the documents on (licence, passport, house & car insurance etc) plus a clutch of cables & adaptors... The card is stitched into a pocket that isn't obvious as it is an identity thief's birthday present, but I know it's there & update it. (I've a long weekend's worth of prescription meds in there too - fiddly but worth the peace of mind.)

When a son moved out, I set up a daybag for him (with a Peppa Pig first aid kit, shame on me, but worth it for the digital thermometer) and some of the fun & he's topped it up with his own picks of kit (like patching gear for his inflatable kayak - his prepping runs is a slightly different direction to mine).
If I had to rebuild or start over, I'd stick with LED torches & lanterns (& Lithium batteries) as they last longer.  I upgraded my Maglite solitaire from incandescent to LED - simple enough kit & then son wanted one so I bought another torch 2nd hand off eBay. Personalised with a strip of leopard print gaffer, so he can find it quickly. Almost none of this kit has to be New & indeed having it in a scruffy battered daybag makes it look a little less attractive than a glossy bulging with brand new goodies thing labelled Bug Out Bag.

Just check you know how to operate the can opener & figure how you are going to dispose of the strip of metal that opens the corned beef tin. As that thing's sharp enough to cut through most bin bags - exactly one guess how I know? In the dark, in the rain, hungry & with a bleeding hand - prepping works easier with practice!

ArbitraryRandom

I live alone, so the biggest thing I prep for is if I'm unwell. 

This includes making sure to charge my phone in the bedroom, having some juice/flapjacks and painkillers in the bedroom, having easy to cook/no cook food in the kitchen, and having a stash of other cold/flu supplies in the bathroom. 

More generally, preps for me mean having a decently stocked first aid box, having at least 2 weeks of 'store cupboard' meals (plus a freezer), and a couple of charged power banks/torches for in the event of power cuts. 

suzeesu2000

I’ve always prepped. Always had a lower income so became used to buying when things on offer and that kind of thing. I now have what I call my “pantry shelves” tinned and packaged foods that will easily see us through 2 weeks possibly longer. I am a member of our local community pantry where I get £15+ worth of tinned and packet foods per week for £5. Dog and cat food is currently free too, so I am stocking that for our local animal sanctuary. I do also stock up on food and litter for my cat. We always carry a stock of batteries and have just invested in a wind up radio. Things like phones and iPads are kept fully charged just in case. 

I like to have both gas and electricity as it’s unlikely both will go off at the same time so I have a big gas cooker but also a microwave and air fryer. I do have a halogen cooker stashed away that goes on the worktop if needed. If everything went off, we have a Kelly kettle which can use twigs and wood to boil water and will easily cook contents of a small saucepan. 

We do also have spare duvets and blankets in case of winter outages and extra covers being needed.

thriftwizard

I've also always prepped; having been a student in the late 70s 400 miles from home whose "grant" didn't come through until Christmas and turned out to be substantially reduced because my mother was in receipt of a widow's pension. The little I did have just about covered my rent & not much else & Mum still had my younger brother at home & couldn't help much. So I'm no stranger to the fact that things don't always go as you'd planned or the way that everyone else assumes they will!

Although I'm mostly prepping for illness or unexpected unavailability of resources (i.e. loss of power to the local shops, transport upheavals etc. for example) I do still have a small bug-out bag, first set up when I kept having to hare off to my mother's at short notice when my stepfather was dying; at 88 it was tough for her to cope alone. This bag is now also the basis of my weekend bag, but I do need to update my records & contact lists etc. - it's not very wise to keep it all on my phone with no physical backup.

My grocery preps saw first 4, then 5 of us through the lockdowns without missing a beat; I can count the number of times I had to join the supermarket queue on one hand. I'm reducing the amount I store now as the household is down to 3 full-time inhabitants, but I have several ways of cooking or heating water (gas stove, woodburner - we're semi-rural - Kelly kettle, camping stoves) and grow fruit, veg & herbs both at an allotment (ok, two currently, but reducing to one in autumn) and in our smallish garden. I have a chest freezer out in our garage to keep gluts in, but also make jams, chutneys and various ferments. We also have a handful of backyard chickens who keep us well-supplied with eggs in spring, summer & autumn, and good manure all year round. 

I'm also slowly reducing the number of quilts & good wool blankets I've accumulated over the years, and candles, torches, head-torches & radios; car boot sales are your friend and mine! But lined or interlined curtains for every window are a sound investment & won't be leaving our premises; they keep your fuel bills down when all's going well, and keep what heat you have got in when it isn't. They can also keep heat out, should that ever be an issue. 

Some cash is essential, whatever people say; there have been times when cards & phones just don't work, for whatever reason & whatever the phone companies say. I was trading at an event this weekend where the signal kept fading out, which resulted in a number of lost transactions. Frustrating but no worse; however over a longer period, it could be. Possibly because I'm not in a city (though not very far outside one) I'm not alone in thinking that total reliance on your phone, for contacts, transactions, locations & directions is actually very fragile thing...

DigForVictory

Apologies if the wrong thread, but has anyone a recipe for comfort corned beef hash (tin, spud, onion) chopped heated mixed & eaten with no need for teeth? Youngest having a wave of nostalgia & hunger but the recipes do not match his memory of squishy pink comfort…

Cherryfudge

DigForVictory said:

Apologies if the wrong thread, but has anyone a recipe for comfort corned beef hash (tin, spud, onion) chopped heated mixed & eaten with no need for teeth? Youngest having a wave of nostalgia & hunger but the recipes do not match his memory of squishy pink comfort…

I set some potatoes to cook and mash, chop an onion small and sauté it till soft, meanwhile get the corned beef out of the fridge (where it's been chilling to make it sliceable) and cut it into small cubes. Then it's just a case of combining the lot and mixing it up. I use half a large tin of corned beef for two adults but there's no rule about proportions as far as I know.

Nice with baked beans and brown sauce, or pickle, and any leftovers can be made into patties and fried. I hope this works for him but I've noticed the recipe changes north of us (Newcastle direction) where it's more of a stew and might have carrots and water added.

MikeJXE

Why do you need to prep ?

Apparently you can live for 

3 minutes without air 

3 weeks without water 

3 months without food 

Or thereabouts 

Auti

. Need to prep - so me and mine can smooth out any stresses so that when money is tight or a pandemic hits or war/supply issues or we are ill (have no one but us) we can tide ourselves over - have clean water to drink and food to eat whilst protocols are put in place by officials. We wont add to the panic buying brigade so theoretically there should be enough for basics for all. 

Air we can do nothing about but unless war or catastrophic event where we are air is ok. 

I prep because of above and it keeps us safe and smooths out finances (only get/replenish when on offer) - we do not waste or eat more than we need.

I think @MikeJXE you were tongue in cheek with question - apologies if I got it wrong no disrespect meant (am autistic) - but just in case you were curious have given reasons above