Prepping: the new world...

fionaandphil

Thank you for the good advice, something for us all to think about. I hope you had a good second sleep.

DigForVictory

Yikes! Very glad you are alive & well & posting. Also that we have another day & a half of weekend to take steps & put that rucksack into position. With one full clean dry change, meds, phone charger cables & a bit of cash, and  any spare keys you can afford to leave stashed.

Go on, what have I forgotten? for a get the heck out Now, and you may have to talk to folk in uniform, but all being well, you can get back in to pick up more in another 24 hours? 

Wednesday2000

I'm glad you are okay! Yikes.

DigForVictory

This is a sketch at a grab bag for 24 hours:

Complete dry change - skin to social + footwear 

Pills / medication

Hairbrush, toothbrush, hair elastics 

Powerbank 

Spare glasses

Some cash (note & coin)

Systema mug w coffees, teas, soups 

Ziplock bags x2 (1 to hold coffees etc whilst mug in use)

Spork

[This is the gap which fills for over 24 hours into less predictable/guessable circumstances, like cigarette lighter, penknife, pack of playing cards etc, soap & shampoo sachets, covid paper masks, knitting needles & yarn, small first aid kit, assortment of painkillers, whatever works as a teddy bear for you etc. As preppers, a memory stick or card with handy info like photos of passport & driving licence, marriage lines where applicable, house & car insurance policy numbers & customer contact phone numbers likewise - all useful, just How Old are they? Says she digitally equipped to march back into 2015, ahem. No prizes for guessing what I'll be doing.]

Then add as I go out:

Phone

Waterproof

Car keys 

House keys

Kindle 

[Possibly work phone & laptop - at this stage I’m accepting I may not come back in for over 24 hours]
Snacks. (Nuts, polos, mentoes, flapjack - good for morale/game tokens/light bribery)

What am I missing, what assumptions could I make that would mean I could carry less, or more? 

goldfinches

Thankyou for all your good wishes. I had a lovely second sleep though I did oversleep so missed everything I'd planned to do this morning, but I'm alive and at home so am deciding not to mind about that.

There isn't much I can add to your list @DigForVictory but these things come to mind.

I could really have used a pillow or cushion for the uncomfortable bench I had to sit on, a flask and a snack (by 5am I would have paid quite a lot for a coffee and a warm croissant) and an overcoat or a blanket to put over my legs. The other thing that has occurred to me today is that if any of us who'd been evacuated had needed the loo we'd have been in difficulties because the pub that the firefighters escorted us to refused to open up and allow us to sit inside so we had to use the benches in the garden. That was despite them being a pub with 20 or so hotel rooms as well. And, yes, I'm never spending any money there again or in any of that brewery's other establishments either!

Also, if I'd decided to get a taxi to the nearest open hotel as soon as I was first roused I'd have been back asleep by 4:45am at the latest and would be feeling less like something the cat dragged in today. So, if this ever happens to me again I shall insist upon dressing and then do that with my emergency bag and blow the cost, it would have been worth it. 

Cherryfudge

Having a grab bag is a good idea - and maybe grabbing a coat - but IMO stopping to get dressed could be fatal. In many domestic situations, you literally have two minutes in the event of a fire before you may succumb to smoke. 

Most of that two minutes is about getting out of the door. Time yourself practising and you'll see how long you need.

If you have a trusted friend, neighbour or relative, why not leave a list of contact numbers and emergency information with them? One fewer thing to think of in the panic - and trust me, normal thinking doesn't happen in a real emergency.

Yes to the grab bag, no to the getting dressed. Your grab bag could have essentials in it, but you won't need them if you don't come out alive.

YoungBlueEyes

I've nothing to add to the usefulness of the posts above goldfinches, but I'm glad you're alright  

C_J

Goodness me, that was very dramatic - so glad you and your property are fine, goldfinches. This has given me real food for thought re grab bags.

fionaandphil

You could just leave some older clothes in your grab bag and then at least you would have something to wear.  I would probably put some jogging trousers in, a tshirt and fleece type top but then I am usually dressed in my scruffs while I am pootling about! You may prefer to wear something nicer in case you get stuck in them for days.  I often have a mini clothing kit like this packed in my rucksack when I'm flying out on holiday in case my case gets lost in transit.  You have got me thinking though and I've come up with allsorts that I would like in my grab bag but in reality it will need scaled back a little or it will become a small suitcase 

weenancyinAmerica

Don't forget a separate bag for your pets: water dish, food, blanket, medications, dog leash and possibly cat leashes.