Prepping: the new world...

DigForVictory

I should also hypothesise you may wish to pack something to cover, comfort & restrain any offspring resident. (If a young male, I commend half their body weight in snacks, but then my lot are hairraisingly casual about clothing.)

MayDogsandCoffee

I remember an ex boyfriend who couldn't understand a hobby that required the 'hospital bag'.  But after I was sent to a house to collect some items for a work friend who was sent to hospital urgently, and had to hunt around, I decided I would always have a bag ready.

fionaandphil

Every time I haven't taken the 'hospital bag' I have ended up being admitted so I now pack it and take it and have avoided being admitted since!  Silly superstition but when my DH packed it for me I ended up with things that weren't suitable or were uncomfortable and trying to explain what I did want was difficult when I was ill and had an unplanned hospital stay.  Much easier to pack it myself and not use it.

DigForVictory

The upsides of a hospital bag are manifold - you get clothing you can stand & your benefactor has not got to dig through your underwear drawer (or laundry) or your bathroom. 

I heard one young mother recovering from delivery deride her husband for missing the red bag under the hall table & so trying to pack her a bag - the wrong size bra in pink lace, a single pair of underpants and a lipstick. (The mum who’d had a Caesarian really struggled with the lipstick, as it made us all laugh.) His sister brought both the right bag & his rugby kit for her to select a few items from - the dear man came at visiting time to completely fail to recognise his rugby shirt on his wife. The sweatpants were very baggy but comfortable enough to plan to go home in. To this day I wonder if she left the pink bra in his rugby kit.

Nelliegrace

Get rid of the very old, threadbare nightie and the underwear with saggy elastic, which are good enough to wear at home, because guess which ones he will bring to hospital. 

A blogging friend in Japan said they had to have grab bags packed and by the door, for the recent earthquake scare. Hers included some basic foods for her allergies, and meds. They were told to include loo roll because it often ran out in emergency centres. 

I found stainless steel snack pots with silicone lids in the baby section at TKM to replace old plastic ones, £6.99 for six. I take some nuts when there will be biscuits with tea at meetings. 

MayDogsandCoffee

Oh, the mention of toilet roll!  I compete with my dogs and take a 'battle box' - so dog stuff, my packed breakfast lunch, snacks and flasks and water (very MSE).  Crockery and cutlery, I also take kitchen towel and full toilet roll.  There are always toilets but sometimes they run out of paper quickly - if not is it a bonus.  Tip for non electric cool bags is soak a couple of cloth flannels and freeze them, they help keep the box cool and are sooooo refreshing in this hot weather to wipe hands and pulse points.  The 'battle box' also comes out for work trips when I am on site visits - makes life so much easier, esp if stuck on motorway.

MayDogsandCoffee

I am starting to prep for retirement, getting works done at home (expensive) and updating my tech, also buying in extra non perishable stuff, cleaning products etc so I have a stash to keep me going for a while, prices will only ever go up!

DigForVictory

It may be that April was summer, or it may warm up again but an American prepping site had this advice for how to cope without power. I share with sundry caveats like water may be metered, your pets have other ideas & if it suggests a product you don’t already have shrug & move on. (Says she with an assortment of water pistols & splendid stuff for taking your mind off the heat they are too.)

50 tips to keep cool when the power’s off

1. Wear light-coloured clothing, dark clothes absorb heat
2. Use a damp cloth to wet face, arms and legs
3. Find a cool breeze to sit in (especially after getting wet)
4. Make a paper fan and fan yourself
5. Hang out in the basement of your home
6. Install attic vents to release the hot air that rises
7. Sleep on the porch between wet sheets
8. Relax during the hottest hours, do heavy chores/cooking in the morning and evening
9. Do your canning and cooking outdoors
10. Take an afternoon nap
11. Use a buckwheat pillow, it won’t hold on to your body heat
12. Close all blinds and window coverings (don’t let the sun in)
13. Open all the windows at night to let cool air in
14. Lie down on the floor in the lowest level of your house
15. Keep a window open upstairs to pull hot air up and out
16. Wet your hair
17. Put white sheets over furniture, it will reflect heat instead of absorb it
18. Wrap a wet towel around your neck
19. Plant or find shade trees
20. Take cool baths
21. Make sure your home is well insulated, it will keep the heat out
22. Drink lots of fluids
23. Use a spray bottle and spray yourself down
24. Hang wet sheets in open windows that have a cross breeze
25. Keep babies in a light onesie (not naked) for when you hold them
26. Dip feet in cool water
27. Keep your body covered (in cool clothes) to shade it from the sun
28. Don’t wear polyester, it makes you sweat
29. Sit still, moving around makes you hotter
30. Make recipes using mint/peppermint to cool the body
31. Brush mint against the skin to cool you down
32. Wear loose-fitting skirts
33. Use battery-powered fans 
34. Put wet rags over a batter powered fan to make a “swamp cooler”
35. Give the kids water pistols and have a water fight
36. Buy some evaportative cooking bandanas. These look so neat!
37. Eat cold meals
38. Eat spicy foods, they increase perspiration which cools down the body
39. Buy some cooling towels/cloths
40. Wear a large-brimmed hat to shade your face
41. Spray your house down with a water hose for a temporary cool down
42. Keep ice packs in your freezer and then use them for relief
43. Go around naked (if appropriate)
44. Use silk or satin sheets and pillowcases, they feel cooler
45. Hang up bedding in cool areas of the house or shade during the day
46. Get a waterbed, it will absorb heat and feel cool on hot nights
47. Build porch awnings to provide shade
48. Have a generator to plug in electric fans
49. Make a homemade air conditioner or swamp cooler if you have a generator
50. GO SWIMMING!

Some may be helpful. 

DigForVictory

Note suggestion 50 go swimming is a skill I’d recommend in any temperature, as being able to cope & not panic if your feet do not touch the bottom really does save lives. 

Again it’s a prepping thing you carry in your head that makes the unknown less uncomfortable.

Cherryfudge

Was it on this thread that we were discussing keeping cash in case the tills don't work? I've just come across an article on how much - though I think the author has a larger income than I do! 'I'm a finance expert - this is how much cash you should keep in your home'