Prepping: the new world...

fionaandphil

Chimney sweep to book in next week along with boiler service. Logs stacked and ready and next year's are stacked waiting to be cut as time and weather allows. Fire starters mostly prepped and ready just one more box to prepare.

Hoping the oil price may drop a little so we can do a top up soon.

Cherryfudge

elsien said:

  

Horrible smell of gas at work the one time. Turned everything off, opened the windows,  the smell didn’t dissipate. Waited for Transco, who were equally as baffled.
Turned out to be the parsnips a staff member had prepared and left out the night before. 

      Brilliant!

MrsCD

elsien said:

Horrible smell of gas at work the one time. Turned everything off, opened the windows,  the smell didn’t dissipate. Waited for Transco, who were equally as baffled.
Turned out to be the parsnips a staff member had prepared and left out the night before. 

They can be a bit whiffy! 😂😂😂😂😂

elsien

Had someone in to put in a new kitchen tap which involved emptying the under sink cupboard. 

Absolutely no clue when I last properly sorted it out but I currently have a surplus of fly spray (5), a multitude of part used bottles of everything and  random things that I don’t remember ever having used - two tins of spray starch anyone? And enough boxes of matches to keep the street going for several years. 

Moral of the story – keep a proper list!

Mee

May I ask if anyone (silly question?) has an emergency bag (for adults), what is the optimum size and contents?

sammy_kaye18

I remember arguing with my grandmother who is in her 70s about getting her fire alarm fixed. It was apparently beeping at her in the evening so she smacked it off the ceiling with a broom and because it was still beeping too loud when she wrapped it in a towel, she put it in the shed under a bucket so she could get a good nights sleep and then she wondered why her neighbors dog kept barking sporadically throughout the morning. Poor thing must of been driven nuts by it. Thankfully she has it fixed now. 

I was quite relieved when we had our gas fire removed and an electric one put in (Id love a log fire but alas council for you) but there is a CO alarm in my sons room where the boiler is and I keep up to date with all the checks it needs etc.

@Mee I dont have an emergency bag but I do have a file with all our important documents in - bills, birth certs, passports etc so I can grab it in case of an emergency but I am starting to wonder if it a bag might be worth it, especially as I also have 3 dogs that I would need / want to get out in case of emergency. I may have to find out an old rucksack and put some basics in it. We are also prone to mountain fires as well and are surrounded by them so it would only take one getting out of hand and our little village could be in trouble. 


I topped up with a few cartons of UHT milk the other day and will continue to build a small stockpile again. I had it over Covid but started to work my way through it when things started to look better as I didnt want things going to waste but I think its time to start building it back up a little. 

DigForVictory

@Mee, Optimum is Wildly Personal! Also I'd aim to keep it as light as credible, as needing food fuel & water for 3 days is not terribly likely (by my risk assessment, for me & mine, not least as I have a working car & therefore more escape routes & places) Me & a lad can check into a travel lodge easily, my sister & her 2 Labradors can't.

+1 for a rucksack, ideally one you already have. Saves money & effort before you start & looks less like something a thief might find enticing. If you fill it enough to need the hip belt. you may have too much in there. (I say May, these bags are very personal!)

Mine has a full change of clothes for me (OK a yoga outfit, not my customary professional garb, but still decent clean and covered) with an old but functional pair of trainers & a medium-weight fleece (With Pockets). Then a powerbank, a small torch, a modest purse of cash that also has a chit of paper with names & phone numbers, 72 hours worth of my meds & my Emergency Mug. It's big, lidded & holds teabags, sachets of coffee & soup & a pleated ziplock bag to hold all that while I actually use it as a drinking vessel. Odds & bits like a paper fan, a pack of cards, a book of puzzles & a biro are there, along with a folded bag for life & more pleated ziplocks. A cigarette lighter (refillable), bandana & comb, key wallet with Middleson's spare door key & a folding can opener, multiway cable in case my powerbank's choices are the wrong ones, notebook, a small box of sundry basic painkillers & hay fever pills, clean handkerchief, updated USB stick (digital info on passport, driving licence, insurance policies etc) are all in a small grab bag.
As I leave I grab that bag, drop it into the rucksack & throw in the mobile phone, the kindle, the waterproof coat, the house & car keys & whatever catches my eye (I keep a loaded water bottle in the hall, near hats & hill boots). Depending on why I'm leaving I may grab a first aid kit &/or a fleece blanket. I've a spare pair of glasses & even sunglasses somewhere - next I see them I'll chuck them in the rucksack so I know where they are!
Youngest should have his bag & it's his job to grab food. I think he has spare earbuds & a splitter so we can share watching a film - I wouldn't expect him to leave without his laptop, but powering that is his problem.  As are clothes. I don't pack any for him. 

I wouldn't try to take the larder with me. I want to be able to move. The larder is to make staying more comfortable. The rucksack is to get me from home to wherever & to get me through a weekend. (And it'll look crazy as a hospital bag, but as a 'one size fits leave now'. it'll do & as things happen I'll wish it were different but it buys me time!)

sammy_kaye18

@Mee and @DigForVictory

You both got me thinking about this last night a fair bit.
If we were in a SHTF situation and had to leave our house - as a family of 4 with several animals, as Dig said - checking in to a hotel would not be an easy option for us. Thankfully my son has a white panel van with a two person roof tent which could act as a makeshift shelter for us and pets so we would have accommodation covered and my son regularly on a weekend goes adventuring and travelling so has a small gas stove, kettle, cups, cutlery, plates, folding chairs etc in it as well as a giant water container, tarp, various bungee cables etc.

But as far as a grab bag - it now has me wondering. I have a variety of items around the home to make myself a basic grab bag but I need to focus on the bits I don't have,  then Id need to make sure I had a bag for our pets. 




 

greenbee

I'd encourage everyone to include a ring cutter in their first aid kit. You don't want to be in a position where you risk having to have a finger removed because you can't get a ring off. 

Mee

DigForVictory said:

@Mee, Optimum is Wildly Personal! Also I'd aim to keep it as light as credible, as needing food fuel & water for 3 days is not terribly likely (by my risk assessment, for me & mine, not least as I have a working car & therefore more escape routes & places) Me & a lad can check into a travel lodge easily, my sister & her 2 Labradors can't.

+1 for a rucksack, ideally one you already have. Saves money & effort before you start & looks less like something a thief might find enticing. If you fill it enough to need the hip belt. you may have too much in there. (I say May, these bags are very personal!)

...

As a walker (and past lower lumbar injury) I do have a choice of rucksacks, but the point about needing to use the hip belt is a good one, though it is helpful to use it.
I carry around some essential already as I was thankful for it when stuck on a train some year's ago, but the other stuff like camping gas stoves etc has been on mind to acquire for sometime.

I hadn't thought about transport, but I have two bikes - one spare I always keep in good condition with spare brakes.

Lots to think about so thank you for sharing your experience - ditto sammy_kaye18