Prepping: the new world...

pavlovs_dog

The news is giving me that twitchy feeling I had in the run up to covid that something unpleasant could well be in the pipeline. As action gives me a sense of control I am taking sensible steps to increase our shelter in place resilience.

I am focusing on scenarios such as extended water / power / web outage, severe winter storms, seasonal ailments, rampant inflation to food / fuel costs and supply issues in shops rather than zombie apocalypse!

This week I have

1. purchased pillar candles to increase our lighting options in the event of an extended power cut and checked that we have ample supply of matches.
2. restarted my 'one in reserve' shopping for items we use regularly to beef up our home supplies. This week I bought pasta, rice, oats and washing powder. This will go in my overflow cupboard and I will shop this and replace when the in use one runs out.
3. put together a basic 1 week 'camping meal plan' of shelf stable foods that require minimal cooking and could be cooked on a 1 burner camping stove in the event of an extended power outage. I will pick up a few items from this list every week until I am fully stocked.
4. purchased a very large bottle of water as we have had 2 water cuts due to burst mains this week.
5. Nagged various relatives into agreeing to add an extra tin or two a week to their shopping

Still to do:

1. Audit toiletry, cleaning and medical supplies to identify what needs to go on the '1 in reserve' shopping list
2. create spreadsheet for tracking stock I have bought and BBE dates.
3. check what we have in the way of rechargeable lanterns and powerbanks
4. increase bottled water supply so that we have a 1 week supply
5. check we have enough camping gas to last a week
6. purchase wool blanket for extra warmth this winter
7. investigate battery operated radio purchase
8. start building small stash of cash in house
9. winter clothing audit - DH doesn't have anything in the way of wellies / outdoor boot
10. keep eye out for good deals on fans / portable AC unit in the winter sales in anticipation of next year being even hotter than this.
11. sort analogue versions of info I consistently reference online.

Baileys_Babe

@pavlovs_dog said:

put together a basic 1 week 'camping meal plan' of shelf stable foods that require minimal cooking and could be cooked on a 1 burner camping stove in the event of an extended power outage. I will pick up a few items from this list every week until I am fully stocked.

Would you be willing to share your 1 week 'camping meal plan' to give me some ideas to doing the same for us.

pavlovs_dog

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82149422#Comment_82149422

of course!

My thinking is:

*eat the things that could be supplemented with fresh stuff first, whether that be stuff we almost always have in or could pick up easily if we got a little advance warning of likely problem. If camping, this is the type of stuff that would last a day or two in a cool box.

*shelf stable as far as possible

*minimal cooking required in case fuel / time / energy in very short supply

*options which would be just about palatable if necessity required things to be eaten cold.

*a week's menu with enough variety could easily be repeated to give 2 weeks worth of meals if you wanted greater peace of mind

Breakfasts:

weetabix with any fresh bananas we had in / frozen berries / yoghurt

scrambled eggs - we almost always have a good supply of eggs in. could be supplemented with tinned pots / beans / cured meats / tinned tomatos for a mock cooked breakfast

porridge (soaked overnight if need be to avoid need for cooking). Can be topped with fruit / jam / honey etc to add flavour. Jarred apple sauce and sultanas adds sweetness, vitamins and additional fibre.

if milk& eggs in ready supply, crepe style pankcakes are quick cook, filling and a good morale booster.

Lunches

sandwiches initially to use up any fresh bread & produce.

shelf stable options: tinned soup, crackers/oat/rice cakes - can be topped with nut butter, tuna mayo, tinned ham or corned beef. We always have a good supply of sauces / chutneys etc to add flavour and interest. I might go retro and pick up a jar or two of sandwich paste too!

Instant noodles / pasta meals (add boiling water or heat and eat options)

scrambled eggs if not had at breakfast

Suppers

*noodles with whatever meat / veg needs using ASAP

*egg fried rice with use me up meat or veg items

*bockwurst (brioche buns generally have very generous BBE dates)

*tinned meatballs & instant mash or pasta

*tinned ravioli

*tinned curry & rice

*tinned stewed steak, potatoes and veg

*corn beef hash with tinned pots. Adding baked beans would make a sort of cowboy stew

*chicken in white sauce, veg + rice

*tinned chilli with rice or nacho crisps

*beans & sausages with instant mash

*pasta and sauce

Quite a few of the evening meals could easily be supplemented with some variety of beans if you needed to make them more filling or stretch them out on a budget.

Jerky or cured sausage would add extra protein

Morale Boosters

• rice pudding with fruit / jam
• tinned fruit with evap milk
• custard over shelf stable cake or fruit
• angel delight if enough milk available

Miscellaneous

instant coffee sachets / coffee bags to ensure the option of a quick easy caffeine fix

Would love to hear your thoughts if you've got other ideas

Cherryfudge

Great lists, @pavlovs_dog . Sandwich spread is a good addition, as you mentioned. Didn't Jack Monroe use it to make a salmon pasta?

Baileys_Babe

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82149487#Comment_82149487

Thank you so much, this is very helpful.

We already do plenty of these things when camping.

I will need to see if I can find the tinned meatballs/curry/stew etc without gluten, as our eldest is a coeliac.

We would also include nuts, seeds, dried fruit and fruit juice.

I make galettes (like crepes but using buckwheat flour) which would make a tasty change from bread/crackers/oatcakes....

DigForVictory

After a cheerful nights Scouting, I was towing the Wide Broom (you can get them a yard across! & they make clearing a big floor a lot less hassle) when the weight changed & I was towing a broom handle. Being at Scouts, I was able to put my hand on a bottle of PVA glue in seconds, effecting a temporary repair until someone can apply a screw or nail to hold the handle to the bracket.
Can I recommend a bottle of PVA glue to be added to the emergency kit, as it can be used & abused in a range of fun ways should a family Get Bored, as well as being a handy 'hold that til I can get a real fix sorted' thing.

DigForVictory

Some of you may know that I enjoy seeing what other countries regard as important (the US, Japan etc) as a good idea is a good idea pretty much wherever you are.

I was intrigued to come late to the European party which actually wants some 'in case of planning' & signage to be uniform across the union. It also had things like teaching critical thinking in school, which I have read Martin advocating, so regardless of your views on in, out, or shake it all about, I do commend this for when you have several few minutes-es. It's a bit much to ingest in one pass. European Citizens' Panel on Preparedness recommendations
I was charmed to see they advocate preparedness planning being taught from a young age - many of us learned much at our parents' & grandparents' knees - they thought that important enough to include it in the recommendations.
We sometimes get asked 'what should I stock up on' - the Belgian National Crisis Centre has a sensible and thorough webpage here even if the brochure Prepared Together is (reasonably) Belgian-centric…

boultdj

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156500#Comment_82156500

I would also add super glue, that can be used for cuts if they are deep enough, same as what the hospitals use, handy for someone like my other half who is scared of needles and has thinner skin due to his age.

suzeesu2000

and emergency dental fillings. Come in a packet with full instructions.

DigForVictory

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82156833#Comment_82156833

And this is something I find context-senstive, as you have the trifecta of wound, knowledge & kit.
We bundled a teen off to A&E not on volume of gore but on it stopping & starting again - turned out he'd got a bit of glasses lens buried under his skin (invisible to eye & X ray). Once that was out, the whole clean up & fasten up was easy.
Me, I prefer duct tape to superglue for cuts but it is very much a mixture of what's to hand & knowledge.