Prepping: the new world...

suzeesu2000

Changeyourlife25 Welcome to the group. I too, have allowed my pantry shelves to reduce and also become very disorganised. Plan for sometime very soon, is to clear everything, clean the shelves and restack taking a good account of what I need to restock.

I used to always keep a good stock of Fray Bentos tinned pies as they kept for ages and were reasonable value for money. Nearly fell over when I went to buy more and saw how much they had risen in price!! Was paying between 75p and £1 each, now they are £3. I was shocked. I mean, I know prices have been rising madly but this really did shock me. 

My biggest issue with shopping is that I am disabled and  housebound so can't get to the cheaper supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl who don't deliver. I do use a local pantry who deliver free of charge but their stock is very minimal. Anyone got any ideas? I do utilise the home delivery on Iceland, Sainsburys, Tesco & Morrisons. I have zero loyalty to any of them and do get points/Nectar so that all helps at Christmas.

Hope everyone is having a decent day, stay cool xx

fionaandphil

Welcome @Changeyourlife25 good start with the tins there. Just picking up a few things every week is definitely the way to go, both in terms of prepping and in savings.

@suzeesu2000 I've been pondering this since you asked the other day and haven't been able to come up with anything. We assume everyone has access to all the cheaper shops and can shop around and that isn't the case. None of the delivery supermarkets are particularly cheap either so there is also the added cost. I hope you find a solution.

suzeesu2000

Thanks @fionaandphil it’s is a bummer but we shall plod on doing the comparisons. I shall keep supporting our local pantry as it’s only £5. They allocate you 15 points per week which you spend according to how many points per items. For example, beans are 1 point for 2 tins, beans with sausages are 1 point each. They don’t have much by way of meat products but still a much cheaper option than a supermarket. 

I am now realising how it feels to be a snowman…..I’m melting. It’s 30.2 degrees here. The sun shines on the front of house from lunchtime onwards….do not like it. Hope everyone is coping with it and keeping well xx

DigForVictory

In the latest round of "what happens if mum is unplugged?" I am happy to report that her two burner gas hob, whilst not to spec, is technically safe. Oh thank heavens, coffee & a range of hot meals are all possible! 
Thanks to SiClist, I am well briefed on Nido powdered milk & shall add a tin to her in case of emergency tin stash. My sisters may not have a clue, our smashing South African carer will understand!

DigForVictory

@suzeesu2000 have you a smartphone to communicate in real time with a Scout or other responsible young person? (Bob a job may have been discontinued on safeguarding & health-&-safety grounds, but scouts still need to raise funds for jamboree etc.) Part of the problem is "first catch your young person" but Scouts tend to be predictable....

suzeesu2000

DigForVictory said:

@suzeesu2000 have you a smartphone to communicate in real time with a Scout or other responsible young person? (Bob a job may have been discontinued on safeguarding & health-&-safety grounds, but scouts still need to raise funds for jamboree etc.) Part of the problem is "first catch your young person" but Scouts tend to be predictable....

lol, I like that: “first, catch your young person”  Yes, I must start thinking outside the normal. Thanks for suggestions xx

DigForVictory

I'm biased, I default to Scouts, but it occurs to me that there may be church youth groups who could also provide the muscle and the integrity. Also has Anyone said "let me know if there is anything I can do to help" & do they have mobile-phone-packing offspring?
If I go on about the mobile phone it is as I did the covid shopping with a speakerphone call to son who reported what he was puttering past, whilst I sat in the car with my phone & the shopping list & could hear every rustle & grunt as a bag of spuds was lifted, scanned & bagged. That worked splendidly for us then, and it strikes me that a Lidl & Aldi "personal shopper" might well be able to meet the needs of several senior citizens if a clear list & good live communications (& then sorting out who wanted how many of which item at what price - there are evening out tab splitting apps which might be useful) might get over the formal lack of delivery services?

joedenise

Some Age Concern places offer shopping to housebound elderly.  My sister used to do it when she lived in one of the London boroughs.  Don't know whether it's all areas or just some.  Might be worth phoning to check.

Cherryfudge

There's a community project in our town that helps with shopping. Perhaps the library can put you in touch with something suitable?

Van_Girl

Having just spent almost 5 days without running water due to a huge burst water main repair, it amazed me how much water I needed just to function, particularly in this heat.

I am something of a lightweight prepper, and could survive a couple of weeks without power and food supplies, but my water stash made it to the end of day 2 before I had to collect some of the free bottles. Flushing the loo was fine as I have water butts, although they are seriously depleted due to the extended hot weather we've had. 

The emergency water points set up by Welsh Water were all at least a 20 minute drive from where I live, and I could thankfully make the drive over, but if I hadn't been able to for any reason then I'd have been stuck. So I definitely need to think about increasing water storage. It's been an interesting trial run!